Page 91 of The Riskiest Move

COOPER

When I exit the stadium, Scarlett is parked in a visitor spot near the door. I walk over to the driver’s side and she rolls down the window. “Hi.” She smiles, and I feel it in my chest.

I smile back at her. “Hi. Would you mind if I drive us to Williamsburg?”

“What’s the matter, Coop? Don’t you trust your life in a woman’s hands?” she teases.

“Hey, as long as they’re yours, I’m great with anything.”Literally.“But I don’t get an opportunity to drive longer distances anymore and I really love my car.”

“I’m good with that. I can sit back and relax while you chauffeur me around in style.” She rolls up the window and shuts down the motor.

Once she’s situated in my car, I get behind the wheel and fire the engine up.

“Being in this car feels like I’m in the Batmobile,” she says.

I laugh. “I don’t have any cool gadgets to go along with it, though.”

“You’re cool enough by yourself,” she tells me.

I flash her a smile and a wink. “Are you ready to go on an adventure?”

“Yes. I could use a change of scenery, and look what a beautiful day it is. The sky is blue and the sun is shining. Perfect weather to explore a new area.”

There’s a little bit of traffic as I pull out of the parking lot and onto the main road, but once we get on Interstate 64, I’m able to move along at a decent pace. My eyes leave the road to cast a quick glance at Scarlett. I love seeing her in my passenger seat. “How was your morning?”

“It was nice. I had my coffee on the beach, took some pictures of the ocean, and then managed to get my laundry done.”

“Any day that starts with beach time is better, right?”

“Absolutely. I try to take every opportunity I can to get on the sand and watch the ocean. It’s a great place to brainstorm ideas for my podcast too. I’ve been thinking about offering merchandise for sale on my website.”

“That’s a great idea.”

“It could be if anyone actually wants to purchase some. I’m just not sure they would.”

“I think you’d be surprised by how many would be interested. I’d order some.”

She lets out a laugh. “You’re my…” She pauses before she finally settles on, “friend.”

Is she having trouble defining what we are?I’m going to take that as a positive sign. If she only thought of me as a friend, would she have hesitated?

Great.Now I’m reading into things like Cassie does. It must be one of the side effects of living together.

“You could start out by selling merch with your logo on it and see how that goes. If it does well, you can hire someone to design some other stuff too,” I suggest.

“That’s a solid idea. There are print-on-demand sites I can use so I’m not coming out of pocket with no guarantee for sales.”

“Then you should definitely go for it.”

“Yeah, I think I will.”

“And the holidays are coming up, so it’s a great time to go for it.”

“Okay, you convinced me.”

I grin. “That was easy. What else do you need to be talked into?”

She laughs. “Uh-oh. I better be careful, or you’ll have me doing all kinds of things I shouldn’t be.”

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