Page 17 of His Determined Bear

She shrugged, clearly not impressed with my analysis.

“I’m happy that you’re happy.” I suddenly felt the need to let her know how I was feeling about Aaron. “And Aaron… he seems alright.”

Her face lit up with a bright smile, and she leaned in, kissing my forehead to show me how overjoyed she was. She moved her soft hands up to my freshly shaven cheeks and held my face as she spoke, “ I’m so glad you’re giving Aaron a chance. I know you have reservations, but I promise he’s amazing, and he makes me so happy.” My mom was gushing like a schoolgirl over her first crush.

I did my best not to grimace as guilt washed over me. I just prayed she never found out that I was trying to dig up some dirt that I could use to get Aaron away from her. Looking at her eyes filled with happiness, I suddenly found myself hoping there was nothing to find.

I leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek, “I just want you to be happy.”

She pulled me in for a tight hug like only mothers can do and whispered, “I know, Coop. I am, I promise. I really am.” Then she leaned back so I could look her in the eye, “But do you know what would make me even happier?”

I shook my head.

“You. Happy. With someone that truly deserves you and will cherish you,” Mom said.

I smiled because I wanted that too. A faint image of Graham drifted into my mind. As I shook off the thought, a small part of me wondered if he could actually be that man. But as quickly as the thought came, I shook it off yet again because there was no point going down that road.

* * *

I’d been parked a few spaces down the street from the cafe for what felt like hours but was really only ten minutes. I wasn’t sure why I was still sitting in the car or what I was waiting for. My mother’s words were playing on repeat in my head.

Like I hadn’t already been thinking about him.

I groaned and leaned my head against the wheel. “This is not a date,” I told myself, hoping that if I kept repeating it enough, I would eventually start to believe it. “You are only meeting this man to find out more about Aaron. That is all.”

With that firm reminder in my head, I leaned back and took a deep cleansing breath, then breathed out slowly, trying to calm myself down. That peaceful thought lasted about two seconds when I looked up to find Graham walking in my direction. Fuck had he seen me? I considered ducking down in the seat like I was looking for something and hiding until he walked past my car. On the other hand, if he was coming over to me, I would look like I’d lost my mind lying face down in the front seat.

Shit. Shit. Damn. He’s going to think I’m a weirdo.

Deciding to take the bull by the horns, I opened my door before he reached the car and tried to get out. In my Graham-induced stupor, I failed to realize I hadn’t taken my seat belt off. I groaned and unbuckled it quickly, praying that Graham hadn’t witnessed that ridiculousness, then successfully made a quick exit from the car. I made it just in time for him to pull up and stop in front of me.

Suddenly breathless, I looked up at him and tried to place a nonchalant smile on my face. “Hi,” I muttered in the calmest voice I could produce. I decided to chalk it up to the whole seatbelt debacle, not my racing heart at the very sight of him. “I was taking a call,” I blurted.

I wanted to kick myself when those words fell out of my unruly mouth, especially as I felt my cheeks heat. I just knew they would be beet red. Such a great look on you, Cooper. I bet he knows I’m lying and thinks I just look silly.

“Oh! Right… I just came out to…, and I recognized your car.” Graham shrugged and took a deep breath, letting a soft blush color his face. “Actually, that’s not true. I was standing in the window of the café trying to keep an eye out for you.”

My eyes widened, and the galloping of my heart got faster until reality slammed into me. “Worried I wouldn’t show up for your ‘Aaron is An Amazing Guy’ tour?”

Even though I knew it was ludicrous, a part of me hoped he would say ‘no, I just wanted to see you, Cooper’ or something along those lines. I also had to remind myself Graham definitely wasn’t thinking about me that way.

“Something like that,” Graham replied, a small smirk playing across those kissable lips.

Well, that didn’t help one bit. Could the man be any more circumspect?

As we stood there on the street staring at each other, my body kept pulling me to lean into him as our eyes held. In those charged moments, I could swear I saw heat flare in Graham’s eyes, but it was gone so quickly it must have been wishful thinking. Yeah, I’m projecting my feelings— Nope! I didn’t have any feelings for this beautiful man.

“Let’s get this show on the road then,” I said and started walking, not sure where I was going, just to break away from whatever that was that had been brewing between us. Had I imagined that electric charge building between us?

As we walked, I felt the need to break the silence, “Your town is quite beautiful.”

“Thank you, I know it’s not exactly Los Angeles, but we try to make it appealing.”

“It has its charms,” I replied.

Stopping rather quickly, Graham held the door to the cafe open for me, and I walked in. Like I always did, I took in the space, mentally cataloging notes in my head about the décor and ambiance. And I had to say I quite liked the aesthetic he’d gone for. I could feel him watching me, causing me to glance his way briefly. Our eyes met and held as he flashed me a small smile. I returned it and wanted to curse myself for the butterflies I felt rioting in my belly.

I told myself to go into professional mode. Focus on the café, Cooper.

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