Page 38 of Rebels and Roses

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

Lucy’s lips turned down, shaking her head. She didn’t look angry at all. Just sad and disappointed. Jane’s heart hurt simply looking at her friend.

“Okay, I’m not going to push. I’m here if you need to talk.”

Lucy turned and walked into the backroom, leaving Jane standing in the coffee shop area feeling like shit. She’d been keeping this huge secret. She wanted to tell someone. Sheneededto tell someone.

She and Lucy told each other everything. Until now.

This was big, too. This wasn’t some namby-pamby secret she was holding on to here. Lucy was going to be shocked.

Jane’s own emotions had been swirling when it came to Cooper even before Fiona had hit town. She knew good and well he wasn’t the man for the long haul. She’d be crazy to try and get any sort of commitment out of him.

She’d thought she didn’t want one anyway. She was content with the status quo. But in the last week or so, she wasn’t sure. She liked Cooper. She liked spending time with him. He was good company - funny and intelligent. He didn’t pull any of that man crap that she couldn’t stand. He was nice to be around. There might not be a future, but there was right now.

See? This is why I need to talk to someone. I’m confused as hell.

She made her mind up in the next minute, striding into the backroom where Lucy was opening boxes of new books.

“I’m sleeping with Cooper. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you before.”

There. She’d said it. There was no going back now. That’s why she’d simply jumped off the ledge. No second guessing how wise this move was. It was done.

Lucy almost dropped the box she was carrying, but she carefully placed it on the desk before replying. Her eyes werewide, but it was clear she was trying not to scream or act surprised.

“Well, that’s…news. I didn’t expect that. Like, at all. Cooper, huh? I had no clue. Just how long has this been going on? A few days? Weeks?”

“Months,” Jane said, her voice soft. “Lucy, I’m so sorry. He and I agreed we’d keep it quiet. We didn’t want anyone to talk about us. We kept it from you and Zack. I know it was a shitty thing to do.”

Mea culpa. She’d kept a huge secret from her best friend, and she didn’t feel happy about it.

“We knew you and Zack wouldn’t have told anyone, but we just thought it would be easier if no one else knew. Frankly, I don’t think either one of us believed we would still be doing this all this time later. I sure didn’t. It’s surprising to me, too. Did I say I was sorry? Because I really am. I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you. I’ve wanted to. I really have.”

It all came tumbling out, words she could no longer hold back. She’d been dying to tell Lucy for so long, and now she had. It felt good to tell the truth, but awful that she’d kept such a secret from her best friend.

“I think you could be good together,” Lucy finally replied. “I think that you make a nice couple, actually.”

Wait…what?

“Aren’t you mad at me?”

“Yes, but I’ll get over it,” Lucy sighed. “I see why you didn’t tell me at first. You didn’t think it would last. Then it did. But you were stuck because you hadn’t said anything before.”

“Exactly. Cooper and I agreed that we wouldn’t say anything. Neither of us wanted the town gossips talking about us.”

“I can’t blame you there. They love to talk about Cooper and all his conquests. In fact, they’ve been noticing that he’s been alone lately. But he hasn’t been at all. He’s been with you. Howdid you do it, by the way? How did you keep it a secret for so long?”

It hadn’t been easy.

“We mostly met at his place. I’d sneak up the back stairs. When he came to my place, he’d come after dark. We pretended not to like each other, too.”

“That didn’t work,” Lucy laughed. “I could see that you two had a friendship. A strange one, but it worked for you both. I could tell that Cooper respected you.”

“I respect him.”

There was more. Lucy didn’t know he was S.S. Cooper. But that wasn’t her secret to tell. That was Cooper’s. As much as she wanted to tell Lucy, she wasn’t going to. She’d talk to Cooper about revealing his identity to his family and friends. Now that Jane knew, there wasn’t much reason to keep it all under wraps.

“You need to be careful. You could get hurt. Cooper isn’t known for staying with one woman for too long.”

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