Page 24 of Once Upon a Winter
When she couldn’t putit off anymore, Laura headed home. As soon as she walked in the door, Cooper came halfway down the stairs. “Come on up. I’ve got something to show you,” he said cheerfully.
At first, jarred by his remarkable ease, she realized he’d moved on as though nothing had happened. She had to adjust. Drawing in a deep breath, she followed him up to the bathroom. “Wow! It’s completely transformed! It’s so much better than before.” She gasped. “Is that a heated towel rack?”
Cooper grinned. “And the floor’s heated too.”
Stunned by the unexpected upgrades, Laura said, “But we never talked about that!”
“I threw them in because I thought you’d enjoy them,” Cooper replied, his eyes shining with pride. He added, “At no extra charge.”
Overwhelmed, she fought the impulse to throw her arms around him. The next moment, she wished he would stop being so nice. “I love it. It’s perfect,” she said, her voice filled with genuine wonder. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“Join me for lunch?”
Laura hesitated, feeling as though she were on an emotional roller coaster. She struggled to reconcile the conflicting signals he was sending. Of course, lunch sounded great, but if they both needed time, that wouldn’t help her throttle back her feelings. As for him, he was on his own because she was thoroughly confused.
She was still trying to figure things out when he looked down with a bashful expression that was way too attractive. “I’m an idiot.”
“Is this the part where I’m supposed to disagree?”
He smiled. “No, it’s a statement of fact.” His eyebrows drew together, prompting Laura to wonder if he might be as confused as she was.
Laura shook her head. “We don’t have to have lunch. Like you said, we both need some time.”
“Yeah. Now I feel guilty.”
At least he knew what he felt. Laura didn’t know what she felt anymore.
He exhaled. “I’ve been told I’m not good at expressing my feelings.”
“I thought you did pretty well.”
Cooper shifted his weight and leaned on the doorway. “After you left, it occurred to me that I might have given you the wrong impression.”
Completely confused, Laura said, “What’s the right impression?”
“That… I’ve been burned, and it’s taken me a while to recover. I’m still getting to know you.”
Maybe it was her accounting brain kicking in, but it was like looking at numbers, and numbers didn’t lie. There were credits and debits, and life didn’t look as good from the debit side of the ledger. “Well, so far, it looks like I got the right impression.”
“Except the part about how I like you. A lot.”
She didn’t know whether to be frustrated or to swoon. Swooning was gaining some ground.
“When I said we weren’t ready, I wasn’t trying to let you down easy. I was afraid I was getting ahead of myself.”
Laura supposed that sounded better, but she still felt apprehensive.
As he gazed at her, a bashful smile lit his face. “One thing’s for sure. We’ve got the kissing part down.”
Laura felt a blush come to her cheeks.
Cooper said, “But it took things to a new level. I hardly know you, but here’s my impression. You’re not the sort to take anything lightly, including relationships. So whatever we’re going to have, I want to do it right.”
Me too. Right here.Laura tried to calm her pounding heart. That was hopeless. The best she could manage was to murmur, “Okay.”
He looked relieved. “So, I thought we might start with lunch.”
“I like lunch.” Then she remembered. “I forgot. I just ate.”
