Page 16 of His Determined Bear

She looked like she didn’t believe me, but also like she wanted to, so she nodded.

I grabbed my satchel with my notebook, “Okay, now that we have everything taken care of,” I looked at Cooper, and he rolled his eyes but inclined his head, so I took it as a win. “How about we get to the fun part, and the two of you tell me what you were thinking about for your wedding cake.”

“My wedding cake. I never thought I would hear those words.”Kelly beamed and sighed wistfully.

“Well, your cake wish is my command, so tell me what you want, and I’ll do my best to bring it to life,” I promised. “If you’re not sure about which flavors you want, I can make some cupcake samples and bring them the next time I come over.”

“That would be great, thank you, Graham,” Aaron said, “and Kelly has some ideas she can email you.”

I smiled encouragingly at her. Cooper surprised me when he chimed in, “Mom, it’s your big day. You should have exactly what you want.”

I shot him an appreciative smile and turned to face Kelly as she began to describe her perfect cake. As she talked excitedly about her ideas, Cooper got in on it too.

Seeing his excitement first hand made me wonder if Cooper would want a wedding cake of his own someday. I knew Aaron had claimed Kelly. I wondered if Cooper knew that I… I sighed at my thoughts. It didn’t really matter. The wedding was something humans could understand. Aaron had told me that the only reason they were having one was because Kelly wanted one. He was making sure his mate was happy. Cooper didn’t know it yet, but his mom couldn’t be in better hands. Hopefully, soon, that would be us because I knew that if Cooper wanted a huge wedding with a thousand guests, and doves being released with all the hoopla, I would give it to him in a heartbeat.

In fact, it would be my greatest pleasure and joy to give him the wedding of his dreams.

Maybe figure out his favorite color before planning a wedding, Gray.

Chapter 7

Cooper

I checked my appearance once more in the bedroom mirror and sighed. This is not about you, Cooper. Still, that didn’t mean I couldn’t look nice. I just wished I had thought to buy more winter clothing before we left California, and I hadn’t really packed anything super nice. I didn’t think I’d be here this long… or that there would be a hot— nope! So not going there.

“This is not about you, Cooper,” I told myself once again in the mirror. This was not a date. I didn’t even like Graham, so definitely not a date.

With that reminder firmly planted in my mind, I walked out of my room. As I made my way to the front of the house, I looked up to find my mom sitting in the living room with a book in her lap.

“Bye, mom,” I called and tried to hurry out..

“Stop right there, young man,” she said and got to her feet. “And where might you be off to?”I knew my attempt to escape unnoticed would fail spectacularly

“Out,” I said and tried to make another move to leave.

“Out?” She raised a brow, “In Asheville? Have you already made friends here that I don’t know about?” I did my best to ignore the all-knowing gleam in her eyes that told me she had my number. It was times like this that made me question my decision to make my mother my best friend.

I lifted my shoulder and dropped it like it was no big deal. “Just Graham—” my mom’s eyes lit up like the Fourth of July just at the mention of his name, prompting her to lean in further like I was about to tell her some juicy secret.

I did my best not to roll my eyes, but it was difficult. “He wants to show me around Asheville for some reason.”

Her eyes got so wide I was worried they might fall out of the socket. “Graham’s a lovely man, isn’t he. And so handsome,” she nodded, smiling like she needed to convince me of his hotness.

“You know Aaron speaks highly of him. Very hard working and so kind. He was here for my Aaron all through Kat’s illness. Kat was Aaron’s first ma— wife. He told me that Graham showed up every single day while she was sick and continued to come by after she passed.”

Mom pressed her hand to her heart like it physically hurt, then continued, “I hate to think I could have lost him before I even knew he existed.” She shook her head like the thought was too much to even think about it. “Graham didn’t let him give up. That really says something about him, Cooper. He’s a really good man.”

I sighed and nodded because, really, what could I say to that? “Mom, I think you’re the only one that wants me to move here. I get the feeling that you think if Graham and I hook up, that would mean I would want to live here too. But here’s the thing, mom, this is your world now. Not mine, remember? I have a life and a condo to get back to in LA after the wedding,” I chuckled, “and now a house too, remember?”

She shrugged, “A mother can hope, can’t she? Please promise me you’ll give him a chance.”

I groaned, “Mom, you are reading too much into this, and there’s no chance to give him. This is a platonic thing. Graham probably doesn’t even see me like that.”

Her face changed at my last comment like she knew something that I didn’t.

“Well, what if he does see you like that?” she insisted, refusing to be dissuaded. “Just try to be open to what this town has to offer.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, “You sound like a—” I searched for a word, but the best I could come up with was, “fortune cookie.”

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