“I doubt he’d want to wake you this early. Did you check for the newspaper yet?” Lexie asked.
With a shake of her head, Charlotte rose and walked into the hall, opened the door and returned with the paper. “I was too exhausted this morning to do much of anything. Here.” She slid it across the tabletop. “Tell me what you find out.”
Lexie pulled off the plastic wrap and scanned the front page. Sure enough, there was a short article with Coop’s byline. She only hoped he was hard at work and not at the hospital waiting for news about Sara.
Lexie read quickly, relief pouring through her. “Looks like Sara’s ex-partner intervened and got Sara out safely,” Lexie said, relieved. “But she injured her knee. Reinjured, it says. Oh, they use the word career-threatening. I feel awful!” Lexie knew how much the other woman loved being a cop.
“Oh, that poor child,” Charlotte said. “We’ll have to send her flowers!”
Lexie smiled at her grandmother’s thoughtfulness. “Absolutely.”
“What about the waiter?”
She continued reading. “Sara’s partner, Rafe Mancuso, was seriously wounded, but his injuries aren’t life-threatening. Wait! Listen to this. According to the police, the waiter in question turned out to be the same man in a recent string of other snatch-and-grab robberies at major events and collectors’ meetings throughout the city. An eyewitness identified him as the man driving the getaway car at the last incident where he struck and killed an innocent bystander!”
Charlotte sucked in a shocked breath.
“It says the suspect—the waiter—knew if he got caught last night he’d be charged with murder in that case, so he panicked, grabbed me and made his escape,” Lexie said, lowering the paper.
“Oh, my.”
Lexie nodded.
Together, they sat in silence for a few minutes, digesting the news.
“I need to talk to you,” Lexie said at last.
“And I need to talk to you.” Her grandmother looked up, a serious expression on her face.
Lexie gestured with a sweep of her hand. “Age before beauty.” She laughed.
Her grandmother chuckled. “Fine. I’ll go first. You’re a fool if you let Coop go. And no granddaughter of mine is a fool.”
Lexie exhaled long and hard. She also nodded. “You’re right.”
“I am?” Charlotte sounded stunned.
With a shrug, Lexie said, “Of course. I’d be a fool to let Coop go and I’m no fool. I am, however, a woman in transition.”
She went on to explain to her grandmother how she’d blurted out the suggestion that Coop go to Australia with her—omitting the part about sex in the closet. “I never even took his feelings or his life into consideration. I just blindsided him. And myself, since I never planned on asking him. It just happened.”
“He didn’t take it well, hmm?”
Lexie rested her chin in her hand. “Nope. We hit a stalemate, and we both retreated to our separate corners. Then the knife-wielding dude grabbed me, and my life flashed before my eyes. My empty life.” She picked up a paper napkin and began shredding it to little bits. It wasn’t easy to admit her failings, and it helped to have something else to concentrate on.
Charlotte leaned back against the cushion of her chair. “If your life is empty, there’s a simple solution. Fill it up! I had a full life, but it would have been even fuller if your grandfather had lived. Or if I’d let myself love again,” she said, her tone wistful and sad.
“I’m sorry.”
Charlotte shook her head. “Don’t be. I made my choices. But if you learn nothing else from me, learn this. Live each day to the fullest. Make sure when you’re my age and look back, you don’t have any regrets.”
Lexie smiled. “You’re a smart woman, Grandma.”
“Tell me something I don’t know. Now what did you want to say?” Charlotte asked.
Lexie glanced at the coffee she’d yet to drink. “To fill the emptiness, I need to make some changes.” She drew a deep breath. “And as much as I appreciate your giving me a place to return to, it’s time for me to find a home of my own.”
Her grandmother’s eyes opened wide. “My baby bird is finally leaving the nest.” Charlotte clasped her hands to her chest. “I thought the day would never come.”
“You aren’t upset? But what if you need me?”
Charlotte waved her hand, dismissing the notion. “Isn’t that what those computer lessons were for?” she asked, a naughty smile flirting across her lips.
“Which ones?” Lexie asked, wryly. Rising from her chair, she pulled her grandmother into a hug, savoring her familiar and comforting scent and feel.
Life without Charlotte as a safety net loomed before her. Instead of being scary, though, it was an exciting prospect.
“So where does Coop fit into this new home of your own?” her grandmother asked.
“I’m not sure.” Lexie met the older woman’s inquiring gaze. “But this decision is about what’s right for me. No matter what he decides.”
Charlotte smiled. “I’m so proud of you!”
As always, her admiration and acceptance warmed Lexie’s heart. “What can I say? I learned from the best.”
“You most certainly did.”
Lexie dumped her untouched coffee into the sink, rinsed the mug and placed it in the dishwasher. “I need to go out for a little while.”
Charlotte pulled the lapels of her housecoat tighter. “Where to?” she asked.
“Where I always go when I need to think.”
Lexie had plans to make for her future. Whether or not Coop wanted to be part of those plans was up to him.
Coop got no sleep. He’d put the early edition to bed, and then gotten started on the afternoon one. He’d called Lexie’s cell a few times in between, only to realize that she’d probably forgotten to charge the damn thing. And 6:00 a.m. was too early to wake Charlotte.
In the moment the waiter held the knife to her neck and the times he’d had to relive it since, Coop knew he couldn’t live without her. If it meant traveling around the world, so be it. At least he’d have her by his side. Maybe giving up his job would free his creative spirit. He sure as hell hoped so because after his savings ran out he didn’t know how else he’d pay the bills.
He showed up on her doorstep, flowers in hand, to find out Lexie wasn’t home. Charlotte had been happy to accept the flowers, however.
“Where can I find her?” Coop asked.
“Where she always goes to think,” Charlotte said.
“Are you being deliberately cryptic?” he asked the older woman.
She pinched his cheek. “Certainly not. I’m telling you what I know. If you’re as intelligent as I think you are, finding her shouldn’t be a problem.”
Coop rolled his eyes. “I’m going!” To the only place in the world he thought she might be.
Lexie settled herself on the floor, her back to the glass windows overlooking the city. Because it was raining outside, the landmark was relatively empty, not many people interested in looking out over soupy fog. Lexie didn’t care. She knew she was high above the clouds and that was enough for her.
She turned on her iPod and stuck her headphones in her ears, then focused on the real estate section of the paper. There were so many choices.
Apartment or house.
The city or the suburbs.
Rent or buy.
Her heart beat faster at the thought of having her own place at last. Things to come home to. Knickknacks with meaning. Pictures. Books.
“Excuse me, but you realize this isn’t a public library,” a muffled voice said.
“I know,” Lexie answered without glancing up.
“It’s not a coffee shop, either.”
Lexie frowned. “I can’t be in your way. There’s an entire set of windows for you and there’s no view to look out at anyway!”
Someone kicked at her feet.
“Hey!” She glanced up, intending to give the annoying perso
n a piece of her mind, and looked into a familiar set of gorgeous blue eyes. “Coop! What are you doing here?”
But even as she asked, her pulse sped up because he knew this was her special place.
“Why do you think I’m here?”
“Looking for me?” she asked hopefully.
He nodded, his gaze warm.
“How’s Sara?” she asked. She’d been worried about the other woman all morning.
“In a lot of knee pain. Pissed off about potentially not being able to return to full capacity. And in a foul mood. But both she and her partner are going to be okay and that’s all that matters,” Coop said. “Mind if I join you?”
Lexie gathered her things, freeing up the space beside her.
Coop settled on the floor next to her, back against the window, his long legs stretched out in front of him, his thigh touching hers.
The heat traveled straight to the pit of her stomach, settling low. “How did you know where to find me?” she asked.
He turned his head, meeting her gaze. “Your grandmother told me you went to the place you always go to think.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Good thing you know me so well.”
“I’d say so, or else I’d be wandering the city.”
He still hadn’t shaved and she ran her hand over his scruffy beard.
“Like it?” he asked.
She grinned. “I do.”
“Hey, can I ask a favor?”
She nodded. He could ask her for anything and she’d likely agree.
“Either buy an extra cell phone or learn to charge your battery. In the future, I can’t not be able to get in touch with you,” he said, his voice husky and gruff.
The future.
Her heart skipped a beat at his use of the word. “I think I can manage that.”
“Good. So what made you come up here? What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours that you need to think about?” he asked, picking up the paper she’d been reading.
Embarrassed, Lexie wanted to snatch it back. Instead, she curled her hands into tight fists, waiting for his reaction.
He studied the page, his eyes narrowing in confusion. “It’s the New York Times Real Estate section.”
She swallowed hard. “I’ve heard it’s the most comprehensive.”
“Is your grandmother looking to move?”
“No.” Lexie bit the inside of her cheek. “I am.”
Confusion darkened his gaze. “I don’t understand.”
Lexie drew a deep breath. “I’m looking for a place of my own. An apartment or maybe a house. I’m not sure. I’m also not sure if I want to stay in the city or explore something more suburban. Although that might be too ordinary for me, at least at first.” She knew she was rambling, but until she’d made her point and he understood, she couldn’t relax.
“Lexie, if you’re looking for a place of your own because you think that’s what I want—”
She shook her head. “This has nothing to do with you. Well, that’s not exactly true. If it weren’t for you, I probably wouldn’t have taken a hard look at my life. But I’m doing this for me. It’s time I stood on my own, don’t you think?”
Coop was dizzy, and the altitude had nothing to do with it. “That depends what you mean by standing on your own. If you can do that with me by your side, then, yes, I think it’s time. And you don’t have to settle down for there to be an us. I was wrong insisting that you had to give up what makes you you.”
She met his gaze, but said nothing.
So he continued. “You’re special, Lexie. I always knew that. You brought that vitality into my life and—believe it or not—into my work. My writing work. And that’s what matters. The crime beat will exist without me. I want to travel and see the world through your eyes.”
She blinked back tears “Why? What changed in the last twenty-four hours?” she asked, obviously not yet convinced.
“You have to ask?” He cupped her cheek in his hand. “I almost lost you. In the minutes that guy had a knife against your throat, I got a glimpse of my life without you. And I realized what an idiot I was for letting you walk away.”
A tear trickled down her cheek.
“Hey. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” He pulled her glasses off before they could fog up, and brushed the moisture from her cheek with his thumb.
“It’s just amazing to me that you care so much about me,” she whispered.
It was so wrong that she still didn’t think he could love her for who and what she was. “I don’t just care, Lex. I love you. I said it last night, but I failed to follow up. I love you, and I will spend the rest of our lives making sure you know I mean it.”
She smiled, the genuine, open grin he’d fallen hard for the first time they met. “What if I still want a house?” she asked. “I wouldn’t give up travel completely, mind you, but I’d have a home base. What do you think?”
If she needed to stand on her own before she could commit to him, he’d hate it but he’d accept it. Anything she wanted or needed to be whole. “I suppose I could be persuaded to drive out to the suburbs to visit.”
“No.” She scrunched up her nose. “What if I wanted us to have a house? Together. I noticed that you talk the talk about having your own place, but you don’t even have matching sheets or dishes. We could start together and build. From scratch.”
“A place of our own.” He needed to repeat the words to believe them.
She nodded. “So when we did travel, we’d have a home to come back to.”
“And when we weren’t traveling?”
She shrugged. “We’d work…”
“And have a family?” As soon as the words were out, Coop held his breath.
Eyes wide, she absorbed the question. And then she nodded.
“You’re sure?” he asked.
“Yes.” She grinned. “Yes. Absolutely.” Then and there, Coop had the answer to all the dreams he’d never known he’d had.
Lexie couldn’t stop smiling. She had never let herself think about real love, family or permanence. Never believed she wanted it or could have it for herself.
Everything had changed with this one man. “Want to know why?” she asked.
“Yeah, I do.”
She couldn’t stop touching him and she caressed his cheek.
His eyes deepened with every touch. “If I’d known how much you liked the beard, I’d have grown it sooner.”
She laughed.
“Now tell me why you’re sure about a home and a family with me.”
Lexie’s mood sobered. “Because you give me the security I never had. You give me a reason to want to be home.”
He brushed his lips over hers. “That’s funny because you give me the freedom I was always afraid to take or trust in. And you believe in me, which helps me believe in myself.”
He leaned in for a deeper, emotion-sealing kiss, but she broke it off quickly, remembering a question she’d had from last night.
“What did you mean last night when I made that joke about your looking to take over your brother’s job as a cop? You said, ‘Been there, tried that.’”
He groaned. “I had to quit the police academy because of an old sports injury. It felt like I’d failed and let my father down. Then with the divorce, I failed at marriage. The only thing I didn’t fail at was being a reporter.”
She finally understood so much more about him. “So when I asked you to go away with me, expecting you to leave everything behind, you felt like I was taking away the one thing you did well.”
A horrified look crossed his face. “Hey, I hope I do more than that one thing well.”
Grinning, she patted his thigh, her hand dangerously close. “Trust me, there are many things you do very well,” she reassured him, nuzzling her face against his.
“What a pair we make,” Coop said.
“I like it.”
“You do realize the irony, right? My dad’s a cop and your grandmother’s a thief.”
<
br /> “Ex-thief.”
“Semantics,” Coop said and pulled her into a long, deep kiss that held the promise of today, tomorrow and the future, which had never looked so bright.
Epilogue
The Daily Post
The Bachelor Blogs
Our latest Bachelor quit his day job for love. Sam Cooper’s heart is spoken for, ladies. But, luckily, there’s a new heroic bachelor in the city. Rafe Mancuso stepped in and saved one of New York City’s Finest last night, getting injured in the process. I can hear you all swooning now.
Amanda Nichols, fashion editor at the Daily Post, was there live covering the Lancaster Auction. She asked the hostage negotiator how it felt to save a damsel in distress. Mr. Mancuso, not realizing he’d been stabbed, answered from the heart, “Just doing my job. With the added perk of rescuing a gorgeous cop with a killer bod,” before passing out from his injuries.
Could romance be brewing between this hero and the lady he saved? Or is the field clear for the other women of our city? Only time—and the Bachelor Blogger—will tell.
Thank you for reading Kiss Me If You Can. I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review.
COMING NEXT FROM CARLY!
Rock Me
September 19, 2017
ORDER ROCK ME TODAY
Bodyguard Bad Boys… Sexy, Hot, and oh so protective!
A pop star in danger. Her reluctant bodyguard. A past they can’t deny.
Summer Michelle is on the verge of ultimate fame. Ben Hollander has sworn off mixing business with pleasure. But keeping his hands off of the sexy songstress is easier said than done and once the threat is neutralized, will she choose fame over love?
Excerpt from Rock Me
They filed into the room where Dan had already taken up lead position at the head of the table. When not working, their boss was a big believer in blowing off steam during off hours, hence the game room with the pool table, dart board, and during lunch, an endless supply of eats. Located in the Whitestone area of the Bronx, there was no better bodyguard agency to work for in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Kiss Me if You Can (Most Eligible Bachelor Series Book 1) Page 25