“Do you mean it?” Cooper asked, finally fixing me with a completely serious look. “Because if you do, that’s music to my ears. But only if you really, truly mean it.”
Nolan chimed in with, “We also need to consider what it means to start over. What does that even look like now that we aren’t all teenagers anymore?”
It was a good question, but it wasn’t one I could fully answer in three seconds. And anyway, it wasn’t all up to me, was it?
“Well,” I began. “I’m not saying it would be easy. And I don’t know where I would live full-time at the moment since I have to do a lot of traveling for my job. But my eventual goal is to cut back on the modeling and to work behind the scenes as a designer, and at least gain a little more stability when it comes to work and finances, and my future. Our future.”
Nolan nodded along. “We can help with that, you know.”
“Yeah,” Cooper added. “Not just with the logistics or a place to stay or whatever, but financially. We’ve been saving for a rainy day.”
“It isn’t a ton,” Nolan shrugged. “But it might be enough for you to scale back on the modeling work and focus on designing, if that is what you want to do.”
As sweet as it was to hear, I wasn’t ready to take the plunge of borrowing money from the men I wanted to have a serious relationship with. That seemed like a complication that none of us needed. But I wasn’t going to dismiss the offer too quickly either. It would be dumb to turn them down outright if it meant making my dreams come true a little earlier than I’d planned.
“That’s something I’ll have to think about some more,” I said honestly. “And we can discuss it when the time comes. I want y’all to be a part of my life in every way.”
“Damn,” Cooper said quietly as he watched the road ahead. “Damn, damn, damn. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve wished for a chance to have this conversation. It almost doesn’t even seem real now that it’s happening.”
“Doesn’t feel real at all,” Nolan agreed from the back seat. “But it is fucking great. That makes it real enough for me.”
Cooper and I laughed. I turned in my seat to reach back and take Nolan’s hand. “You’ve always had a way with words. And this time? I couldn’t agree with you more.”
Chapter Twenty Two
Poppy Evans
By the time we pulled up in front of the ranch house, I was upbeat and happy again. I’d even caught my second wind and wasn’t nearly as exhausted as I had been a half-hour earlier.
“Back to smiling again?” Cooper teased as we got out of the truck. “This day has had some ups and downs, hasn’t it?”
Nolan snorted as he placed a hand on the small of my back while we walked up to the front door. “She isn’t the only one smiling. You’ve had that same goofy-ass grin on your face since we dropped Muriel off at the resort.”
“Can you blame me?” he laughed. “I’ve waited a long time for this night to come around. And I feared it never would.”
“We’ve all waited a long time.” Nolan leaned in to kiss the top of my head while Cooper unlocked the door. “Let’s think it all through and take it slowly and try not to fuck it up this time.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. Well, aside from the part about taking it slowly. That wasn’t usually how I handled things, and Cooper liked to jump in with both feet, too.
But that was one of the many reasons why it was so important to have Nolan in our lives. He kept us sane and focused when we tried to create chaos in our lives deliberately.
“You know when we go public and announce our plans we’re gonna upset some folks around here,” Cooper said, eyeing me as we stepped inside the house. “Have you thought about what you’re going to say to your dad?”
I didn’t even try to stifle a groan. “No,” I answered truthfully. “I haven’t given it much thought because I don’t want to deal with the negativity right now.”
Cooper stepped in front of me while Nolan circled my waist with his hands from behind. “That’s fair enough,” Cooper said. “For tonight.”
And I wouldn’t be able to put it off forever. I didn’t want to put it off forever. Just for a little longer.
“So, since we aren’t talking about anything unpleasant tonight,” I nibbled at my bottom lip as I tugged at the hem of Cooper’s shirt. “Perhaps we should start celebrating our new plans.”
He grinned down at me while he shrugged out of his shirt and tossed it aside. “We haven’t technically made any official plans yet, right? We’ve still to do that.”