Page 52 of Broken Heart

“Sure, Gram. We can do that,” Liam promised.

There was a round of nods, and everyone did just as the matriarch of the family had demanded.

And I surprised myself when I initiated a conversation on my own. “Mr. and Mrs. Westwood, I’ve got to tell you that I’m blown away by your garden. The flowers everywhere are absolutely stunning."

Cooper’s mom smiled at me and said, “Call us Malcolm and Evelyn, Skye. There’s no need to be formal like that, especially when it’s all just family and friends around. And thank you. As much as I’d love to take credit for the garden on my own, I’m afraid I can’t. My mother-in-law is the one with the green thumb, and she helped me to select everything we planted here.”

“It’s gorgeous.”

“Skye’s parents used to own a flower shop here in Landing,” Cooper revealed, joining the conversation.

Wendy immediately declared, “Well, then before you leave, Evelyn and I will give you a tour of the grounds. I think you’ll love it.”

“I already do,” I assured her. “But I’d love a tour.”

“And if you think my garden is beautiful,” Evelyn started. “Just wait until we have you over to Wendy and Larry’s place. My garden doesn’t compare to theirs.”

My eyes widened in surprise. “I can’t imagine anything beyond what’s here, so that sounds incredible.”

Clearly having his mind on one thing only, Cooper announced, “We’re playing volleyball in the pool before garden tours.”

“There’s plenty of time for all of it, Coop. But since you’re the birthday boy, we’ll let you choose what happens,” Wendy said.

I couldn’t help but smile and allow the warmth to seep in.

Despite there being some tense moments when I first arrived, it was clear to me just how much I already adored this family. I had been so focused on the wrong things before we got here that I hadn’t given myself the opportunity to even dream of feeling this good so early into the party.

With everything I’d learned from Cooper about his family, the way they’d welcomed me with open arms from the moment he introduced me, the garden, and their willingness to give me a tour of the grounds, I felt something wash over me. There was a comfort I couldn’t quite describe or even fully understand, but I felt it all the same.

The only thing I could think was that this might have hit me the way it did because of what Cooper had said when he dropped me off last night, about what he wanted to see happen between us.

I’d convinced myself that Cooper and I were opposites, that we were far too different, and maybe when it came to the superficial things, we might have been. But when it all boiled down, when I looked at the things that really mattered, we were very much the same. There was a big part of me that couldn’t dream of walking away from something like that.

So, I was eager to see what the rest of the day would bring and if I’d be able to wait until Cooper took me home to give him one or two more gifts.

15

COOPER

As a kid, there had been so many moments wrought with anticipation and excitement—the night before Christmas, the drive to the beach for a family vacation, and the last day of school, to name a few.

The older I got, it became obvious that the exhilaration I felt for all of those things either faded or, in the case of school, vanished entirely. It wasn’t that I didn’t still enjoy aspects of those events.

I did.

My family still took trips together occasionally, but we weren’t all arriving in one car anymore. And I didn’t have trouble falling asleep on Christmas Eve, wondering if I could stay awake long enough to hear sleigh bells on the roof.

The enjoyment I got out of special occasions or moments in my life now was typically just about spending time with my family. If there was one thing we knew how to do, it was have a good time. And that was how it had always been, something I knew I’d never grow tired of.

But today, it changed.

Truthfully, I’d started experiencing hints of those feelings ever since I met Skye, but today, I was receiving the full brunt of it. For the first time in a long time, I was consumed again, just like I’d been when I woke up on the last day of school my senior year.

This had nothing to do with high school, though.

It was my birthday. And although I recognized some of my family and friends couldn’t help themselves when it came to giving gifts, I didn’t feel the excitement I would have felt as a kid over them. Everything I was feeling was related to me standing just outside one of the bedrooms in the pool house.

I had just changed in the bathroom and was waiting for Skye to emerge wearing her bikini. From the moment she confirmed she was bringing it, I’d had a hard time thinking about anything else other than what she’d look like with it on.