Page 26 of Summer Nights

When the light changed from red to green, I turned on my signal, and I wondered if Cooper knew I was thinking of leaving.

He turned into his lane and parked by the garage. I pulled in next to him. His driveway was lined with foliage and palm trees. It gave it a private and serene feel.

His house was on stilts to counteract storm surges from hurricanes.

He waited for me on the porch and unlocked the door. "You thought about going home, didn't you?"

I sighed as I stepped into the house. "I'm not going to lie to you."

"I'd prefer you didn't."

My heart beat hard. "It would be easier if I went home."

"I'm sure it would be. But rewards come from doing the hard things."

I tipped my head to the side. "Is there a sexual innuendo in there somewhere?"

He chuckled. "I guess there is, but I didn't mean it as one."

"I wanted to see your house." It was partly true. A stronger part of me wanted to spend more time with him, and it had nothing to do with his house.

He nodded.

I was grateful he'd let me have the out for now. I had a feeling if we continued whatever this was, he'd want more. He'd want things I couldn't give him. I wasn't a forever kind of girl. I didn't have anything to offer him.

I'd been let down so many times, I couldn't trust that anyone would be there for me. Not even Cooper Kingston.

He'd let me down too. It was only a matter of time.

It didn't matter how much I lowered my expectations; people never failed to disappoint me. He wouldn't be different. And if he was, I was in big trouble. Because I didn't know what to do with someone like that. I'd never encountered anyone who stuck around.

Sure, my mom was physically present. But not in a way that mattered.

There was an office to the right as we walked into the space. A formal living room on the left. The kitchen was open to the family room with large windows facing the backyard with the pool and tall palms.

"What do you think?" Cooper asked, and I knew he was talking about the kitchen. The one room in the house that I judged all homes by.

The lower cabinets were blue with brass hardware. The upper cabinets were white. The appliances were top-of-the-line. "You like to cook?"

"I'm not a chef, but I like to eat."

I ran a hand over the cool white marble countertop on the gourmet island. "You know this is gorgeous."

"You like it?"

"It's what I would have picked. Then there's this view." I sighed as I turned to face the windows. From here, we could see the ocean.

"Why do you live in a condo again?"

I laughed. "I'm not sure. There were reasons. Reasons I can't think of right now."

"You're a successful realtor. You sell multimillion-dollar homes. Don't you want oceanfront?"

"Doesn't everyone want that?" I was desperate to show him that I wasn't weak. That there wasn't some deep reason why I hadn't bought a beach house yet. "I'm too busy buying everyone else their dream home. I don't have time."

Cooper snorted. "That's bullshit, and you know it. You get advance notice of every house on the market. There's no reason why you couldn't have put in an offer on one."

I had wanted this one. I never told Cooper that, and I never would. I figured if I couldn't have it, then he should.

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