Page 13 of Once Upon a Winter
Enzo shrugged. “You’ve got a certain… twitchiness around her. Like she makes you nervous or something.”
“Nervous?” Cooper echoed. “I don’t do nervous.”
The mechanic’s hearty laugh echoed through the dimly lit garage. “Yeah, okay. So, when are you going to tell her you like her?”
Cooper sighed. “I don’t—”
“You do. Trust me,” Enzo interrupted him. “Man, I’ve known you since we were five. I can tell.”
Cooper shifted his weight from foot to foot, the cold seeping through his boots. “Even if I did, it’s not… I can’t.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Both.” The word was a whisper, a confession the wind carried away before Enzo could grasp it.
Enzo’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“You know,” Cooper retorted, a bitter edge to his voice.
Enzo wrinkled his face. “No.” He peered at Cooper. “Really? Still?”
Sandra, Cooper’s high school sweetheart, had promised him forever but left him for somebody else. Sandra, the one who’d taught him that love was nothing but a farce, a word people used to disguise their own selfish desires. If he’d trusted his instincts, he wouldn’t have let Sandra in close. He’d shut down pretty well after his father died, but Sandra had worked her way into his heart. They said he was too young for true love at that age, but it felt true to him. After Sandra, Cooper got smart. He had a few girlfriends, nothing serious, because he wouldn’t let anyone get close enough to hurt him. He was over her. Only walls remained to protect him—walls he couldn’t tear down even for Laura.
Enzo sighed. “Cooper, Sandra was a long time ago, and she wasn’t right for you. Laura’s not Sandra. She’s different.”
Cooper smirked. “How do you know? You just met her.”
Enzo leveled a knowing look at Cooper. “I don’t need to know her. It’s the look on your face.”
Cooper shook his head. “She’s a stranger. She’s just passing through.”
“I thought she bought a house here. That sounds pretty permanent.”
With a shrug, Cooper said, “She’s just another city girl who thinks it’ll be cute to live in a small town. She’ll tire of it and move back. They all do.”
“Do they?”
“She will.”
Enzo stared in disbelief. “Or is that what you wish so you don’t have to deal with feelings?”
Cooper stared in disgust. “Wow. What has marriage done to you? If you pull out a hanky and start dabbing your eyes, I’m outta here.”
Enzo was the first to laugh, but Cooper joined in. Enzo brushed the hair from his forehead with the back of his wrist. “Sorry, man. The wife made me go to a couples’ retreat.”
Full of pity, Cooper said, “Aw, man.”
“But enough about me. About this Laura…”
“She has a life and a career. She doesn’t need complications.”
“Just one complication. She looks like she can take it.”
Cooper stared into the distance. “Yeah, she probably can. But I’ve got enough social life.”
“Sure, if you count talking to your dog as social interaction.”
Cooper threw a faux glare at Enzo. “Leave Duke out of this.”
