AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I can streak across the house. Lizzy isn’t home for a few more days, so I don’t have to worry about her seeing me running across the house naked from her dad’s room. But I have no idea if Ramsey or Garner are still in the house, and that would be more than a little awkward.
I spot one of Cooper’s T-shirts lying on top of a chair in the corner and reach for it. It’s better than nothing, and it’ll at least cover the essentials until I can get real clothes on again. I slip it on and sneak out into the hall, across the living room, and by the kitchen. Almost.
“Good morning.” It’s Ramsey’s baritone, and I stop in my tracks and give him something that I’m sure looks like half a wince and half a smile.
“Morning.” I try for a peppy tone and fail.
“They had an amazing season this year. Didn’t realize you were a fan.” He nods to my shirt, and I look down to realize it’s a Cincinnati Queens Guard hockey shirt.
“Oh. Uh… yeah. Anything Cincy related; you know.”
Ramsey’s green-gold eyes light with amusement that I’m playing along with this ruse. He takes a sip of his coffee, and I start to walk away before he speaks again.
“Decided to bunk up together after all, huh? Wish I’d known. Could have come up here when Garner started caterwauling. I don’t know what she was doing to him, but he seemed to be enjoying it in between sounding like he was on the brink of death.”
I burst out into laughter and shake my head. “Oh my god. It’s too early for those mental images.”
“Yeah. Especially before coffee. You coming out here to get some for you and Coop? There’s a fresh pot.”
“Oh, um… I’m just…” My brain stalls out, and I can’t think of a single good reason or excuse.
“Gonna be hard to do the fuck and run when you live with him, darlin’.”
The bluntness of his statement hits hard this early in the morning.
“It’s not that, it’s just—”
“That you’re sneaking out of his room before he wakes up on his birthday?”
“I didn’t think he was the type to want women to still be there in the morning.”
“You think you’re ‘women’ when you’re living in his house, and he lets you spend time with his daughter?”
“That’s only because I used to date his—” I stop short.
“I know you were his brother’s girl. Which is why if you care about him, you’ll get two mugs and go back in there.” Ramsey’s voice is just above a whisper, but it still feels like a threat on behalf of his friend. I raise a brow at his bossiness, and he matches it. It’s enough to make me reconsider, though, and my eyes drift back to the hall I just escaped from.
Ramsey’s probably right. It’s better to have the awkward morning after conversation than have a more awkward afternoon one. We could get this out of the way over coffee and move on with things. I slip past Ramsey, who’s still perched at the breakfast bar, and into the kitchen to grab two mugs.
“Good girl,” he whispers under his breath, and I look back to raise my brow higher at him, and he laughs and looks back down at his phone. When I slip back past him to Cooper’s room, he’s still wearing the bemused expression, and I shake my head at him, which elicits a low chuckle.
When I get back into Cooper’s room, he’s just waking up, and he grins when he sees I have coffee.
“Happy birthday. Officially.” I smile as I hand him his favorite mug.
“You’re a lifesaver, Trixie.” He studies my shirt and his grin brightens. “And you look damn good in that shirt.”
“Ramsey asked me if I was a fan.”
Cooper winces. “Was he out there? Fuck. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I take a sip of my coffee and stare out the window. His house backs up to a patch of woods, but he also has a huge garden that runs the length of the back of the property, and I can see the landscapers already working out back this morning.
“So…” I can hear him thinking, and he sits up against the pillows, and I sit down in the chair near the bed.
“Last night was fun.”
“Oof.” His brow furrows.
