Page 76 of The Sexy Part
“I’m going to stay with my friend Meg while I look for a place.”
Harper shoots me an incredulous look. “Meg with the three roommates?”
“Yeah, it’ll be fun, like a sleepover.”
“One bathroom and two of the roommates are guys,” Mackenzie says. “I thought we all agreed that would be disgusting.”
“Well, yeah, but…” Felix jumps in my lap. I pet him, finding comfort.
Mackenzie squeezes my arm. “Let’s eat, and then we’ll talk some more, okay? We’re all friends here.”
“We really can’t help it if we’re related to Cooper,” Harper says matter-of-factly.
I set Felix down and take a slice of pizza. Mackenzie knocks her pizza slice against mine in a toast. I take a bite, and it’s delicious.
* * *
Two slices and a bottle of wine later, I’ve agreed to stay the night. Tomorrow’s soon enough to start my new life. Mackenzie’s telling us a story about a client who was so demanding Nathan wanted to charge them an inconvenience fee.
We laugh, even Harper, who usually scowls just at the sound of his name. We’re gathered in the living room now on the cushy sofa under a shared fleece blanket. It’s cozy, and I can’t help but wish I could bottle this moment.
“So now that we’ve convinced you to hang around a little longer, do you want to tell us what happened with Cooper?” Mackenzie asks. “Forget he’s my brother. This is a sisters-before-misters situation.”
Sisters. How I wish I could stay and keep these two in my life. Sure, they could visit me in the city, but it’s more than an hour away. They’d get busy; I’d get busy. We’d drift apart.
“Did his hero complex get in the way?” Harper asks. “All you have to do is tell him to stand down.”
“That would be hard for him,” Mackenzie says. “When it comes to someone he loves, he’ll do anything to make sure they’re happy.”
I suck in air. “You’re the second person today to say he’s in love with me. He never said that. In fact, he’s said repeatedly that what we have is casual, no expectations, no pressure.”
“Sweet,” Mackenzie says. “He’s putting you at ease. All you have to do is look at the two of you together to see you’re both madly in love.”
My jaw drops. “What! I’m not in love. I just got out of a serious relationship. My heart is shattered. I’m done with…” I trail off. How can I say I’m done with men when I’ve spent so much time with Cooper? It wasn’t just sex. We took day trips together on Sundays, caught meals together while he was working, texted daily.
Mackenzie’s right. Cooper acted casual for my sake, to put me at ease. Thinking back to my first Sunday family dinner, Hailey told me he’d never been a player. He cares about me. But love?
AmIin love?
How did I let this happen?
Harper elbows me. “Denial only works for so long.”
I take them both in. “The thing is, my ex destroyed me. He broke my trust in so many ways. And now Cooper broke my trust. It’s the one thing I can’t forgive.”
“Did he apologize?” Mackenzie asks.
I nod.
“Did he leave you at the altar?” Harper asks.
Mackenzie reaches over me to smack Harper’s arm. It’s not easy with the blanket. “Your deranged sense of humor is not appreciated.”
I fix the blanket over us. “He called my dad behind my back and got him to represent me in small claims court today. I told you how Dad and I aren’t close. He dropped me off at my grandmother’s after Mom died and barely kept in touch.”
Harper cocks her head. “Well, you left out that your dad was in court today. So Dad won the case for you?”
“Yeah.”
