“Wait. Favorite? How many times have you been here?”
He shrugged. “Like, a lot. My family has a house here.”
She turned to him in surprise. “Then why are you staying at the hotel?”
He shrugged. “The boys wanted to. It’s a boys’ trip. No big deal. Anyway, it’s handy being right in Waikiki.”
Harper shook her head. He was full of surprises. As they continued along the beautiful coastline, she took a few photos, then focused back on her driver.
“Were they upset to be left behind? Grayson and Luke?”
“Yes, but they said they’d forgive me if I married you.”
Shocked, Harper let out a big laugh. “Good luck with that. I’m never getting married.”
Cooper glanced at her, then back at the road as they pulled into a large parking lot of a beach park. “Ever?”
She shrugged. “Probably not.”
He sighed. “Come on.”
Harper just shrugged again and got out of the car. “Wow, this place is beautiful.”
It felt relaxed, peaceful, and more private than the popular tourist beach in Waikiki. They found a spot to sit, and Cooper laid out a blanket and placed a large picnic basket beside them. She teased him about being a romantic as he pulled out a bottle of champagne, glasses, tropical fruits, cheeses, and meats.
“Hey, I spent all day putting this together,” he said.
“Liar,” she laughed. “Did the hotel do it?”
“A gentleman never tells,” Cooper said, handing her a glass with golden bubbles.
“A toast,” she said, crossing her legs and facing him. “To holidays in Hawaii, wonderful new friendships...and suntans.”
Cooper cringed. “Wow, you must be a terrible author.”
“What? Why?” she asked, surprised but laughing.
“That’s a really terrible toast. Let me try,” he said as she lifted her glass once more, giving him a look. “To serendipitous meetings, slow dances at sunset and open hearts.”
Harper held his eyes, reflecting on the past few days she’d spent with Cooper. She was right, he was a romantic.
“You win,” she said quietly, and they both took a sip. Harper looked away, not ready to go deeper with him just yet.
They nibbled at the food and chatted about their families and what it was like growing up. Cooper was from New Orleans. He’d spent years living in Massachusetts while at Harvard, going home for vacations or meeting them in Hawaii.
He had a PhD in neuroscience and explained he’d spent nearly nine years studying.
“So, what are you going to do now?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure,” Cooper said. “This holiday has been about letting loose and then I am heading home to New Orleans and will sit down with my parents and discuss it.”
Harper shook her head.
“I just can’t imagine talking to anyone else about my life plans. I’m so independent,” she said.
The last thing Harper would do was take advice from her mother. She loved her, but she’d always worked a minimum-wage job and was pretty miserable about life. So she was hardly the world’s best life coach.
Cooper shrugged. “Luke was being an ass the other day, but he’s right. Both Graydon and I are trust-fund babies. With that comes benefits and expectations. Its drummed into us all our lives. I’ve been away from home a long time, and now I need to decide what I want.”