Page 70 of Cooper

I smile at the text.

“Oh, you have the smile of a woman who’s falling in love,” Casey says, watching me.

I chuckle. “Maybe.”

“I’ll be ready to go in two minutes. Just need to finish a couple of emails and we can get going.”

“No rush.” I sink onto the couch and respond to Cooper.

NATALIA: The only thing in danger today is my wallet. One of our stops will be a boutique she loves that has great clothes. Not that I go out much, but I basically joined the military with nothing but a duffel bag, so my wardrobe needs updating.

COOPER: We’ll find places for you to wear nice things.

NATALIA: You’ve already seen me in my one and only little black dress.

COOPER: And that gorgeous gown you wore to the ball.

NATALIA: I don’t know if I’ll ever wear that again. LOL

COOPER: We’ll figure it out. Just stay vigilant. I’ll be watching your movements on the tracker.

NATALIA: Joe has our itinerary but sometimes we veer off course if she sees something she wants to look at. We don’t go into the city often, so she tries to do as much as possible in one trip.

COOPER: No worries. I’ll have my eyes on you guys and Ace will be nearby.

NATALIA: Thank you. See you tonight. If we’re late—and it happens—you can eat without me.

COOPER: Not a chance. Unless you think you’ll be shopping until midnight.

NATALIA: No, we’ll most likely be home by four. If we’re delayed, maybe six or seven.

COOPER: I’ll wait. Text me when you’re on the way and I’ll order food for us.

NATALIA: I think I like this living together thing.

COOPER: I like it too.

NATALIA: All right, I have to go. I’ll check in later.

COOPER: Have fun.

I put my phone away as Casey slips on a pair of sandals.

“All right,” she says. “I need gifts for the twins since their birthday is this month, and Edita’s birthday is early next month.” Edita is her assistant.

“I’d like to do a little shopping too,” I say thoughtfully. “My wardrobe is severely lacking. And now that I have a man in my life?—”

“I know an amazing lingerie shop!” Casey says excitedly. “And I could use something new to titillate my husband with…”

“Did you just saytitillate?” I ask, laughing.

“Yes. Why? Don’t you like that word?”

“I don’t know… it feels like it’s TMI.”

She bursts out laughing. “TMI would be me telling you how big his dick is. Telling you I want to titillate him is pretty innocent, all things considered.”

“Ew!” I wrinkle my nose, though I’m not really grossed out. I like Casey and we’ve gotten close since I got back from Iraq. She’s not what you’d expect royalty to be, and though there are certainly lines I would never cross, we’re still fairly comfortable with each other.

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