Cooper (The Family Simon #6) - Juliana Stone Page 0,30

she continued. “I’m not… We’re not friends.” She blew out a long breath, more than a little flustered as she attempted a smile. “That didn’t come out right.”

She glanced up at him, looking more than a little unsure.

“This is Morgan,” Cooper said. “She helped me get things ready and…” He glanced at Morgan. “I hope she stays for dinner, because the potatoes we made are probably the best damn potatoes in Maine.”

“Really,” Charlie said with a chuckle. “The last time you had my potatoes, you told me they were the best damn potatoes in Maine.”

“Yeah well, our fancy potatoes have a secret ingredient, and sorry to say, but they kick ass.”

“We’ll see about that.” Charlie smiled at Morgan. “I’m glad you’re staying. Dealing with these two goofballs is tiring.”

Morgan shook her head. “Oh, I don’t think I’m staying.”

“Why not?” Cooper asked. “You already told me you had nothing on.” He frowned. “What’s your dad up to? I can drive to town and get him if you like.”

“He’s over at Hank’s,” Charlie said. “I saw his truck in the driveway. So please stay.”

“That settles it, then. Besides, who says no to a pregnant lady?” Cooper didn’t give Morgan a chance to protest or come up with an excuse to leave. He had a feeling that if she did, she’d spend the rest of the afternoon and evening alone. No way was that happening.

Cooper opened the bottle of chilled white wine and poured a glass for Morgan, while his mother and Charlie helped themselves to sparkling water.

“I hope you didn’t feel like you had to invite me for dinner,” Morgan said, voice lowered as she accepted the glass of wine. “This evening should be for your family.”

He winked, liking the way the pink in her cheeks deepened even more. “I want you here.” Cooper Simon was looking forward to peeling back some of Morgan Campbell’s layers.

His brother scooped up the fish, while Cooper grabbed a couple of cold beers. The two men headed outdoors to do what men generally did. Shoot the shit, drink a few cold ones, and pretend like firing up the barbecue was a delicate operation that needed manly attention.

He was pretty sure the women knew it was total BS, but it was a routine that worked, and when something wasn’t broken, why fix it?

The women settled around the island in the kitchen, and Cooper glanced back, just for a second. He didn’t know it yet, but the sight of Morgan sitting there, a slow, gentle smile on her face, was something he would remember later. Much later.

It was the beginning of something he couldn’t put a label on. But it was a “something” that could change both of them.

If they allowed it to.

12

As it turned out, the potatoes Cooper and Morgan prepared were pretty damn good. So was the fish and the salad. But more importantly, for someone who’d been hiding way too long, the company was all a girl could ask for.

It was ages since Morgan had been so relaxed. Of course, the entire bottle of wine she’d finished might have had something to do with it. Or maybe it was just the fact that, for a few hours, she pushed aside her pathetic life to enjoy being with, what appeared to her to be, a normal family.

She didn’t think about her father and his drinking, or the fact that he’d given up on living long before she’d come back to Fisherman’s Landing. She didn’t ponder the logistics of living in the same town as Nathan and Christy. Or how she was going to react when she eventually ran into them. And she would. No way that could be avoided.

She didn’t dwell on any of it.

Instead, she let herself fall under the spell that was Charlie and Maverick. Their love for each other was palpable. It was a living, breathing thing that permeated the air and wrapped every single one of them in a piece of their happiness.

It was in the soft touches, the shared smiles, and the secret looks they thought no one else saw. But Morgan did. She saw all of it right up until they left to go home. While Cooper was saying good-bye to his mother, Maverick slid his hand across Charlie’s belly and bent low to plant a kiss there. Right where their child grew. An ache bloomed inside Morgan, and she turned away.

“I hope I see you again.” Isabel smiled at Morgan. “And I’m so sorry we’ve no room in our