Page 118 of Can We Just Be Happy Now?

Cooper eyes me for a long moment, chewing on his lip, and I don’t notice it was to fight back a grin until he speaks. “Not crazy. I wouldn’t mind having a kid of our own. But to be honest . . . ever since Troy became part of our family, I’ve had similar thoughts. It’s not just about what we did for him, but what he did for us. I loved my family before but it just feels complete with him in it, you know?”

Nodding, I agree. “I can’t imagine your family without Troy.”

He grins.

“Coop?”

“What’s up?

“You said ‘our.’”

He laughs. “If you think I’d raise what would surely be a wild child with anyone but you, then you are crazy.”

“Even if that means they have a Grandpa Jack?” I whisper.

He leans forward, kissing my shoulder, his lips cooling my already sunburnt shoulder. “We aren’t our parents, Soph. It’ll be up to us who we let into their life and in what capacity, okay?”

I’m still unsure. I want my dad to want this for me.

“He’ll come around.”

I nod as he presses his forehead to mine. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Never giving up on us.”

“Never.”

Chapter seventy

COOPER

NOW

“Wow. I forgot how beautiful it is out here,” Sophie says from where she’s tucked under my arm as we walk back from dinner. Her head is tilted back, trusting me to guide us, as she looks up at the stars sprinkled across the dark sky. After kayaking all day, we sat on the deck at the Mexican Peruvian fusion restaurant along the river, eating ceviche and sipping margaritas until they closed.

“We’re here.” I squeeze her shoulder softly, encouraging her to watch the step in front of us that leads to the wrap-around cabin porch. “We can stay out here if you want? I’ll grab a blanket and we can lie under the stars.”

“Yes, please. Perfect ending to the perfect day.”

I kiss her temple, releasing her and digging the cabin key from my boardshorts pocket to run inside. Sorting through the entryway closet, I pull out an old comforter and meet Sophie back outside. She’s standing on the worn wooden porch, in front of the A-frame window, in nothing but her white shorts and pink bikini top. Her tangled hair from a day of adventure flows down her back as she stares into the night. My heart thumps in my chest, thankful beyond words this girl is mine again–forever this time. It’s easier to be patient knowing we have the rest of our lives, but it’s been nearly impossible to keep my hands off her all day. Tonight is the first night since we got back together that we’re actually staying together overnight. It’s not that we haven’t wanted to. We just want to appreciate each other’s company and revel in happily being in the other’s presence.

Sophie doesn’t startle when I come up behind her but joins me on the blanket after I flap it gently in the air before letting it settle flat on the porch. Her head finds my chest the moment I’m lying on my back, and I wrap my arm around her shoulder, the other folding under my head as a pillow.

We lay there silent, the heat from each other keeping us warm enough as the light chill of night takes over from the heat of the day. Random thoughts flicker through my mind, a train going down a wild track that leads to a burning question. “What happens in the last episode of Beauty & the Beast?”

She squeezes her arm around my waist. “I don’t know.”

I glance down at her and her gaze shifts from the sky to me. “What do you mean?”

“I never saw it. I couldn’t watch the ending without you.”

The series finale aired the week after we broke up. I brush my thumb across her shoulder. “Me either.”

She presses up, leaning on her elbow, her hand moving to my chest. “I can’t believe you watched that whole show with me.”

“Of course.” I rub my hand across the skin on her back, tugging on the ends of her hair. “It’s our thing.”

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