Page 34 of Rebels and Roses

She was going to be surprised. He wasn’t playing her games.

He’d changed the rules.

“I’m sorry.”

Jane didn’t know what was going on, but she didn’t ask too many questions. Yet. She simply stepped back so that Cooper could enter her apartment.

He looked exhausted, dark circles under his eyes. His shoulders drooped slightly, and his hair was almost standing on end as if he’d scraped his fingers through it dozens of times.

“Should I pour you a whiskey?”

He started to nod yes but then shook his head.

“I shouldn’t drink anymore.”

“Coffee? Soft drink?”

He’d always said that caffeine had no effect on him. He could sleep no matter what. Not that he was here for that.

“A soft drink would be nice. Do you still have some ginger ale?”

“I do. Let me get it.”

Jane had already quickly showered and changed into her pajamas which were comprised of a pair of panties and an oversized t-shirt emblazoned with the Winslow University mascot - an owl. Padding on bare feet into her kitchen, she poured him a drink and then handed it to him.

He hadn’t moved from his spot near the door. He’d just stood there watching her but saying nothing.

“Why don’t you sit down?”

She’d never seen him quite this way. He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t happy. Those were easy to decipher. What she saw in his eyes tonight… Whatever it was, he hadn’t shown it to her before.

He sat down on her couch, took a sip from the glass, and then set it on the coaster on her end table.

“I’m sorry,” he said again.

“Why don’t I sit down here with you, and you can tell me just what you’re sorry for.”

“Everything,” he said as she settled on the cushion next to him.

Not touching him, but close enough that they could if one of them reached out only a little bit.

“That’s a wide expanse. Can you be more specific?”

“We can start with the clusterfuck that was the dinner tonight.”

Ah yes, that had been one strange evening. Jane couldn’t remember spending that much time feeling awkward unless she counted the eighth-grade dance when the guy she liked showed up with another girl.

“I agree that it wasn’t the most fabulous dinner I’ve attended.”

“I don’t want back with my ex-wife.”

Frustration. It was in his tone. That’s what she was seeing in his expression. She hadn’t recognized it because he was usually so laidback. Only when he was talking about his father did Cooper seem tense.

“I’m glad to hear that. She does seem like a handful.”

Groaning, his head fell back onto the cushions, so he was staring at the ceiling.

“You don’t know the half of it. I’m also sorry for showing up here so late and without calling. I didn’t want to go home because Tom’s probably there. I didn’t know where else to go, and somehow, I ended up here.”

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