“So sorry, Cooper. You okay?” Harper asked with a shaky laugh, her voice high. “Didn’t see you. You meeting the bus?”
Cooper stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets and rocked back on his heels. Then, slowly, he pulled his hands out and forced himself to relax. He’d literally bumped into his neighbor. No need for embarrassment. It’s not like he’d blurted out his mortifying crush on her or anything.
“My mom gets Layla on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, while I work,” Harper carried on. They fell into step, walking toward the corner. “I get Tuesday and Friday pickups.”
“That’s great that you have your mom to help,” Cooper said. “I have to scoop up Noah on Tuesdays and rush across town.” Cooper didn’t elaborate that the reason for his dash was his ongoing grief counseling session. “We’re nearly always late,” he said.
“I understand that. Before I had Layla, I was always obsessively early for everything. Now, on time is early, and a pipe dream most of the time.” Harper laughed, paused and then continued in a rush. “You can leave Noah with me if you want. I mean, if it’d help. I meet the bus on Tuesdays anyway and so I just thought…if it were easier for you.…Layla loves playing with Noah and…never mind.”
Cooper blinked. He wasn’t used to having someone offer to take up parenting slack for him, or to fill in when their hectic schedule overflowed. Though he’d had the occasional sitter, summer camp, and daycare over the years, he hadn’t been very comfortable with leaving Noah in anyone else’s care, at least not since the accident that claimed his wife and nearly took his son too. But his therapist kept telling him he needed to take small risks and learn to trust again. Without stopping to overthink it, Cooper forced a smile for Harper; she looked worried at his lengthy silence in response to her offer.
“That would really make Tuesdays easier,” he admitted. “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble for you.”
“Not at all.” Harper smiled brightly.
“What would make Tuesdays easier?” Noah demanded as he jumped off the bus, sweaty dark hair sticking to his brow, his shorts twisted and his t-shirt spattered with chocolate milk. No matter how carefully Cooper groomed him in the mornings, Noah always got off the bus looking totally disheveled and grubby. Next to him, Layla stood in a perfectly-pressed rainbow-patterned skirt, with coordinating leggings and shirt, not a hair out of place.
“Ms. Harper offered to meet you at the bus on Tuesdays,” Cooper explained. “You could stay with her, instead of coming to my appointment with me.”
Noah whooped. “That’d be great. Dr. Stein’s office is super boring!”
Cooper’s ears felt hot as he realized Harper would surely recognize the name of the only counselor in town. Tactfully, Harper scooped Layla up, settling her on her hip, and twirled her around, a blur of joyful color. She kissed Layla on the nose and hugged her close.
When Noah permitted only the briefest ruffle of his hair, Cooper nostalgically recalled the easy affection of a kindergartner. Instead of embracing him, Noah dashed toward their house, calling for a snack. Layla squirmed out of her mother’s arms and raced to catch up with Noah.
“I’ll be happy to watch Noah today," Harper said. “We’re just having chili for dinner. You’re welcome too if you’d like.”
Cooper swallowed and, feeling like he was jumping off a cliff rather than accepting a dinner invitation, nodded.
“That’d be great. Thanks.”
Just over two hours later, Cooper arrived for dinner at Harper’s house; Dr. Stein’s advice to ask Harper out was ringing in his ears. Though he’d lived next door for over two years, he’d never seen the inside of where she lived. Welcoming and warm, decorated with bright colors and just enough mess to look lived in, the house reflected its owner. Mouthwatering scents emanated from the kitchen as Harper ushered him into the kitchen, the kids sprawled on the sofas watching cartoons on television.
Four place settings sat on the small round table, overlooking her backyard and a candle burned in the center. She poured him a glass of tea and headed back to stir a pot on the stove. He sipped the sweet tea, reminded of his grandmother’s back porch in Georgia.
“It smells great,” he said.
“Just chili and cornbread,” Harper shrugged.
“Do you like to cook?” Cooper asked.
“I don’t dislike it,” she answered. “I like posting the recipes I come up with online, my tried and true kid-friendly stuff. But it’s not my favorite thing.”
“From your website, I thought you were a Martha Stewart in the making.”
“Hardly,” Harper laughed. “I want to post stuff that parents can do with their kids, like practical stuff, to make the job of parenting easier.”
“Did you always want to be a teacher?” he asked next.
“No, not at all.” Harper stirred the pot with a wooden spoon, talking more to it than to him. “Steven—that’s Layla’s dad—and I got married right out of college. We had it all planned out. We were going to work for a few years and then I was going to get a graduate degree. When I finished, he’d go get his.”
“But?”
“But I got pregnant with Layla on the honeymoon!” Harper smiled wryly.
“And?” Cooper prodded, knowing there had to be more to the story.
“We’d always planned on having kids—two kids, a boy, and a girl. It was just a little earlier than we planned. So, Layla arrived and Steven…well, surely you’ve heard the story?”
Cooper shook his head. He hadn’t. He knew she was divorced and he’d never seen a father around but didn’t know the back-story. “I don’t truck much with gossip.”
“Steven left me when I was in the hospital. He had a panic attack. There I was, dazed from the labor and having a newborn, Layla asleep in her little clear bassinet.” Harper sipped from a glass of garnet-colored wine and gave the chili another stir. “He couldn’t do it, wasn’t ready. So he left.”
“Wow.” Cooper thought back to Noah’s birth, how weak and tired his wife had been after it. Cooper cherished those memories, the first few days of being a family; he couldn’t imagine missing it. He snuck a peek at Noah and Layla, still engrossed in their show. “He missed so much.”
“His choice,” Harper said, an edge of steel in her tone.
“Where is he now?”
“He lives in Georgetown,” Harper said. “He sees Layla sometimes. She’s going to be the flower girl at his wedding next month.” Harper’s mouth twisted into a facsimile of her smile. “He met her in law school. They just passed the bar together.”
Cooper didn’t know quite what to say so he stayed quiet, hoping Harper would continue. “I’d rather have Layla,” Harper said. Cooper nodded. He understood.
“When’s dinner? We’re starving,” Layla called from the rec room. Harper dished the chili into bowls and topped each with a perfectly golden square of honey-glazed cornbread. She pulled chilled salads out of the refrigerator and set them in their places. The kids came in and took their seats, and Cooper sat next to Harper, their thighs pressing together under the small table. They clasped hands while Layla lisped a quick blessing.
For just an instant, Cooper could imagine them as a family, sitting down for an evening meal, and to his very great surprise, the thought didn’t bring panic; he’d have to think about that later.
“Do I need to eat the green stuff?” Noah asked, poking suspiciously at the salad with a fork.
“Noah! Manners.” Cooper chided. “I’m afraid our meals aren’t always this balanced.”
“No, you don’t have to eat it,” Harper answered and Noah beamed at her, relief obvious on his face. “But then, you don’t get dessert. Your choice.”
Noah made a face. Layla’s voice rang out. “Just eat it first, Noah, then eat a bite of cornbread. It’s not so bad that way.”
Harper laughed and Cooper watched the candlelight flickering over her face. He and Noah hadn’t had a casual family meal like this in over two years, probably more since C
athy’s depression had stolen so much joy from their home. Cooper smiled back at Harper and tasted the chili, their delicious, smoky flavors bursting over his tongue. “I think your website’s going to be a smashing success. Look out, Martha.”
Harper met his gaze and smiled. And Cooper felt he’d finally come home.
Chapter Three
The following drizzly Tuesday, Harper skipped her morning jog to head to the grocery store. In addition to her usual haul, she piled the ingredients for vegetable lasagne into her cart. She had a new recipe she wanted to try. The fact that Cooper might possibly stay for dinner when he picked up Noah had nothing to do with it.
“Almost nothing, anyway,” Harper muttered to herself as she sorted through the zucchini to find the freshest one. They’d had a lovely time last Tuesday, lingering a bit over the meal and chatting while the kids ate dessert. But, in the intervening week, their only contact had been nothing more than brief waves across their lawns. Cooper could have his pick of any woman in town, and maybe he just wasn’t interested. “Maybe he is. Just have to stay positive.”
“Talking to yourself is a bad sign,” a female voice next to her said. Harper looked up to see her neighbor from across the street, Lisa. Her adorable daughter, Olivia, sometimes played with Layla, but Harper had never warmed to the mother. Probably, it was because she was one of the biggest gossips in town, which in a town like Ashford Falls was really an achievement. No doubt it would be all over town that Harper chatted with the produce at the grocery store before lunch. Lisa peeked into Harper’s cart. “So, lasagne, huh? Cooper coming over again?”
“Layla loves lasagne. I’m going to shred this zucchini into it and help make sure she gets her veggies.” Harper gave Lisa a tense smile. For all Ashford Falls’ booming growth as a far-flung commuter suburb of DC, it was still a small town. Everyone knew everything about everyone, and Lisa loved being the one to tell them.
“Cooper loves Italian food,” Lisa smiled at her, with rather more teeth than seemed strictly necessary. Belatedly, Harper remembered Lisa bearing casseroles to Cooper’s door for months after he moved in. “At least, he always seemed to enjoy my stuffed shells and my meatballs.”
“He and Noah seemed to enjoy my chili,” Harper said, not sure why she felt competitive about it. “I add a dash of cocoa powder—”
“You’re going to be babysitting Noah every Tuesday, then?”
“Just being neighborly,” Harper answered brightly.
“That’s so sweet,” Lisa said, in a tone Harper thought was anything but sweet. Harper maneuvered her cart around Lisa and made a beeline for the checkout. She imagined feeling Lisa’s steely stare all the way to her car.
It wasn’t that she didn’t understand Lisa’s irritation; most of the single moms in Ashford Falls had made fruitless overtures toward Cooper and were frustrated with his lack of reciprocal interest.
When she’d made her offer to meet Noah at the bus, Harper really hadn’t been making a move on Cooper; she just understood what it was like living with the patchwork of childcare single parenting brought. She wanted to help, even if he did have to be her secret crush.
Still, she couldn’t deny she’d really enjoyed eating dinner with him last week. She adored her daughter but sometimes wanted to talk about something other than toys and playground antics. It’d been nice, sipping wine, cooking a meal in her kitchen, and laughing, seated at the table with Cooper and Noah. And, if she’d secretly looked forward to eating a simple family meal with Cooper again tonight, that was in the privacy of her own head. If she hoped that, maybe, eventually, they could share a date and more, so much the better; even if it didn’t turn into a romance, she liked Cooper. It was nice to have a friend.
By the time Cooper arrived that night, the lasagne was resting on the counter as Harper and the kids blew bubbles in the backyard. At the sound of the doorbell, Harper dashed through the house in her bare feet to greet Cooper.
He stood holding a massive bunch of sunflowers, tied with a blue checked ribbon, the setting sun gilding his handsome face and broad shoulders. He handed her the bouquet across with a warm smile and Harper felt her insides melt; she couldn’t remember the last time she’d received flowers.
“Sunflowers! They’re my favorite!” Harper reached for the bright, cheerful bouquet. As she ushered Cooper inside, she noticed Lisa sitting on her porch swing across the road, raising a wine glass in a silent toast that Harper decided to take as congratulatory.
“I saw your sunflower mug last week so decided to take a chance,” Cooper said. He crammed his hands into his back pockets as Harper blinked at his memory and attention to detail. “I just wanted to thank you so much for helping me out with Noah.”
“It’s no trouble. Layla loves having a playmate.” Harper put the sunflowers in a vase and set it on the kitchen island. “They’re just outside blowing bubbles,” she said. “The lasagne still needs to set for a few minutes. Want to head outside?”
Cooper nodded and they stepped onto her back deck. The kids ran around the lawn, laughing and pulling up dandelions to blow on. As the sun skimmed the Blue Ridge mountains in the west, the temperature dropped quickly and a brisk breeze scattered the few fallen leaves in her yard.
Autumn was definitely in the air. Cooper cleared his throat, glancing over at her, and opened his mouth, like he had something to say but stopped himself, glancing toward the setting sun and swallowing hard.
“You okay?” Harper asked, laying her hand on his bicep.
Cooper shrugged. “Bit of a difficult session with Dr. Stein.”
“I saw Ellen for a bit after Stephen left,” Harper admitted. “She’s very good.”
“After my wife died,” Cooper said. “I just focused on putting one foot in front of the other, making sure Noah recovered from his injuries. I focused totally on Noah. We moved here. I thought a fresh start would free us from our ghosts but, after a while, I realized they just followed us here so, I went to see Dr. Stein.”
“Good for you,” Harper encouraged.
“She’s been wanting me to take a chance,” he said.
“And you don’t want to?” Harper guessed.
“Just not sure I’ll ever feel ready.”
“And I’m sure Ellen didn’t like that too well,” Harper laughed. “She can be a bit of a bulldog if you don’t take her advice. So what do you have to do?”
“Ellen thinks I should ask out someone I’m interested in.”
Harper’s stomach did a quick flip. Was Cooper talking to her as just a friend? Could she possibly be the lucky one he wanted to ask out? She swallowed hard. “And are you going to?”
“Thing is, Harper, I’m kinda rusty at this dating stuff. I haven’t asked anyone out in over ten years.” Cooper shifted closer to her, his soft chambray shirt sleeve brushing her arm. She caught the scent of him, reminding her of smoky bonfires and sunshine, as her heart thrummed in her chest.
“Like riding a bike—” she said.
Cooper leaned over then, pressing his soft, inviting mouth against hers, just a gentle brush of lips. He raised his head, looking her in the face, as he turned her into his embrace. He cupped her cheek, his thumb skimming along her chin before he claimed her mouth again in a deep kiss that turned heated. Harper groaned, swaying toward him, to wrap her arms around his broad shoulders.
She hadn’t remembered what it felt like to be kissed like this, feeling like a bonfire crackled within her, warming her from the inside out. How could she have forgotten what it felt like to be kissed like this, lust overwhelming good sense, the sheer physical power of it?
He pulled her closer, his big hands strong on her back, her softness pressed against his hard, unyielding warmth. Then, he broke the kiss, his hands sliding down her sides. His thumbs brushed the undersides of her breasts before he stroked her arms, unwinding them from his neck. She shuddered, aching with need and want.
“I only meant to ask you out to dinner,” Cooper said, his eyes golden with heat. “Did
n’t mean to skip that far ahead.”
“Dinner?” Harper repeated as Cooper took her hands, his thumbs rubbing slow circles over the back of her hands.
“Friday night?” Cooper grinned.
Harper didn’t know if she could behave herself in a public restaurant, knowing how well sexy Cooper Mason could kiss. But she nodded. “Friday sounds good. Now, let’s go have some lasagne.”
They called the kids inside and enjoyed a happy meal full of laughter at the kids’ antics. When Layla didn’t want to eat her apple sauce, Cooper made funny faces at her and gave the sauce silly voices until she ate every last bite. Noah and Cooper helped clean up and Harper walked them to the door, a generous helping of leftovers departing with them. Cooper handed the leftovers to Noah and sent him down the walk.
He turned back to grab a quick good night kiss from Harper before trotting after his son. Harper sighed and leaned against the door jamb, watching them until they were safely inside. She glanced across the street to see if Lisa was still sipping wine on her porch swing, despite the chill of the evening; it was too dark to tell. Hugging herself, Harper backed inside and closed the door, smiling as she looked forward to Friday.
Chapter four
On Friday at half past five, Harper paced the floor waiting for her sister to arrive to sit with Layla. She paused in her narrow entryway to check out her appearance in the hall mirror, tugging the flirty hem of her black dress sprinkled with roses. Was it too short?
The sweetheart neckline dipped low to show just a hint of cleavage. Too revealing? She tossed her black cardigan on and then, frowning at herself, pulled it off. She checked her watch; it was exactly thirty seconds after the last time she’d looked. Harper carefully reapplied her lip gloss. As she dropped the slender tube back into her purse, her cell phone buzzed.
Apple Cider (Cupid's Coffeeshop Book 9) Page 2