Page 31 of Broken Heart

Inhaling deeply, I reminded myself that Cooper hadn’t really put any pressure on me to do something I didn’t want to do. He also claimed he understood where I stood with things and why I wasn’t interested in getting into another relationship.

And other than the gentle and reassuring touch on my leg and the couple of times he’d called me sweetheart, Cooper hadn’t indicated he was looking for something more. But it was hard to think he was merely bored and was in the market for a new friend, especially when he was as busy as he claimed to be.

Although I had believed I knew what I wanted, it was safe to say my mind was a bit muddled now. I wasn’t quite sure I knew what I really wanted anymore.

It seemed Cooper did.

And since he’d been nothing but respectful, kind, and generous to me, I thought it was worth taking a chance for now.

I licked my lips and gave him a nod. “Okay. I’ll join you for your birthday celebration.”

“Really?” He sounded genuinely surprised as he sat up taller.

“Yes, but only under one condition,” I said, my voice shaky. I still worried I could wind up regretting this.

“What’s that?”

“I’m terribly uncomfortable in situations with large crowds, especially when I don’t know anyone,” I started, my eyes dropping to my lap for a moment. Following a beat of silence, I lifted my gaze, looked across the lake, and finally focused on him again, my belly fluttering. “I would feel a whole lot better if you wouldn’t mind picking me up, so I could arrive with you.”

I didn’t think Cooper had any idea as to what I was going to say, but it was apparent he was moved by what I had said. Something softened in his features, and he tipped his head slightly to one side as his eyes roamed over my face. “I’ll do that on one condition.”

I cocked a brow. “Which is?”

“You let me pick you up the night before to take you to the charity event.”

It had become obvious to me that my defenses were crumbling a bit and Cooper was a guy I believed I could trust, at least to the extent I didn’t think I had to worry about him physically harming me. So, I agreed, “That sounds like a deal to me.”

“Perfect. Now, we should probably get some of these intimate details worked out, don’t you think?” he asked.

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”

“Want to do some rapid-fire questions to make that happen?”

He was so nonchalant about it, I thought it was wise for me to be the same, so I shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”

“Okay. Let’s start with the one I asked earlier. What’s your favorite color?”

“Purple. Yours?”

He grinned at me. “Blue.”

Until he said it, I didn’t think it would have mattered to me to know that bit of information. Now that I had it, I wanted more. So, I smiled brightly at him and said, “And since you already know what my favorite food is, I think it’s only fair I know yours.”

“Burgers. Beach or mountains?”

I sucked in air between my teeth and said, “Ooh, that’s tough. They’re really close, but I guess I’m going to go with mountains. You?”

“Mountains. Hands down.”

For some reason, that didn’t surprise me. I had expected he’d say that, and I liked that there was at least one thing we had in common so far. Loving how this little game was making me feel, I beamed at him before I asked the next question. “Sunrise or sunset?”

Cooper took no time to consider his answer. “Sunrise. I like to get up and get things accomplished, and daylight gives me the energy to do that. You?”

And we were back to being opposites. “If I need to be productive, then it’s sunrise. But there’s something I love about a nice sunset in the evenings, particularly if I’m not at work. If I had to choose one, it would be sunsets.”

I watched as a look washed over his face that reminded me a lot of the way I felt when Cooper told me his favorite color was blue. Maybe I wasn’t the only one thoroughly enjoying this.

Following a beat of silence, Cooper asked another question. For a long time afterward, we continued to go back and forth, learning bits of random information about one another. I was surprised at how much fun it was to learn so many unique details about a man I was merely going to pretend to be dating.