Three
Surprise Encounter
Two Months Later
Two months had passed since the funeral and I’d been slowly stepping into my new life. I missed my daddy always, but every day was slightly easier than the day before. I’d decided to keep my childhood home. It was paid for after all, and although there were some repairs that need to be made here and there, I figured I’d get to them when I got to them. Money wasn’t an issue right away because of my daddy’s life insurance policy, and the fact that I had managed to save some money when I was living in Colorado. I still wanted to work, however, so I got a job at one of the local restaurants as a waitress. I talked to Ms. Sophie often and I kept in touch with Maggie. Other than that, I pretty much stayed home, read a lot of books, and watched a lot of movies.
That day, though, I had decided I would finally take Ms. Sophie up on her offer. She’d invited me to the country club for an 11:30 lunch. What did one wear to a country club anyway? I scanned my closet for something decent and landed on a cream colored sundress that hit slightly above the knee and paired it with a strappy sandal. I left my hair down and reached for the makeup. A touch of mascara, blush, and lip gloss would do. I sprayed my perfume in the air and walked through it, knowing a light misting was all that was ever really needed. I grabbed my keys and out the door I went.
When I pulled into the country club, I gave my keys to the parking attendant and walked inside to find Ms. Sophie. I took maybe ten steps inside the front entrance when I heard my name being called somewhere behind me.
“Lily?”
Wait, I recognize that voice, and I’ve only heard it once. I couldn’t really describe it and it wouldn’t make any sense if I tried, but my name rolling off his lips made me feel like a freshman all over again crushing on a senior. Gawd, how was it that I’d managed to get through my adult life up to this point without feeling this way about a guy? Can I go back to that? Please? ‘Uncomfortable’ didn’t even begin to describe how I felt around that man, but then again, I was uncomfortable around most men.
I took a breath, turned around, and standing right behind me, and I mean right behind me, was Cooper Hudson. He was wearing khakis and a button down white shirt that looked like it was tailor made just for him. I was pretty sure my jaw dropped open and there may have been some drool, but I was hoping like hell that I remained somewhat dignified and my worst fears were just trying to tease me.
“Hi. Cooper, isn’t it?” He didn’t need to know that his presence rattled me, and I was hoping it wasn’t painfully obvious.
“You would be correct.” He grinned and I saw that little dimple, and it made my knees weak. Amazingly, I managed to keep my feet planted on the ground. As long as I didn’t forget to breathe, I should be okay.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.”
His expression was genuine and I saw a grin escape the corner of his mouth like he was glad to actually see me.
“I’m meeting your grandmother for lunch today. I guess she didn’t mention it to you.”
“No, she didn’t. That’s why I’m here as well. She asked me to have lunch with her.” He raised one eyebrow and looked around the room. “I guess that means you and I are also having lunch together.”
I suddenly felt like I’d swallowed a rock, because there was a knot in the pit of my stomach. I forced a smile. “Yes, I suppose we are.”
“Shall we?” He bent his elbow to allow me to slip my hand around the inside of his arm and he led me across the room to the entry of the dining room. Across the way I could see Ms. Sophie sitting in the back corner. As we walked toward her she looked up, her bright blue eyes dancing. I also noticed that every other lady in the room was watching us as we passed by. All eyes were on Cooper and I suddenly felt invisible.
“There y’all are. I was beginning to think I was going to have to eat lunch alone.” The tone in her voice was sweet, but I could also sense a bit of sneakiness in there somewhere.
“Yes, Grams, we’re here,” he said, giving her a look that said well-played. “I didn’t realize that Lily would be joining us for lunch, but it’s a pleasant surprise.” He took my hand and helped me take my seat at the table next to Mrs. Sophie. Before taking his seat across from me he gave me one of his devilish grins and my stomach did another flip. If I had known Ms. Sophie had invited Cooper to our lunch date then I might have declined her invitation. He made me so nervous, and he made my head feel all swoony. Those feelings would not mix well with food. That much I knew.
“I took the liberty of having the waiter bring us all a mimosa. I hope that’s alright.” She looked at me first and then Cooper, anticipating a response.
“Actually, I could use a drink right about now.” I picked my glass up and took what was more of a gulp than a sip. They both looked at me with amusement.
Cooper picked up his drink, smiled into his glass, and softly said, “Indeed,” before taking a sip.
Ms. Sophie’s purse started vibrating across the table. She looked down at it and let out a sigh. “Darn stinkin’ technology. I have to take this call. Will you excuse me?”
Cooper stood up and pulled out his grandmother’s chair. “Certainly, take your time. Would you like for me to order for you?”
“No, I’ll be right back. I’ll only be gone a minute,” she said as she scurried off.
She may be a grandmother to a twenty-something year old grandson but that woman could move across a room in no time flat. That got me to thinking…I didn’t know how old Cooper was. He looked to be late twenties, although he could be early thirties. He had laugh lines around his mouth, which made me take notice of that one dimple again. He looked mature and young at the same time. Would it be rude to ask him how old he was?
“Do I have something on my face?”
“Huh?”
“You’re staring at me, so I figure I either have something on my face or…”
I could feel the heat rising and my cheeks turning about twelve shades of red. “I… um, sorry,” I said nervously. “I didn’t realize I was staring. I was… uh… thinking about something and …” CRAP! If I could have crawled under the table just then I would have.
“And what?”
“Nothing. I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. I didn’t mean to.”
He leaned forward, folding his arms on the table. “I don’t mind a beautiful woman staring at me as long as she doesn’t mind me staring back.” His lips curled into a grin that was so incredibly sexy that I felt disoriented for the briefest moment. The thing about it, though, was that I didn’t think he was trying to be sexy. He just was. He held my gaze for a second before dropping his eyes to my mouth and then looked me in the eyes again, but he kept the sexy grin in place. His eyes flittered back down to my lips and he held his gaze there for an untold amount of time. Watching him watch me was unnerving, and yet I couldn’t make myself look away. My heart was pounding in my chest and my stomach felt like it was taking summersault lessons. His eyes scanned down to my neck and back up to my mouth, and I had the sudden urge to lick my lips. I heard a groan release from somewhere in the back of his throat.
Have. Mercy.
“How old are you?” I blurted without even a thought. Oh my God, I have completely lost all control. Kill me.
His eyes reengaged mine and he paused before answering. I saw a smirk move across his face like he knew he’d gotten to me and he answered. “Thirty-one. Why, is that important?”
“No, just curious. Ms. Sophie and I discuss a lot of things, but I’ve never asked her questions about you.” I never knew how to bring Cooper up in our conversations without it looking obvious that I was attracted to him.
“Oh and why is that?”
“Why is what?”
“Why is it that you’ve never asked my grandmother about me?”
“I don’t know. I guess your name never came up.” Looking down at my mimosa I decided I should take another drink.
“Ah, well your name has come up. Quite a bit, actually.”
“Really? Why?”
“At first I would ask her how you were doing. I knew you were going through a tough time after losing your father. I wanted to make sure you were okay.” He looked down thoughtfully for a brief moment. “And I admit that I’ve asked about you recently, in an innocent, non-stalker kind of way of course.” He might have actually blushed, but if he did he recovered quickly, because he was flashing that grin of his right after the words left his mouth.
“Thank you for being concerned. I hope she told you I was fine.”
“She did. She thinks a lot of you and if you haven’t noticed, she makes it her mission to—”
“My mission to what?” Ms. Sophie said playfully as she sat back down at the table.
“Your mission to watch over the people you care about, of course,” Cooper said, looking at his grandmother respectfully. He placed his hand over hers and smiled.
“Hold that smile, hon, because I can’t stay for lunch.” She looked back over towards me and very apologetically said that she had some business to take care of and it couldn’t wait. “We’ll reschedule lunch again. I promise. Why don’t the two of you go ahead and eat? I mean, you’re here. My treat.” She first gave me a kiss on the cheek and then Cooper, and she scurried off again. She didn’t even wait for a response.
“Um, I don’t know,” I said, looking at Cooper across the table.
“I don’t see any reason why we can’t sit here and have lunch. We’re hungry…and they serve food. Seems like the obvious answer is to say yes, Lily.”
“Okay, yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“Huh?”
“Say it.”
“Say what?”
“Say you would like to have lunch with me.”
“I thought I just did.”
“I want you to say you would like to have lunch with me.”
Fine. “Yes, I would like to have lunch with you.”
“Thank you. Was that so hard?”
“Yes, actually it was,” I said, although I couldn’t resist smiling at him.
Freak.