His eyes narrow slightly, and because he is shirtless, I can see his big chest fill up with air and hold it for three beats before let
ting it out in a rush. “No. You deserve to go out and have fun.”
I resist the urge to melt into a depressed puddle on the floor.
A second later, my phone pings with a text from Ethan, giving me the name of the restaurant and saying our reservation is for 7:00. My first thought is that, on a normal night, I would have already eaten a full meal plus whatever Levi refused to eat by that time AND snuck Skittles in the pantry when he wasn’t looking. My second thought is… “Oh, shoot. Thistle is a fancy restaurant, isn’t it?” I ask Cooper, looking up with wide, frightened eyes.
He chuckles softly and nods like I’m the cutest thing he’s ever seen—and I don’t mean cute in a sexy way. “Yeah. What’s wrong with that?”
I shake my head, feeling the weight of my stupid, stupid decision settling over me. “I don’t have fancy clothes! I have mom clothes. Appropriate for crouching down on the ground and playing leapfrog with Levi without showing my butt crack kind of clothes.
His grin widens, and honestly, I want to jump him. He holds out his hand for me, and I hesitate a moment before taking it. He starts tugging me out of the kitchen toward my bedroom. “Come on. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
I giggle like a silly little schoolgirl who just learned about innuendos and my brain definitely assumed that was one, and also because seeing his fantastic back as he pulls me toward my bedroom has carbonated my nerves, making them foam up through my body. “You’re going to help me pick out my clothes?”
“Yep.”
“Well, that’s nice of you.”
“Mmhmm. I’m a stand-up guy.” Does anyone else think he sounds a little more gruff than normal? It’s probably all in my head. What jealous man would help a woman pick out the perfect outfit for a date?
We step into my explosion of a room, and I pull Cooper to a stop, my face flaming with embarrassment. “Wait! Close your eyes. I need to pick up a few things.”
He doesn’t obey, just smiles. “Too late—already saw the pink underwear on the floor by the dresser. It was literally the first thing my eyes made contact with.” He’s so full of smug delight, and I race across the room, rip it from the ground, and toss it into my hamper.
Cooper sits down on the edge of my bed and bounces a little before turning a daring grin at me. His thoughts are projecting from his eyes as he makes a show of checking how springy my mattress is.
I point a threatening finger at him. “Stop that!”
“Stop what?” he asks, all innocence.
“I know you’re just trying to get a rise out of me by doing suggestive things on my bed. Knock it off.”
He leans back onto his elbows and—WILL SOMEONE PLEASE GET THIS MAN A SHIRT?! “I told you, I like seeing you blush.”
Great, now this is the image of Cooper that’s going to be burned into my mind all night as I have to go stare at a mediocre man and pretend I find him half as attractive as the Calvin Klein model lying across my mattress.
“You need to put on a shirt.”
He grins because he can completely read my thoughts. “Yes, ma’am.”
Levi strolls into the room and sits down beside me on the bed. Together, we stare at the closed bathroom door, waiting for Lucy to come out.
“We’re waiting to see if we like your mom’s outfit,” I tell him, even though he wasn’t asking.
“I like her dinosaur pants. She should wear those,” he says, offering up his suggestion.
I nod, ready to suggest it to Lucy, when the door opens, and she steps out. Her face says she’d rather be serving jury duty than modeling outfits for me. “Okay, first of all, the dinosaur pants he’s talking about are PJs. It’s completely acceptable to wear a T-rex on your clothes when you’re sleeping.”
I grin and hold up my hands. “I wasn’t judging, just wondering where I could find a pair.”
“I have some that match. Wanna see?” Levi is already darting off the bed and racing out of the room. I love this kid’s commitment to everything. I’ve yet to see him walk anywhere.
I turn my eyes back to Lucy and take in her outfit from head to toe. She squirms under my gaze and tucks some hair back behind her ear. “Well? Do you like this outfit?”
I pop my eyes back up to her face. “Oh. Was I supposed to be looking at the clothes?”
Lucy’s cheeks flush, and she tries to hold back a smile as she picks up a house shoe and chucks it at me. It hits my chest and falls pathetically to the ground, wounding me none. “Come on. Be serious.” I was being serious. “Do you like it or not?”