enough to throw caution to the wind. As he went to speak, I shook my head. “I’m sorry I questioned you,” I said, closing the distance between us and palming his jaw. “I know this can’t be easy on you, and I need to stop taking your confidence as a negative.”
Cooper leaned into my touch and smiled. “Wow… she’s good.”
“She cares about you… she loves you.” He didn’t seem surprised yet didn’t respond to my claim. I waited for him to ask me what she’d said, but he didn’t. And him not doing so could mean he didn’t care what she had revealed. Regardless, I couldn’t resist saying, “You told her you’re attracted to me, huh?”
“That’s stating the obvious,” he said with another eye roll. “If your ego—” I shut him up by pressing my lips against his for a long, hard kiss. When I pulled away, he said, “You need to get out of your own head. I find you very attractive. I don’t know why, but I do. It’s a good part of why I’m here.”
“What’s the other part?”
“I don’t want to be anywhere else.” He held my gaze for a long, electric minute. “Can we take one day at a time?”
“Yeah, we can do that.”
“Good. I’m going to go; it’s late. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”
I could easily drag him to my bedroom and finally do all the things I’ve been wanting to do. But not tonight. We had enough to digest. Tomorrow was another day.
“Yeah… in fact…” Making my decision on how I could learn to trust his decision, I added, “I’ll pick you up around noon.”
“Where are we going?”
“Miami.”
As the sedan idled in the Puglias’ driveway, I pushed my finger into the doorbell. Cooper appeared a few seconds later with his sexy scruff covering his jaw, a green T-shirt that revealed his muscles, and a pair of black shorts.
“Shit,” he said once he saw my green T-shirt and black shorts. “I never had to worry about having the same outfit on as my date. I can change.”
“It doesn’t matter. Where we’re going, no one will be paying attention to our matching outfits.”
“And where’s that? Should I be worried?” he asked, slipping his sunglasses through the neckline of his shirt.
“Maybe.” I brazenly took his hand and led him to the waiting car, very aware of his intoxicating masculine scent. In fact, it smelled similar to the bodywash I used.
Harry, our driver, opened the back door at our approach. “You’re not driving?”
“I plan on us drinking.” Among other things. “Get in,” I said with a wave of my free hand. Cooper released my grip and slid in first. “Thanks, Harry,” I said with a smile.
“My pleasure.”
Once we were on our way, Cooper looked at me apprehensively. “Why do I feel this is a test?”
“Because it is,” I easily admitted. “When is Rebecca being discharged?” I then asked to change the subject.
“Probably tomorrow. Marco had just left to take Antonio over to meet Liliana. My parents are arriving the day after tomorrow and staying a week.” He glanced out the window. I hadn’t thought about his family coming in. Of course they would be with a new grandchild to meet. How Cooper would handle our situation during their visit would be another test.
But now wasn’t the time to bring that up. He had plenty to get through today.
The short drive to Miami went by sluggishly as our conversation progressed in stunted bursts. Nothing more significant than small talk. Once Harry took the last exit and drove us down Ocean Drive through South Beach, Cooper’s attention remained focused on all the activity happening around us.
While waiting for a light to turn green, we watched a man in a tiny Speedo glide by on Rollerblades. He held the hands of two beautiful girls—a blonde and a redhead—in the skimpiest of bikinis and also on Rollerblades. They came to a stop at the next empty park bench, where the man kissed the blonde’s lips passionately before doing the same with the redhead.
Cooper twisted his head to look at me with raised brows.
“Anything goes in South Beach,” I said as an explanation.
“I can see that.”
It was the main reason I’d brought him there. No one cared. No one judged. If he could comfortably be with me in that environment, that would pave the way for other situations.
Harry slowed the car and turned into a beach club called the Palm. The lot was jammed as he drove under the portico, where guests