Page 23 of Rebels and Roses

She wasn’t sure how to put her thoughts into words. Cooper wasn’t a pushover. Far from it. He was laidback as hell, that was true, but he knew when to stand up for himself. For some reason, he was letting his ex-brother-in-law skate through.

“I don’t particularly like him,” Cooper admitted. “The entire Kemp family is a pain in the ass. High maintenance. Believe me when I say, it’s easier to just let him stay for a few days and then get rid of him at the right time. I’ve seen him and Fiona throw tantrums that would have made a three-year-old proud. I learned to pick my battles.”

It was sad, really. Jane had learned the same thing in her lousy marriage. Eventually, she’d stopped caring enough to argue with her ex Peter. It hadn’t seemed worth the trouble.

“Did you and Fiona argue a lot?”

It was a gamble - asking a personal question. Cooper didn’t talk about the past much. With her. With anyone. He was someone who believed in living in the present which she admired. But sometimes…she was curious. Just how had Fiona Kemp managed to get Cooper Winslow down the aisle?

“In the beginning? Some, but not all the time. Later, we argued almost constantly. Then she’d apologize and try and lovebomb me. Try to make it so I’d forget about how crazy and out of control she acted. She’d just laugh and say she’d been in a bad mood or something. Like her behavior was totally normal. I think that’s how we stayed together as long as we did. My normal meter was off. I thought I was the problem the whole time. I was no angel, though. Hell, I’m sure I’m not an easy man to be married to, but I think we both were lousy at commitment. She wasn’t blameless either. We both fucked up. There were times near the end I’d deliberately do something just to make her mad,and I think she was doing the same. It was a way to get a reaction out of the other person.”

This was more personal information than Cooper had ever revealed previously. She couldn’t deny that she was curious about his ill-fated marriage.

“You don’t have to tell me anything,” she said. “It’s really none of my business. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Even though she did want to know.

“I wouldn’t have answered if it bothered me. My marriage isn’t some big secret. I don’t talk about it because it’s over and done with. It’s the past. I don’t dwell on it or anything. Frankly, it was a mistake. I was younger and more optimistic than I am now.”

“You thought it would last forever?”

If he was going to open up to her, she was going to ask questions.

“I did,” he confirmed. “I wouldn’t have done it otherwise. I’m not the type to cross my fingers and just hope it will all work out. But I ignored all the red flags.”

“Red flags?”

Chuckling, Cooper shifted so that his back was against the couch, spreading his long legs out.

“Fiona’s family comes from money. I thought that meant we had something in common. Her old man is a lot like mine. Controlling, money-hungry, and kind of cold to his kids. I guess I thought we could bond over that. Turns out that wasn’t the case.”

“You didn’t have a lot in common?”

“We did to a certain extent. We both liked to travel, and experience new things. She didn’t mind roughing it either. She was happy to hike through jungles and sleep on the ground. Unfortunately, that’s where our commonalities ended. When we were done roughing it and back in the big cities, she wanted togo out and party all night. She liked drinking and dancing. She wanted to be with people every single minute of every single day and night. That was fine every once and a while, but I didn’t want to live like that for months on end. I wanted to get back on the road or just have a quiet night in.”

“Did you fight about it?”

“Loudly and often. The one thing I learned about Fiona was that she liked having her way. She didn’t spend much time thinking about other people. She and Tom have that in common. They take after their parents, so I guess they come by it honestly.”

“It sounds like a recipe for disaster. Peter was a lot like that, too. He had to have everything his way, right down to the color of our bath towels and the brand of toilet paper we used.”

“Eventually, it came down to that moment. You know the one…the so often talked about last straw.”

Cooper Winslow was so laidback Jane couldn’t imagine what his line in the sand would be.

Just what would make this man end a marriage?

6

Cooper didn’t have a clue what was loosening his tongue tonight. It wasn’t the wine. He hadn’t had that much. Perhaps it was the fact that he felt so comfortable with Jane. She wasn’t going to blab what he told her around town. She knew how to keep information to herself, and while she might enjoy listening to a bit of gossip at the hairdresser, she wasn’t going to take part by spilling his life story to others for fun.

He was probably talking because he was trying to make heads-or-tails out of his own behavior these last few days. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t kicked Tom out of his apartment. The man needed to go back home and deal with his shit. Nothing was solved by staying here.

But for some reason, Cooper hadn’t pushed Tom to leave. He’d been around the Kemp family long enough to know that it would only trigger a massive meltdown and tantrum. Tom, Fiona, and their parents didn’t like being told what to do. Everything had to be their own idea, or they’d dig in their heels and resist.

If Cooper pushed too hard, Tom might buy a house and never leave, becoming a thorn in his side for years to come. That’show crazy that family could be. They’d fuck someone over - even themselves - just to make a point.

And what was that point? That they couldn’t be controlled. That they’d do whatever the hell they wanted, when they wanted to do it. Not a moment before.

---