Page 13 of Man of the Month Club: May
“Don’t ever blame yourself for that. I could have hurried things along, but I chose to take my time and love you properly. If anyone’s to blame, it’s my fault we’re running a bit late.”
Tipping up one side of my mouth to angle an ornery grin at him, I say, “You’re right. I’ll let you win this one… It’s your fault.”
His guffaw of laughter echoes inside the car as he reverses out of the driveway.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I ask.
“First, we’re stopping to pick up another woman,” he hints.
I don’t particularly like the sound of that, but I know I can trust him. We turn out of his neighborhood adjacent to the water, and he makes an immediate left into the driveway of a small, rundown home that doesn’t match the sprawling estates that surround it.
A tiny, hunch-backed woman clutching a leather handbag with both hands bustles quickly outside as if she has been standing at the door waiting for us.
Cooper gets out and hurries around to the passenger’s side of the vehicle. Not wanting the older woman to have to climb into the backseat of the car, I open my door to move back there. Once he sees what I’m up to, Cooper holds out a hand to help me out of his vehicle.
The shriveled woman stops and squints up at me before turning to Cooper and saying, “Oh, you have a lady friend with you. No wonder you’re late.” Scrunching up her wrinkled face, she adds, “And here I thought I was the only one for you.”
Cooper gallantly brings the back of her liver spot covered hand up to his lips before saying, “You’ll always be my first love, Mrs. Richards, but today is my lucky day because I get to drive two beauties around town.”
The woman cackles happily before waggling a crooked finger at me to say, “You’re a pretty one. Pretty girls usually cause trouble. My sweet Cooper has the biggest heart of any young man I’ve ever known. If you hurt him, you’ll have to deal with me.”
“Understood,” I say, nodding my head solemnly, before adding, “I won’t hurt him.”
Mrs. Richards must sense my sincerity because she nods her head before moving around me to get to the car’s back door. I quickly offer, “You can ride in the front. I’ll sit in the back.”
She glares up at me before saying, “We both know he would rather sit beside you.”
Cooper helps get her settled in the backseat and closes her door before whispering to me, “She’s right, you know. I want you by my side––always.”
A delightful tingle shivers down my spine at his wonderful words as I slide into the front seat of his car, before he closes the door for me.
As he walks around to the driver’s side, the woman in the backseat says, “He’s a true gentleman, and that’s a rarity these days. If you’re as smart as you look, you’ll hold onto him.”
“I intend to,” I assure her just before he rejoins us in the car.
Cooper puts on the oldies radio station as we drive. Soon, all three of us are bopping our heads, humming, and singing to the classic, upbeat tunes.
After Cooper pulls into a parking space at the ladies’ beauty shop, he turns to me to say loud enough for the other woman to hear, “You think Georgia is pretty now, but wait until you see how beautiful she looks when we pick her up.”
The woman actually titters at his compliment, before leaning forward to hand him a neatly folded dollar bill. “You’ll be back here to pick me up in two hours?”
“You can count on me,” he assures her as he accepts the money and tucks it into his pocket as if it is a great prize.
I watch from the car as he escorts her inside the salon. Through the picture window, I see him bend down to kiss the older woman on the cheek before turning to leave.
Once he’s back in the car, I say, “That is easily the sweetest thing I’ve ever witnessed, but she’s probably on a very limited budget. Why do you let her pay you?”
“I used to argue with her about taking the money, but she’s a proud woman, and she likes to feel like she is paying her own way,” he answers as he backs out of our parking spot.
Understanding that urge, I say, “That makes sense.”
Once he wheels us out on the road, he reaches over to hold my hand as he drives. I savor the connection with him as I ask, “How often do you bring her to get her hair done?”
“Every Saturday morning,” he answers.
I stare at his gorgeous profile, unable to believe how impossibly sweet and caring he is. Choosing to be vulnerable, I say, “You’re making it damn hard not to fall madly in love with you, Cooper Bridgerton.”
He pulls his gaze from the road for a second to give me an ornery grin as he says, “That’s the plan.”
