Page 15 of His Determined Bear

Remembering they had company for lunch, Aaron said, “Oh wow, I forgot the quiche and the lovely cake Graham brought, and,” he said, looking around, “we’re all out of lemonade.” He moved to stand, but I placed my hand on his shoulder and stopped him. “Don’t worry, I’ll get it.”

“I’ll help you,” Cooper said, immediately standing up.

All eyes went to him, and I wasn’t sure who was more taken aback by the declaration, Kelly or me.

“You will?” she asked, studying her son.

“Of course,” Cooper smiled at her. “You and Aaron did all the cooking. The least Graham and I can do are bring out some dishes.”

“I would appreciate the help,” I said, leaning away. I really wanted to see what Cooper had up his sleeve. I grabbed the empty pitcher and gestured for Cooper to go first.

He forced a smile for everyone, but his eyes told me he would much rather slug me. I did my best not to smile at him. Antagonizing him wasn’t actually the goal.

Kelly nodded, and I could feel her eyes on us until we disappeared into the house.

When we entered the kitchen, I walked over to the fridge, put the pitcher under the ice maker, and pressed the button to fill. The only sound in the room was the ice maker churning out the cubes.

As the silence between us stretched, I was about to say something when Cooper finally spoke up.“You’re not the most subtle person, are you?”

When the pitcher was full of ice, I opened the door and grabbed the bottle of lemonade from the fridge. Turning toward the island, I gently sat down the pitcher and lemonade before finally looking over at Cooper.

His lips were pursed, and his eyes were narrowed as he studied me. Once again, I did my best to hide my smile.

“I’m not sure I understand what you mean,” I said slowly, making sure to hold his gaze.

Cooper huffed, “Like hell, you don’t. Don’t you think I can see what you’re doing, Graham? Is there a halo award ceremony that you’ve forgotten to mention?”

I laughed, “I’m sure if there was one, Aaron would have gotten several awards. Why is it so hard for you to believe he’s a genuinely good guy? Or do you want him to be a bad guy? Would that make you feel better?”

Cooper pressed his lips together, his voice tight, “I don’t know about you, but I love my mom, and I’m not just going to take anything at face value. She deserves the best, and until I’m sure that’s Aaron…” his voice trailed off.

I studied his face and saw that he was telling the truth. He wasn’t trying to break them up. He just wanted to protect his family. And me, more than anyone else, could understand that because I would do anything for my family.

“Okay, how about this? Meet me at the cafe in town tomorrow,” Cooper began to frown, but I kept speaking, “and I’ll show you a little bit more about Aaron. And you can get to know your mom’s new home a bit more.”

I watched him internally debate with himself and kept very quiet like that would help him decide. The truth was, as much as I wanted to make sure he knew Aaron was a great mate for his mom, I also wanted to spend time with him. I needed to get to know him better. I knew I’d already been wrong about him. Cooper’s heart was in a good place, and even if he didn’t know it yet, it was my job to set his mind at ease.

And that task had nothing to do with Aaron.

“Okay fine,” Cooper said, “but I don’t know what you could possibly show me in town about Aaron that you couldn’t just tell me now.”

“Trust me,” I said.

He snorted, “Fat chance. Why would I trust you when I don’t even know you.”

“You could get to know me,” I pointed out. “And if you want a reference, I’m sure Aaron would be happy to vouch for me.”

“Yeah, because the mutual admiration society is so reliable,” Cooper huffed.

I laughed, “Mutual admiration society, I like that.”

He ignored me and picked up the quiche and the cake I’d brought. “You coming?” he asked, brow raised.

“Right behind you.” I quickly poured the lemonade into the pitcher while trying to calm my overexcited bear down. We were both buzzing that we would be spending the day alone with our mate. Plus, it gave me a chance to show him that my brownies were not stale. He’d just gotten one that was a couple of days old. He had to try them when they were fresh. I couldn’t have my mate thinking my brownies were subpar. My bear nor I wouldn’t be satisfied till he said they were perfect.

I returned to the table outside, and when I sat down, Kelly asked, “I hope everything went well?”

I smiled and nodded, “Perfectly.”

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