Page 24 of Craving Cooper

“You’ll stay for something to eat, won’t you?” Brady says, pouring me an ice-cold beer.

Part of me is tempted to go home. My shower is beckoning… as is my bed. But I don’t relish the prospect of cooking, so I agree, and I take charge of barbecuing some chicken and burgers, while Brady prepares a salad. Laurel wanted to do it, but there’s no way she can stand for that length of time. Fortunately, none of it takes very long, and we eat in the living room, which Addy seems to find amusing.

“She’s not used to eating like this,” Laurel says, lying out on one of the couches, while Brady helps Addy with the plate on her lap. She’s struggling to balance it, and in the end, he puts it on the coffee table, and she kneels on the floor to eat. It seems safer.

“I’m sure you had something else in mind for your weekend,” Brady says, smiling at me as he settles back down to his own meal.

“Only laundry, and sleeping.” I smile at him, cutting into my chicken. “And I can catch up with both of those during the week.”

Laurel’s clearly struggling to get comfortable and eat, and in the end, Brady goes over and kneels beside her, taking her plate and feeding her. She smiles at him, saying she feels pathetic, but he just kisses her forehead and shakes his head. It’s odd to see my oldest friend being so tender and domesticated. Odd, but nice.

Despite Laurel’s difficulties, it takes no time at all to finish, and while Brady puts Addy to bed, I stack the dishwasher and tidy the kitchen, fixing us all a coffee by the time he returns.

“I’ll drink this and then go home,” I say, putting the cups on the coffee table. Brady hands one to Laurel, taking another for himself, and sits on the same couch as me, looking across at her with a smile.

“Addy can’t wait to tell all her friends at school that she’s living in a new house,” he says, and Laurel claps her hand to her mouth, making Brady sit forward, concern etched on his face. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“I just realized… how am I gonna get her to school? I can barely walk, let alone…”

“I’ll take her,” he says, interrupting the flow of panic. “And I’ll collect her in the afternoon, and bring her home, too.”

“How? You’re working.”

“I’m sure I won’t be missed for ten minutes,” he says, giving her a reassuring smile, and she nods her head, sipping her coffee. Brady sits back again and turns to me, holding his cup in one hand while he rests the other arm on the back of the couch. “Have you heard anything from Meredith?” he asks, raising his eyebrows.

“No.”

“You’ve been dying to ask him that all day, haven’t you?” Laurel says, and we both turn to face her. She’s smiling, and although her attention is focused on Brady, she glances at me, tilting her head, like she knows something I don’t.

“Yes,” he says, surprising me, and I look back at him.

“Then why haven’t you?”

“Because Addy has a habit of repeating every damn thing she hears,” he says. “And she usually does it at the most inappropriate time possible.” He glances at Laurel, and I wonder what the look in his eyes might mean… although it’s almost certainly got nothing to do with me. I imagine they might have said something intimate to each other within Addy’s earshot, only for it to come back and bite them, which makes me smile.

“You don’t seem unhappy about it,” Laurel says.

“About what?”

She rolls her eyes. “Not hearing from Meredith.”

“No… well…” I can’t think what to say to that. I don’t feel unhappy, although I suppose it would be nice to know where I stand. Her silence tells me nothing… except that she likes to keep me waiting.

“Why do you stay with her?” Laurel asks, and I turn in my seat so I can look at her properly. I can understand Brady’s fascination with her… even if I know I wouldn’t have waited nine years for her. She’s very beautiful, and he’s a lucky guy.

“Why do I stay?”

“Yes.” She nods her head, just gently, mindful of every move. “All you ever do is fight.”

I tilt my head, then turn it toward Brady, who raises his eyebrows. “Was it meant to be a secret?” he says.

“No. I guess not.”

“In which case, why do you stay?” Laurel says, repeating her question. “Has it never occurred to you the grass might be greener elsewhere?”

“Of course it has.”

“So you’ve thought about leaving her?”

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