Page 15 of Too Delicious
By the date of our soft launch of Little Spoon, I’m truly crushing on Cooper in every way possible. But I still don’t know if dating him is wise.
Yet my brother, Owen, seems bent on ruining any type of feelings that Cooper might have for me.
He gives Cooper such a hard time that I feel queasy.
“Did y’all run out of room to build more parking lots up there in Gold Hill, or what?” Owen asks.
He has a lot of room to talk. It’s not like his date, Daisy, the town’s doctor, is from around here.
And he’s laying on that Southern accent pretty damn thick, if you ask me.
Cooper holds his own, but I can sense him tensing up. “We’ve been interested in investing in Fate for a while now. We see a lot of growth potential here,” he says.
That’s a bit of a stretch, but I let it go.
My brother is giving him enough of a hard time. When Cooper glances at me while talking to my brother, I can see the wheels turning. He’s rethinking everything he’s thought about me.
I did ask him to be friends. And now he knows that it’s best we remain that way.
I have to do damage control before this ruins our friendship completely.
In an uncharacteristic move, I grab Owen by the arm and drag him into the kitchen, pretending that I need him to help me move some boxes or something.
“What the heck is wrong with you?”
Owen loves to play dumb. “So, you don’t need my help?”
“You are blowing it!”
“I’m doing the best I can! I haven’t been on a date in a while. Not since I met…you know…Graham’s mom.”
Of course Owen thinks I’m talking about him. No one would ever think I have prospects romantically—not when I’ve spent the last two years pushing everyone away. “Not that! You’re being rude to Cooper.”
“He’s from Gold Hill. It’s kind of the rules around here.”
“And don’t you think it’s better to use Gold Hill money than our own money to fund the yogurt shop? Think about it.”
So, you’re not using your savings?”
Boy, he is really out of the loop. Between being a single dad and running the feed store, it’s no wonder he has no clue what’s happening. How in the world did he have time and energy to woo Dr. Daisy, I wonder.
Carefully, I explain the financing arrangement.
He pushes back, being the stubborn older brother that I would expect.
“Why are you so worried that I’ll ruin it? Did their checks not clear yet?”
A sisterly reaction takes over, and I flick him on the chest.
“Ow!”
“Are you dumb?”
“Maybe,” he says, rubbing his chest.
I point in the direction of the dining room. “You know your girl out there is originally from Gold Hill, right?” From the look on his face, I see that he didn’t know that. “Yeah. I thought so. So I don’t even want to hear it from you.”
“That’s different! There’s real feelings involved when it comes to me and Daisy.”