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“You even make cleanup sound sexy.” She laughs.
“I mean… cleaning myself off of you is going to be sexy as fuck.” I hold my hand out for her after she finishes tying her bottoms on, and she takes it.
“Cooper Rawlings, you are… something.”
“Thanks, I think.” I grab my hat off the ground and put it back on my head, straightening the bill in the back, and we make our way back to the campsite.
23
Beatrix
That night, when I step out of the RV after a post-dinner-and-shower nap, I see Ramsey setting up the picnic table with chocolates and champagne. I do my best to hold back my grin when he looks up and sees me.
“What’s going on here?” I ask, eyeing the setup he’s clearly created for him and the friend he has with him. “I didn’t know you could be such a romantic.”
“Don’t get any ideas, darlin’. I don’t have a romantic bone in my body. Just cold calculation on what it takes to get what I want.”
“Seems like more than that to me.” I raise a brow at the small bundle of wildflowers he’s put in a glass on the table.
“You saw what I’m like.” He smirks. “Coop said you found it inspirational.”
My cheeks heat. Coop and I will be having a little chat about oversharing. But I’m not about to let Ramsey rattle me again.
“You can’t be like that and be romantically involved too? Seems like long-term having a mix of both would be a good foundation.”
“I respect women enough to know that I’m not made for more. I’d only make them miserable long term. But one or two nights? I can do that pretty damn well.” He winks at me.
“You flirting with my girl again, cowboy?” Coop comes up behind me and wraps a hand around my waist possessively, kissing my cheek. Hearing him call me his girl does something it shouldn’t. I know he’s just being flippant. Just saying that to give Ramsey a hard time. But I like it more than I should.
“Nah. Just explaining to her why we’ll never get married. Too bad for me.” Ramsey grins at me one last time before he goes back to the task at hand.
“He was telling me that you’re being very loquacious with your reports about our day.” I narrow my eyes at Cooper.
Cooper smirks in response. “Well, I had to thank him for the help.”
I gently punch his arm. “You’re the worst.”
“That mean you don’t want to hop in the truck and go do some stargazing? There’s a dark sky park just down the road from here. I was all ready with blankets and snacks.”
I can’t help but smile. It sounds perfect. Almost too perfect. Especially after the day we’ve had already, and as I take Cooper’s outstretched hand, I can’t resist looking back at the wildflowers on the table one last time.
When we’re lying out under the stars, sharing a bag of candy and some pop that we’ve brought along with us, a text comes through from my mother, and I sigh as I read it.
“What’s wrong?” Cooper asks.
“My mother thinks she’s being subtle about her designs on my personal life. I thought we were out in the middle of nowhere where there’d be no service?”
“I mean, there isn’t any if you turn your phone off.” He smirks.
“Ha. Tempting.”
“What are her designs?” he asks as he pops another sour gummy worm in his mouth.
“She and my dad want me back in Seattle like I was telling you at the fair. Doing the political thing. Very specifically, she knows I have to go back to host Xander’s engagement party next week, and she was letting me know our family friends are coming and their son is in town.”
“Their son?” Cooper’s brow raises.
“He’s my age. We went to prep school together. He was the quarterback, and I had a crush on him back then. It’s all my mom remembers. Back then, he didn’t care if I existed, and now I don’t care if he does. The problem is… he’s all grown up, football didn’t work out, and his future depends on his political connections.”
