Page 18 of Broken Heart

How’s the door holding up? Any problems?

Initially, I had to force myself to ignore the flutter in my belly at the sight of his text. It took substantial effort not to think too much about the fact I was hearing from him after he’d already completed the job. Cooper struck me as the kind of guy who took pride in his work, so it was only natural for him to want to reach out to make sure I wasn’t experiencing any issues with it.

Before I sent off a response, I read it to myself three times, just to make sure I didn’t sound anything but casual.

It’s great. I haven’t had any complications with it.

COOPER

Excellent. So, it’s keeping out unwanted guests then, right?

I stared at that question, unsure what he was getting at, and when it didn’t click for me immediately, I had no choice but to seek an explanation.

Pardon?

COOPER

I was mostly just teasing you, referring to your ex and former best friend. I wanted to make sure you didn’t have to deal with anything like you had yesterday.

For some strange reason, I couldn’t seem to wrap my head around the fact that Cooper could have been thinking about me after he’d left my bookstore. Granted, he had just been there the day before, but I guess I thought he would have forgotten about me once he left. Or, at least, he wouldn’t have given me a second thought until he had to get himself ready for the date on Thursday.

Believing it was still wise to appear unaffected by it all, I thought it was best to match his energy.

The new entrance is keeping out all the trash!

COOPER

I’m glad to hear it.

Cooper didn’t push for additional conversation beyond that, and I really wasn’t quite sure what else to say. So, I put my phone away and expected I wouldn’t be hearing from him until he reached out the day before our date.

I was wrong.

Because on Monday evening, after I’d gotten home from work, I received another text from Cooper.

COOPER

How was work today?

It was such a simple question that shouldn’t have caused the reaction that it did. But why was he asking me about work? Asking about the door and whether I’d had problems with it made sense. If we were officially dating, a question about my work day would make sense. In this scenario, it made zero sense, especially because I’d revealed I wasn’t interested in a relationship. Cooper had nothing to gain by asking me about my day at work.

But since he was being nice, and I believed he had a clear understanding about where I stood, I didn’t stop myself from sending him a response.

It was okay. Steady, but not too busy.

COOPER

That’s good. Did everything go okay with your new employee?

He remembered.

Now, two days after I’d shared the information with him only once, Cooper… cared? He cared enough to ask about my new employee. Why was he doing this?

If nothing else, I was merely grateful I didn’t have to speak to answer him, because I was convinced my voice would reveal precisely how much it moved me that he cared enough to ask when there was nothing in it for him.

It did. She still has some things to learn, but she’s enthusiastic about it.

COOPER