Someone to Love

by Hampton, Lena

  He was grateful for the subject change. His mother knew when to leave well enough alone most of the time. He smiled remembering how Noli looked at the place with wonder. “She was impressed.”

  “See, it’s that smile you just got on your face thinking about her appreciating your home that you need to be honest about.” Cooper’s smile fell. This was obviously not one of the times she was going to drop a subject. “I know, you want me to go. Just remember that if you’d called and told me you didn’t need me to wait for the repairman you wouldn’t have had to listen to me. I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  “Tell Noli I’ll be in contact.”

  “Why?”

  “You’ll tell her because I told you to.”

  “I meant why will you be in contact?”

  “To help with the wedding of course. Jack’s like a son to me and a brother to you, I’d do anything for him.”

  “Whatever you say.”

  “Let me know if you can’t take her anywhere and I’ll take her.”

  “If I can’t take her, she can always just borrow my truck.”

  “She’s too little for that big old truck. Plus, she has a horrible sense of direction. I don’t want her getting lost. She’d likely end up in Kentucky.”

  “My truck’s got GPS. I’m not sure what you intend to achieve with your meddling, but it won’t work.”

  Daphne reached out and touched his forearm. Her facial expression was serious. “Have her call me if she needs to go somewhere. This isn’t me trying to meddle, this is me helping a friend. You understand?”

  Cooper recognized the look in his mother’s eye, she was being protective of Magnolia for some reason. The one thing Cooper understood was that getting in the way of his mom when she was in protection mode was like walking the African Savannah with a raw meat necklace.

  “I understand.”

  “Well, I’m going to go. It’s good to have my son back,” she said as she reached up and patted his shaved face.

  Cooper walked his mom to the door and then headed upstairs. Voices were known to carry in the house, especially from downstairs up into the loft. He hoped Noli hadn’t heard what his mom had said. It appeared that she hadn’t. She was curled up in a chair tapping and sliding away on her tablet. “What’re you doing?”

  “I’m making a list of supplies and a schedule of what needs to be bought and done over the next week.” She answered him without looking at him.

  Her focus was zoned on the task at hand. It was possible she was concentrating this hard and hadn’t heard the conversation downstairs. He hated to admit it, but his mother was right. He did need to figure out why he brought her here. The thought of taking her to his apartment hadn’t even crossed his mind and she didn’t feel out of place in his personal space. In fact, it was almost as if she belonged there. Almost.

  Chapter 9

  The next few weeks went by like a movie montage. There were shots of the days the old wine tasting room as it transformed into to a banquet hall. Scenes where things were scrubbed and swept. All the barrels were moved to their new storage space. Salvaged chandeliers were painted to a uniform distressed white, wired, and hung from the rafters. Delivery after delivery was made. Magnolia had changed the shabby and distressed to elegant and beautiful.

  There were the evenings of Cooper cooking for Magnolia, or them trying to play it cool while eating with the Sloan’s. Then there were the nights of passion. Okay, not just nights, but days and evenings too. Cooper had taken to carrying condoms in his wallet and keeping a box in his truck’s glove box so he’d always be prepared. And it seemed that he needed to be prepared at all times.

  It wasn’t just because the sex was great. It was an emotional connection between the two that made the sex great. That connection made just being together great. She hated having to leave him at night and sleep alone in the Sloan’s guest bed. As the wedding drew near and Jack’s relatives had begun to descend on the farm, she tried to give up her room so that she could sleep through the night in his arms. But Rose insisted she continue to stay. Which meant she had a front row seat of the love birds.

  She hated watching Jack and Diane’s displays of love. It wasn’t because she was jealous. To be jealous it would have meant that she wanted what they had, and she didn’t want that. She didn’t want love. It was just sex. Just a bit of fun while she was wedding planning. A wedding that was almost here. Once the vows were done, how long would she stay? She didn’t know the answer. She wouldn’t know the answer until it was time to go.

  “The big day’s almost here, you need help with any last minute stuff?”

  Noli jumped at the sound of Cooper’s voice. She was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t hear him coming. Seeing him, she knew she never wanted to leave him. That scared her and made her want to go.

  “I was just going over my final check list,” she said raising her tablet.

  “Did you check the sound system yet?”

  She gasped. “That wasn’t even on my list.”

  Cooper walked over to the newly installed system and attached his phone. After tapping the screen a few times the opening chords of Jon B. and Babyface’s ‘Someone to Love’ began to play.

  “Sounds like it’s working,” he said. He reached his hand towards her. “May I have this dance?”

  She shook her head.

  “Come on, we need to test the dance floor, I’m sure it’s on your list.”

  “It’s not, and you don’t want to slow dance with me right now. I’m sweaty.”

  He raised an eyebrow and smirked. “I’ve slow danced with you plenty of times while you were sweaty.”

  She laughed and conceded, taking his hand as he pulled her towards him. He took her by the waist and lifted her off the ground until she was over his head. She let out a yelp and then he slowly lowered her and took her into his arms. The music surrounded them as they swayed with her arms around his neck and his around her waist. She rested on his chest and tried to block out the words about learning to love again and the tightness they were causing in her chest.

  The lyrics were hitting too close to home, too close to the truth of her feelings. He kissed her on the top of her head. The sweet gesture was the final straw that caused the tightness in her chest to increase until she was gasping for air. She pushed out of his arms and turned away from him.

  It felt like she was about to pass out. She could feel her heart racing and couldn’t catch her breath. Forgetting how to breathe, she silently gasped for air. None of her tricks were working to stop this panic attack because she couldn’t remember any. Two thoughts occupied her mind. One was that she felt like she was about to die. The other was that Cooper was seeing her in full fledge freak out and would think she was a freak. Both thoughts increased her anxiety and she began to cry.

  “Are you okay?”

  Noli nodded, then shook her head and hunched her shoulders before nodding again. “I just need a moment.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Alone, please,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper as she turned to be sure he couldn’t see her face.

  He backed away and turned the music off but he didn’t leave. His silent presence both comforted her and stressed her. With one of her parent’s favorite songs no longer playing, she began to feel normal after a few minutes.

  “Sorry,” she said wiping away the last of her tears. “That song just made me miss my parents,” she lied. It wasn’t a total lie, she always missed her parents. It wasn’t the truth though. The truth was that she was beginning to feel too much for him and that scared her. Love was dangerous because life was fragile and death was strong enough to make love a painful faded memory.

  “No, I should be sorry. I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

  “There’s no way you could have known. I never know what will set me off or when.” He wasn’t freaked out at all. He was being the kind and caring Cooper she’d come to know and she hated it. She just wished he wasn’t a guy it would hu
rt to lose or leave.

  “How about I help you with something that’s actually on your list of a list of a bunch more lists?”

  “Sure, two sets of eyes are better than one and it’s just one list.” The smile on her face was genuine even if it didn’t reach her eyes. “Let’s start at the front and work our way to the back door.”

  That’s just what they did. There was a table at the front with a guest registry book. It also held circular cross sections of a branch with a portion cut off the bottom so that it would sit flat. Burned into the wood were interlocking horseshoes and the words lucky in love burned into them. A cards with names were nestled in the thin slit that was cut into the top.

  “These are nice. When did you make these?” Cooper said picking one up and turning it over. On the other side of the card was a border of swirls, with rhinestones following some of them, and one of Diane and Jack’s engagement pictures inside.

  “What did you think I was over here doing all those hours, day in day out? Whistling Dixie?”

  “Of course not. I kind of pictured you staring aimlessly into space thinking of me.”

  “I definitely wasn’t doing that. I was working hard, checking things off my list.”

  “I thought you were going to sit these on the receptionist thing you got?”

  Noli looked confused for a moment before she got it. “Oh, you mean the secretary? It’s at the back. I decided to use it for the favors.” She didn’t know if Cooper kept calling things by the wrong name because he didn’t know or because he was teasing her because when they first met she thought he wasn’t intelligent.

  She stooped down and straightened a row of flip flops that were sitting in a basket with a sign that said “To rest your weary feet or dance to the beat”. She stood to get a look at the entire hall.

  There was a rectangular table on a small platform beneath the arched windows that she loved. Hopefully the noon sun would shine through on the bride and groom. Diane and Jack deserved that. There were no centerpieces, just translucent turquoise colored vases sitting empty on the table. Tomorrow those would hold the bouquets of the bridal party.

  That table, like every other was covered with crisp white table cloths, but it had a turquoise runner going down the middle and falling over the edge. On the wall where Cooper’s brews barrels used to be was another long table awaiting all the food Rose and her sous chef, Daphne, had been preparing for the past week. At the end of that table there was a round table with various levels awaiting the many desserts. The top layer was reserved for the three tier wedding cake.

  She looked up at the thousands of clear Christmas lights with a sheer white fabric draped over them. When they were lit, they would look like stars in the sky. Three chandeliers were spaced evenly apart, dangling a little lower that the artificial stars. When they got to the back, there was the secretary, refurbished and beautiful with its new white finish. There were several mini bottles of Cooper’s brews, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, wrapped in special labels with Jack and Diane’s name and the wedding date in a fancy font on them.

  “You’ve done an excellent job,” Cooper said.

  “Thank you.”

  “What’s that stuff there?”

  “That’s the stuff that belongs outside and can’t be put out until that morning. Kayla said she’d help and get that done.”

  “Did you leave her a detailed list?”

  “Yes I did,” she answered not knowing his question was another jibe at her list making until she saw his smirk.

  “What’s for outside?”

  “There are electronic tea lights for the mason jars that are already hanging from the tree out there. There is a picture frame that’s supposed to hang from one of the branches, so attendees can stand behind it and have a picture taken with the pond in the background.

  “You’re pretty amazing, Magnolia.”

  “Thanks for noticing,” Noli said smiling that smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

  ***

  Magnolia had been acting different since the crying incident about that song. Cooper chalked it up to all the last minute wedding plans. For the most part he actually believed that. They wouldn’t be able to spend time alone together tonight because of the rehearsal dinner they were at now and the farewell to being single parties later tonight. But tomorrow, after the wedding there was nothing keeping them from spending the night together.

  He was looking forward to it, especially since there was nothing from keeping her from staying the entire night. Perhaps he could make her eggs in the morning and they could discuss her staying even though her wedding planning duties would be done. Diane would be on her honeymoon and wouldn’t know to question who Magnolia spent the night with. Or maybe they could stop sneaking around.

  Yes they had agreed this would just be some non-emotional fun for a couple of months. Somewhere along the way that changed for him. He did the one thing he’d sworn for so long he’d never do. He fell in love and he suspected she had too. He sure hoped she had.

  “You want to skip the bachelor and bachelorette parties and have a Cooper and Magnolia party?” he whispered when she came and stood by him at the bar.

  “The best man and the bridesmaid can’t miss—” she stopped mid-sentence and stared at the door. “What is he doing here?”

  Cooper looked around the room, but didn’t know who he was supposed to see. “What is who doing here?”

  “My cousin’s former fiancé is here.”

  Cooper perused the room again and saw Jack walking towards a man that looked slicker than oil on wet pavement. The exchanged would seem amicable enough to the average person, but Cooper knew Jack too well. The smile said all is well, but his stance said he was ready for a fight.

  If his friend was ready, so was he. He went and stood behind the ex-fiancé, he thought he remembered his name was Alan.

  “Are you afraid you’ll be left at the altar once she talks to me? Because I’m not leaving,” Alan said.

  “You’re leaving. The only thing I’m afraid of is not having bail in time for the wedding,” Jack responded.

  “Is that a threat?”

  “He’s not threatening you, he’s warning you.” Cooper said standing behind Alan with his arms folded across his broad chest. “I mean it’s pretty brave for you to come here.”

  Alan flinched at the sound of Cooper’s voice. He turned and made eye contact with Cooper’s chest before moving his eyes up inch by inch until they made eye contact. Cooper saw fear flash across the man’s face as he looked up at him.

  “I wouldn’t expect any less than this kind of greeting from a couple of good ol’ boys.”

  Cooper smirked. He had to give it to this guy, he didn’t back down when he was out numbered or out sized. “This ain’t a good ol’ boy greeting. Good ol’ boys greet pretentious metro-sexuals from the city with their fists.”

  “I think we’ll let Diane decide if I stay or leave,” Alan said.

  “I can speak for my fiancé. She doesn’t want you here,” Jack said.

  Cooper didn’t understand why this conversation was going on so long. He didn’t understand why there was a conversation. The guy wasn’t invited so he should just be gone. He half tuned them out as he scanned the room for Magnolia. She looked beautiful tonight. She always looked beautiful, but tonight she looked extra beautiful. Maybe it was that peach color against her smooth dark skin or that he knew she didn’t put a bra on under the dress. Or perhaps it was because he had finally stopped fighting his feelings for her.

  Cooper missed what was said, but he saw Diane step in front of Jack as if to stop from making things physical. He switched his attention back to the conversation just in time to hear more disrespectful words come from Alan’s lips.

  “I think it’s best you leave before I go full hick farm boy on you,” Cooper said. If there was going to be a fight it would be him doing the fighting. As best man it was his obligation to take a black eye in the groom’s place and go to jail
if necessary so that the groom made it down the aisle the next day.

  Perhaps it was too much confidence in his workouts, because Alan not only didn’t move, he continued to speak. Cooper was about to end this conversation by forcefully removing Alan from the premises when he felt familiar hands on his chest.

  “He’s not worth it,” Magnolia said.

  The look of concern in her eyes almost made him lean down and kiss her. It wasn’t the time for that so he dismissed the thought.

  Cooper had had enough if no one else pushed Alan towards the door he would. “Let me show you out.” He gave another push making Alan stumble. With that, the man left the building.

  “It shames me to say it, but that was awfully sexy.”

  “Why does that shame you?”

  “Because I thought I’d evolved beyond caveman machismo turning me on.”

  “I don’t think it was the machismo. You just find me irresistible.”

  “You are obviously confused. We both know you find me irresistible. I’ve seen how you can’t keep your eyes off of me in this dress.”

  “It’s because I keep thinking about taking the dress off of you. It was cruel of you to force me to watch you get dressed.”

  “I asked you to leave the room and you refused.”

  “Your mouth said go, but your body said yes.”

  “My body is saying yes now, but my bridesmaid’s duty is saying it’s almost time to take the bride out and celebrate her last night as a single lady.”

  Cooper looked at his watch. “Tomorrow then?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  Chapter 10

  The wedding went off without a hitch. That hadn’t stopped Noli from triple checking everything then checking it one more time for good measure. The reception was in full swing. Everyone was having fun, and Cooper thought Noli should too.

  He walked up behind her as she was straightening the favor table. He reached around and held a beer in front of her.

  “I bet I could drink more than you.”