And he was. She’d seen it last night. The way he’d been so sweet to his Aunt Virginia, taking her for a turn on the dance floor, more than once. The way he’d made his sister smile and his mother giggle like a teenager. Cooper Simon could make some woman ecstatically happy if he would just let himself fall in love again.
For a moment there were no more words. They each sipped their drinks and Cooper leaned along the wall beside her.
“You’re good.”
“I’m sorry,” she answered simply.
“But since we’re being so honest and all, I gotta say Abby, you’re no better than I am. You’re hiding, too.”
Surprised, she pushed off from the wall. “Excuse me?”
His glass was empty, and he studied it, swishing around the ice cubes so that they clinked against the side of the glass. He leaned close to her, his mouth near her ear and she held her breath as he whispered.
“You’re in love with my cousin and too afraid to do anything about it. You’re nothing but a big old chicken and if you don’t mind my saying, pretty damn hypocritical to lecture me when you’re carrying around that secret.”
Abby blinked.
She cleared her throat.
Goosebumps spread across her skin and cold sweat gave her the shivers as Cooper shoved away from her. “So how close am I?”
She didn’t answer him because she couldn’t. So she said nothing.
“If I came into your bar, if I ordered the perfect martini from you,” He paused, a dark grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes in place. “No, hold on. What if I had several perfect martinis?” He tipped his chin up. “Enough so that I spilled my shit and told you that I was in love with someone, but was too afraid of rejection to do anything about it. What advice would you give me?”
“I’m not paid to hand out advice,” she managed to say.
“Now who’s full of shit? What advice would you give me, Abby?”
He wasn’t going to let this go. She thought of Tucker. Of the kiss they’d shared the night before and the promise that would never bloom.
“I would say that if you didn’t at least try, you would never know.”
“Never know what?”
Abby licked her dry lips and exhaled. “You would never know if there was a chance for the two of you.”
“So maybe you should listen to your own advice. Maybe my cousin needs a kick in the ass so that he stops living in the past.”
How in hell had Cooper Simon managed to turn the entire conversation around to Abby and Tucker?
“He needs you, Abby, and he probably doesn’t even know it yet but,” Cooper glanced behind them, a calculated look in his eyes. “Judging by the pissed off expression on his face right now…” Cooper’s hand caressed her cheek. “I’m thinking he’s gonna realize that sooner or later.”
Chapter Eleven
Something was getting under Tucker’s skin and like a slow burn or itch, it wasn’t going away. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that it would burrow deep and torture him for the rest of the weekend—because that something had an awful lot to do with Abby Mathews.
Shit. He hadn’t seen that one coming.
Tucker settled back in his chair, pushed aside his crumpled napkin, not bothering to hide his scowl as he watched Abby and Cooper chat near the chocolate fountain.
He’d been trying to get her alone all day, but every single time he’d approached her something or someone got in the way. Like the damn wedding or—his scowl deepened—his damn cousin.
“What’s got you so pissed off?”
Tucker didn’t bother to glance up as Beau slid into the seat beside him.
“Or should I say who?”