Page 41 of The Off-Limits Rule: Extended Edition

He gives a slightly nervous-sounding chuckle before saying, “Hey. My name is Ethan Townsing, and I’m friends with your brother. I’m a PA, and I work at the same hospital where Drew delivers.”

“Oh. Hi,” I say, slightly at a loss, because this conversationfeels odd. Cooper sees my speculative frown, and his eyebrows pinch together as he shrugs and mouths,Who isit?

I wave him off and keep listening. “I hope this is okay, but he gave me your number and said you might be up for going out sometime. I realize this is super weird because we’ve never met, but I’m hoping you trust your brother to play matchmaker as much as I do…” I’m slightly distracted at this point because Cooper has moved to press himself up beside me and lean his ear in toward the phone. He smells so freaking good. Like his bodywash, man musk, and motor oil.Focus, Lucy.“…anyway, I know this is last minute, but I was wondering if you’d like to go to dinner tonight?”

Cooper pulls a disgusted face mixed with a who-does-this-guy-think-he-is headshake.

“Oh…well…”

“Before you say no, I’m texting you a picture of myself right now so you can see I’m a normal-looking guy and not covered in warts or anything else that would be considered gross. I’m a PA in the pediatrics wing, and I have a seven-year-old daughter.”

My phone pings with a text, and sure enough, he is pretty normal looking. He’s wearing a button-down shirt, midthirties maybe, nice brown hair, and glasses.

“Got it, and your word holds up—you’re very normal looking.” Oops. Did that sound rude? Cooper stifles a laugh, so I think it did. “Oh, shoot. What I meant was—”

He laughs. “Don’t worry about it. I know what you meant, and I’m the one who saidnormalfirst, so I have no reason to be offended, remember? Also, I realize this is awkward, and you probably feel a little blindsided, so feel free to hang up and think it over before giving me your answer.”

But the whole time he’s talking, I’m staring at Cooper. Perfect,swoony, funny, hot Cooper. And I realize I have to say yes to this guy. Cooper is out of my league. He knows it. I know it. Levi probably even knows it. And Drewdefinitelyknows it, otherwise he wouldn’t have warned me to stay away from him. More than that, Ethan is actually asking me out, whereas, so far, Cooper ghosted me until I was the one to start thingsup.

Ethan is exactly the reality check I need.

Cooper is watching me closely as I respond. “Actually, I don’t need time to think it over. If Drew trusts you, I do too. If my parents can watch my son, I’d love to go out tonight!”

Cooper’s smile drops into a full grimace that makes my heart tremor with hope. Hope that he’s jealous?Ridiculous, Lucy.

“Great. I’ll see what reservations I can get on such short notice, and then I’ll text you an address and time. Want to meet at the restaurant, or should I pick you up?”

“Let’s meet.”

“Sounds good. Looking forward to it, Lucy.”

“Me too,” I say, trying to force some joy into my tone.

I hang up, and Cooper sinks back against the counter again, looking less confident and more thunderous now as he crosses his arms and studies me. “Tonight, huh? Didn’t want to play it cool and tell him you were busy tonight?”

I mimic his pose, leaning against the adjacent counter. “Nope. I’ve never been cool before—why pretend I am now? Do you have a problem with me going out with him tonight?” Oh, I really wish I’d left off that last part. I might as well have laid my feelings out on a silver platter in front of him and saidDigin!

His eyes narrow slightly, and because he is shirtless, I can see his big chest fill up with air and hold it for three beats before letting it out in a rush. “No. You deserve to go out and have fun.”

I resist the urge to melt into a depressed puddle on the floor.

A second later, my phone pings with a text from Ethan, giving me the name of the restaurant and saying our reservation is for seven o’clock. My first thought is that, on a normal night, I would have already eaten a full meal plus whatever Levi refused to eat by that timeandsnuck Skittles in the pantry when he wasn’t looking. My second thought is…“Oh, shoot. Thistle is a fancy restaurant, isn’t it?” I ask Cooper, looking up with wide, frightened eyes.

He chuckles softly and nods like I’m the cutest thing he’s ever seen—and I don’t meancutein a sexy way. “Yeah. What’s wrong with that?”

I shake my head, feeling the weight of my bad,baddecision settling over me. “I don’t have fancy clothes! I have mom clothes. Appropriate for crouching down on the ground and playing leapfrog with Levi without showing my butt crack kind of clothes.”

His grin widens, and honestly, I want to jump him. He holds out his hand for me, and I hesitate a moment before taking it. He starts tugging me out of the kitchen toward my bedroom. “Come on. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

I giggle like a silly little schoolgirl who just learned about innuendos and my brain definitely assumed that was one, and also because seeing his fantastic back as he pulls me toward my bedroom has carbonated my nerves, making them foam up through my body. “You’re going to help me pick out my clothes?”

“Yep.”

“Well, that’s nice of you.”

“Mm-hmm. I’m a stand-up guy.” Does anyone else think he sounds a little more gruff than normal? It’s probably all in my head. What jealous man would help a woman pick out the perfect outfit for a date?

We step into my explosion of a room, and I pull Cooper to a stop, my face flaming with embarrassment. “Wait! Close your eyes. I need to pick up a few things.”

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