Cooper leans forward slightly and smiles, looking more like a feral animal baring its fangs than a person giving a friendly greeting. “But here’s problem number one.” Cooper holds up a finger, sarcastic smile still in place. “You’re a selfish idiot, too arrogant to see that Lucy stopped wanting you a long time ago.” Another finger pops up. “Number two, you weren’t counting on me coming along and seeing that a woman like Lucy is not plan B. She’s the one you work your butt of
f to try to come even close to deserving and still know at the end of the day she’s only with you because you’re lucky. Like it or not, I’m here for Lucy as long as she’ll let me be in her life, so you need to knock it off with the rude comments. As for Levi, you sure as hell better believe I’m going to take care of him.” Cooper’s head tilts slightly to the side after his breathtaking monologue, and he turns remorseful eyes to me. “Uh…sorry about the language, Luce. I’m working on it so it doesn’t slip around Levi so much. I’ll get better.”
A laugh bubbles out of me, closely followed by a few tears I really wish weren’t leaking out of my eyes, because no one has ever stuck up for me in that way. I also find it absurdly endearing that, after all that, Cooper is worried I care about his mild language.
I lean forward and lay a soft kiss on his lips, pulling away only far enough to hover my mouth over his and whisper, “You’re the one who taught him freaking, aren’t you?”
“I’ll never tell,” he whispers back, and I wonder if maybe there’s a supply closet or something he and I can slip away to. It’s fair game, right? We’re still technically just “faking it”.
Brent plops his napkin down on his plate. “Well, this is definitely the weirdest and most awkward dinner I’ve ever had, and it’s safe to say we won’t be working together on rebranding anymore.” I think we all silently acknowledge that he is not defending himself against Cooper’s accusations right now. “Maybe you could have waited to make that speech until after the check came? Could have stormed out on a powerful note and made more of an impact.”
“Nah,” Cooper says, settling back and resting his hand on my knee. “We don’t have anywhere to be.” He looks at me from the corner of his eye, and we speak our secret language again. When we leave this date, the no-touching rule falls back into place. Would it be weird if I sat in his lap in the middle of this restaurant? Yeah…I might still do it anyway.
After our fake fake date, Cooper drops me back off at my house. Neither of us touched the other the entire ride home, each the epitome of decorum. It was complete torture, but I’m willing to go along with it because it’s important to Cooper to prove himself to Drew.
I step into the dark house and immediately find a little leopard blob sunk into the couch, feet propped up on a pillow on the coffee table, a halo of junk food scattered around her body.
“Hi there,” I say, leaning over the back of the couch to make eye contact with Jessie.
Her dark eyes pop up at me from beneath her Snuggie fort. “I ate it all.” Her voice is flat. “Every bit. Like a hundred thousand calories, and I couldn’t stop myself.” Her voice shakes on the last two words, and now I realize she’s not being funny.
I rush around the side of the couch and push through all the wrappers and sharp chip crumbs to snuggle in beside her. She lifts a corner of her Snuggie and lets me inside. It’s warm and cozy, and I think this must be what it feels like to be a cheetah snuggling with its pack.
“There’s nothing wrong with splurging every now and then. You’re pregnant—it’s one of the few perks.”
She sniffles. “That’s the problem. I don’t want to be pregnant. I don’t even know if I want to be a mom.”
I’ve been in Jessie’s exact shoes, and I know how she’s feeling. Which is why I don’t pounce on her statement with fear or try to convince her to take them back with my own placating words. I don’t freak out that she’s going to abandon the child on a firehouse doorstep just because she showed some uncertainty.
I put my hand on her belly because I remember how much I wished someone would sit beside me and love my belly bump—just share in the joy of it. “What else are you feeling?”
Jessie’s eyes shut tight like she’s trying so hard to keep her tears locked inside. “My butt’s getting fat, and I don’t love that.”
“Ugh, it’s the worst. The dimples get real.”
“And I’m getting stretch marks on my boobs.”
“We call those tiger stripes, darling. Get the terminology right.”
Jessie spills out a laugh, and together, we shake on the couch. I feel the baby kick against my hand, and Jessie does too. Her smile dips into a frown. “This wasn’t the plan. When I read the pregnancy test, I was excited. It never crossed my mind I’d have to do it alone at that point.”
“I know. None of us did.” I rub a little circle on her still small baby bump. “But you’re not alone anymore. You have me, and I’ll be there for you like my family was for me.”
“Thank you, Lucy. Thank you for not promising me I’ll find someone someday, or this will all be worth it in the end, or any of that other crap.”
I roll my head to the side to look at Jessie. “I’ve seen too many of life’s twists and turns to make promises of sunshine and butterflies…but I can promise to hold your hand no matter what comes at you next.” She smiles and I add, “Well, that is if I don’t, like, die tomorrow or something.”
She can’t believe I just said that. “I don’t know what to do with you sometimes.”
“People rarely do. Now, did you save me ANY candy?”
“You might be able to find a Skittle wedged under one of my boobs.”
I grimace. “I’m sure that would be a real treat for someone, but it’s just not doing it for me.”
“Fair enough. How did your night go?”
I unzip the side of my dress so my body can breathe and pull my legs up underneath me. My skin pops out like a can of biscuits when you first crack it open and the dough tries to jump out. I’m trying to love my dough just as much as I love biscuits.