Page 77 of Save the Drama for your Mama
He grinned. “Well, it’s a good thing I’ve got all night, then. Is that a yes?”
I nodded. “That’s a yes.”
“Great—it’s a date.” Cooper said. “Plan on six o’clock, since I’m going to be locked up in the library all day writing. Any food allergies that I need to be aware of? Things you don’t like?”
I shook my head. “I eat everything.”
“Another thing we have in common,” he said, then gestured down the beach. “I need to get to work. Nice seeing you, Abigail.”
She smiled. “You, too.”
“And I will see you later, Melody,” Cooper said.
“Sounds good,” I said, trying to not look too eager as we watched him walk away.
“Wow, he’s so into you,” Abigail said. “Hunky man. Successful author. And he can cook, too? This is serious stuff here.” She squeezed my arm. “He’s a keeper.”
I was starting to believe that myself.
A bloodcurdling scream cut through the peaceful morning air. Abigail and I whipped around to see a woman flailing in the ocean waves.
“She’s in trouble!” Abigail gasped, clutching my arm. Before I could even process what was happening, Cooper had stripped off his shirt and was sprinting into the surf.
“Be careful!” I yelled after him.
He dove beneath the churning waves and swam to the woman as she continued to thrash and scream in the water like a woman possessed.
“I hope he can help her,” Abigail said, covering her mouth with her hand.
“He used to be a lifeguard—he knows what he’s doing,” I said.
My pulse pounded as I watched Cooper reach the panicked woman. She grappled at him wildly in her terror as he tried to help her. We watched as she latched onto Cooper and then scaled his back like it was Mount Everest.
“Wait, what is she doing?” I said with surprise. “I didn’t see that happening.”
“A very unexpected turn of events.” Abigail burst out laughing as the woman clung to Cooper’s neck. “She’s holding on tight to that bucking bronco.”
“This could get ugly, folks,” I said.
“Ma’am! Please! You’ve got to stop shoving me under the water!” he insisted as he struggled to peel the frenzied woman off of his body. “What are you doing?!”
“I’m also clueless,” Abigail said. “But if she’s trying to make a move, she’s going about it the wrong way.”
“Get me out of here!” the woman yelled. “It’s going to get me!”
He dragged her to the shore as the waves sloshed them around.
Out of breath, Cooper glanced down at the woman once he set her down in the sand. “What were you doing? What happened out there?”
“I stepped on something icky!” she said, giving a full body shudder for emphasis.
“Relax. It was nothing. See?” Cooper untangled some seaweed that was wrapped around the woman’s ankles and toes, dropped it to the sand, then walked over to grab his shirt.
“It appears our brave hero risked life and limb to save the damsel from the terror of . . . seaweed!” I said, trying to ignore how exquisite he looked with his shirt off.
“Say what you will, he still did everything he could to help a stranger,” Abigail said. “If you don’t marry that man, I will.”
I shook my head, amused. “And how do you think Brian would feel about that?”
