“Then he was just there, you know, like he was waiting for me to notice him or something. He had this—indulgent expression on his face and his smile…” She sighed. “Right, so we ended up grabbing food and I spent the whole weekend with him.”

  “Did you talk?”

  A shrug.

  “You left him Sunday night or Monday morning?”

  “Monday morning, right after he went to the gym. I grabbed my stuff and got out of his apartment and went home.”

  “Okay.”

  “And I found a note from him in my camera bag.” She shook her head. “He said he knew I would likely be gone before he got back, but he would love to take me to dinner. The next move was mine.”

  She was running. Oh, Rach…

  “You spent the whole weekend with him and you didn’t talk?”

  “We talked about ordering food. We talked about—you know some stuff but nothing…”

  “Rach,” I interrupted and it pulled her gaze to mine. “Do you talk to him at all like you talk to me? Or to Frankie? Or even to Jeremy?”

  “No,” she said finally. “We talk about some stuff, but talking about anything always seems to lead to clothes coming off. You’d think after two years I’d have gotten him out of my system.”

  “Not going to comment on that other than to tell you, I will never get Frankie out of my system and I don’t want to.” I held up a hand when she opened her mouth. “That said, I’m going to offer you a little hard truth. Not because I think you deserve it, but because I think you need it.”

  Her knuckles went a little white against the side of her cup. “I’m listening.”

  “Good. I’m not knocking sex or one-night stands. But if you are trying to start a relationship with someone, the first place you go isn’t sex. It shouldn’t be. An infatuation isn’t love. But you fall into bed with someone and it leads to enhanced feelings of bonding and affection. Suddenly, you think you’re more in love than you are.”

  “I didn’t say I was in love with him.”

  “You’re not saying you aren’t, either.” I met her flat stare without blinking and she grimaced. “When we have sex, or when we hug or snuggle or make out, dopamine is released, which is pleasure. But also oxytocin and vasopressin, which are bonding.”

  Her grimace deepened and she looked away.

  I still had her attention though. “So, what ends up happening is when you get physically involved with someone, you not only experience pleasure, you feel bonded to them. This is why when you get into a dating relationship that is very physical very early on, we’re in love with an idea of who we think they are.”

  I’d been lucky as hell with Frankie, we’d been stupid and damn near lost the best thing that ever happened to us. “Look, most of us want touch and commitment. Some are ace and aren’t interested, but most of us want both sex and romance, so we kind of rush into those things and then retroactively try to build a relationship afterwards. And then what ends up happening is someone betrays us or they’re not who we think they are, because we weren’t in love with them but with who we thought they should be.”

  Her hard swallow tugged at my heart.

  Our relationship with Frankie, our history, that saved us. “So, we fly in blind and then it backfires. Go to dinner. Talk about crap. Get to know each other. Don’t fuck.”

  “That the best you got, Brennen?”

  I shrugged. “If you had someone better to ask you wouldn’t be talking to me—finally.”

  She sighed. “I hate my life.”

  “Well, hate it over a bottle of wine and a nice meal. Talk to the man and see if there’s anything there. Just stop fucking him every time you see him.”

  “Easier said than done.”

  I laughed.

  “It’s not funny,” she complained, hitting my biceps with the back of her hand, but she was smiling.

  “Someday…” I promised her. “You’ll look back and laugh too.”

  She flipped me off.

  “Until then, I got your back. So does Frankie. All of us do. And if you need someone to kick his ass…”

  Now she genuinely laughed. “I know, Frankie already promised Jake would be all in for that.”

  Yeah. He would.

  So would I.

  Her laughter faded. “Thanks, Coop.”

  “Anytime, Rach. Anytime.”

  “Except in about four hours…”

  “You can totally leave me a message,” I offered. “I promise to return it tomorrow.”

  This time when she laughed—it was real.

  CHAPTER NINE

  CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES

  FRANKIE

  We’d had dinner together at home with Jeremy making all of Coop’s favorites. The fact he enjoyed most meals made that part easy, but it was fun to have all five of us in one spot for longer than a quick meal. Still, we couldn’t linger. I’d made reservations for both of us.

  The guys were always asking me out on dates, but the rule of birthday boy got what the birthday boy wanted, also meant I could ask them out. Granted, I’d dipped into my experiences with the guys for this one. But I was rather proud of the plans I’d made.

  I’d gotten dressed up for the occasion, one that earned me a lot of generous looks from the guys and more than one grumble that I was leaving.

  “Too bad, so sad, my brother boyfriends,” Coop declared with a cocky grin. “Tonight, it’s my birthday and my date with our girl, you will just have to ask her to wear it again some other time. You know what they say…”

  “Yeah,” Jake retorted in a dry tone of voice. “The birthday boy gets what the birthday boy wants and right now he seems to want a fat lip and a black eye.”

  He and Ian knuckle bumped and I rolled my eyes before making a quick round of kisses. “Behave boys, there will be no fighting. Just make Coop go running with us this weekend.”

  Archie laughed and Coop let out a squawk. “Hey! That’s mean.”

  I grinned at him. “You can run right behind me and watch my ass. You said that’s very inspiring.”

  The guys laughed as I threaded my arm through Coop’s. His frown turned into a smile. “Your ass is extremely inspiring. Night boys!” Outside, he glanced up at the sky and then down at me. I had on a light jacket but I wasn’t really that cold. “Have I mentioned how much I love this outfit?”

  “You did,” I said as we walked down the steps. Once upon a time, I would have objected to wearing it. It showed off a lot more skin than I would have been comfortable with. After the tour and the photography sessions with Rachel, I’d actually enjoyed trying it on.

  I enjoyed it even more when I’d come down for dinner. The guys’ expressions ranged from mouth-open staring to wild grins. The last had definitely been Archie’s and I could almost imagine the lingerie he’d be buying now, but that was fine. Coop’s delight had been the one I’d been going for, not that I minded the attention they all gave me.

  The outfit was close to the two-piece one Coop had picked out during that dress shopping trip in senior year. Only this top had long sleeves made out of lace, and the top and bottom were connected with a cutout around my belly button and lower back.

  The green was perfect, and though the top and bottom were also lace, they were over full cover panels that meant my ass and breasts were not also on display. The peekaboo with my belly button and arms was fine. It also let me show off my belly button piercing.

  When he caught my hand and raised his arm at the bottom of the steps, I did a little twirl.

  “Where to next?” Coop asked. I hadn’t actually revealed our plans for the evening. It was a surprise.

  “Next…” Right on cue our car pulled up. “We take a ride!”

  He laughed.

  Thankfully, the ride wasn’t a long one. I’d done my research to find something special and I was dying to show it to him. The fact they’d opened one in one of the midtown hotels made this even better. Coop didn’t say anything when we got out at the hotel, hand-in-hand we walked inside.

  The minute his gaze landed on the sign, his expression morphed from amusement to delight back to amusement, and then he grinned at me. “You love me.”

  “Yes, I do,” I promised him. “Even when you’re so busy, you forget to take your lunch with you or you aren’t getting enough sleep and I have to worry and chase across town after you.”

  “Aww, I’m not the overachiever in the group either,” he teased, then kissed the tip of my nose.

  “Wouldn’t matter, I’d go anywhere for you. Besides, I love that you love what you do.” He was going to be so good at it. He had more study in front of him, a degree to finish, then clinical hours to put in. “I’m proud of you.”

  Eyes gentling, he turned to face me and cupped my cheeks. “Right back atcha, Beautiful.”

  The kiss was achingly sweet and brief. “To be continued,” I whispered and I swore he smiled with his whole body as his eyes lit up.

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  Taking his hand again, we headed for the doorman in front of the elevators that would take us up to the top floor restaurant. You couldn’t even get in without a reservation. I’d made it a couple of months earlier, with a little help from Jeremy.

  “Brennen,” I told him. “Party of two.”

  If it were possible, Coop’s grin grew. The man checked his digital tablet, then nodded. Turning, he used a key then pressed a button and the elevator doors opened. “Bienvenue au puits d'amour. S'il vous plaît profitez de votre soirée.”

  “Merci,” I said as the elevator doors closed and we began the smooth ride all the way to the top.

  “You’re going to order everything in French, aren’t you?” Coop’s smile said he didn’t mind in the slightest.

  “Absolument. Je sais combien tu aimes m'entendre parler français.”

  He was still laughing when the doors opened to the fancy French restaurant with one of the finest pâtissiers in the city, or so they claimed. That was only part of the reason we were here.

  A hostess greeted us as soon as we stepped out into the dining room. It was very cozy up here, the lighting was set to low and romantic, the tables and chairs placed to provide privacy. Apparently, their system let them know who we were before we came up, which was great, because she just led us through this dining room to the second one that was located behind a huge oaken door. This one was a room made almost entirely out of glass that gave us an exceptional view of the city, and the tables here were even fewer and farther apart.

  Coop moved to pull out my chair for me as I eased off my jacket, then he took the chair closest to mine. Our hostess murmured a quiet good evening and enjoy, before she withdrew.

  “What are you up to?” Coop asked and I couldn’t stop my own grin.

  “Figured out I was up to something, have you?”

  He snorted. “You’ve been up to mischief for as long as I’ve known you.”

  “Yeah well, you’ve been in that mischief with me for nearly as long.”

  “This is also true,” he said, then a waiter approached with a tray bearing two large glass mugs of coffee, rimmed in chocolate—dark for me, milk for Coop—and a pair of shot glasses with Amaretto in them.

  “Good evening,” he said, his lack of a French accent making me smile. “Welcome to Puits D'Amour, thank you for choosing us this evening for your late-night rendezvous.”

  Since it wasn’t even nine yet, it was hardly late, but Coop’s grin was worth it.

  “If the gentleman would be so kind as to show me his identification.”

  Coop pulled out his wallet before giving me an indulgent look. The waiter glanced at it then nodded.

  “Thank you.” He set the coffees in front of us and the scent was rich and indulgent. Then he set the shots of Amaretto down next to Coop. “This evening’s rendezvous will begin and end with coffee, as per special request. I will give you a few minutes to enjoy your coffee before I bring out the first round?”

  “Merci,” I told him and he inclined his head.

  “Okay, if the goal was to get me horny, we were there five seconds after you walked downstairs in this dress,” Coop teased me before he glanced down at the coffee then at me.

  “That wasn’t the goal,” I promised. “Just a lovely perk.”

  “Uh huh.” He studied me. “Spill, Beautiful. I can see the excitement dancing in your eyes.”

  I laughed. “Okay, that’s not fair, you guys surprise me all the time.”

  “We’re good at it. You suck.”

  Mouth open, I gaped at him and he just laughed.

  “Beautiful, you have the most expressive face and when you’re excited, you don’t hide it.”

  “Terrible man, why do I love you?”

  “I used to ask myself that question, but I don’t anymore.” He picked up his coffee and raised it to me, so I lifted my own to clink the glasses together gently. “I love you and I love that you love me. That’s all I have to know.”

  I waited a beat for him to take a sip before I did and the little orgasm in my mouth had me closing my eyes to savor. French roasted coffee, dark blend, with the dark chocolate all around the rim and a hint of cream in the coffee itself was like perfection. Giving into temptation, I ran my tongue around the rim before I took another drink.

  At his faint sound of choking, I giggled.

  “You are so bad,” he accused me as he grinned and I lifted my shoulders.

  “Guilty.”

  Still, the coffee was amazing. Coop added the Amaretto to his, but I shook my head at the offer. I did not want to fall asleep on him, not even if he thought it was funny.

  Since we had already eaten dinner, this was a dessert date. The waiter returned with three large bowls, each one containing a different dessert. I’d picked them out on purpose.

  After he set each bowl down along with the different sets of spoons, so we had a clean one for each dish, he glanced at our coffees.

  “Not yet,” Coop said, particularly since we hadn’t finished these. Once he was gone, Coop looked at me expectantly and I chuckled.

  “Oh, this is my favorite part.”

  “I think I can change your mind later.”

  “I’m pretty sure you can too,” I teased. “However, partenaire parfait, Perfect Partner—this is a dish done with vanilla bean ice cream drizzled in white chocolate.” At the next dish, the one with crumbly cake and crispy torte along with ice cream and drizzled in caramel with cinnamon. “Croustillant missionaire—Missionary Crisp.”

  That got him, he laughed and then lifted his chin toward the third dish that looked like death by chocolate. Man, what a way to go.

  “That is called a double farci, Double Stuffed.” His laughter deepened, but I used the spoon to tease some of those layers apart to get him a bite. “This has cheesecake ice cream, white chocolate, vanilla bean custard and brown sugar with a dark chocolate drizzle and sprinkle. It’s supposed to taste like the fanciest chocolate creme cookie you’ve ever had.”

  When I held it up for him, he closed his lips around the spoon and sucked the bite right off of it. His eyes closed as he savored the bite. “Holy crap,” he muttered as he opened his eyes.

  “Good?”

  “Yes.” He reached forward and grabbed a spoon to get another bite but instead of eating it, he held the chocolate drenched bite out to me, no sooner did I take the bite then he caught me in a kiss and chased every bit of the chocolate with his tongue.

  Right.

  A shudder went through me as he lifted his head. “Just like I thought, that would be better.”

  Amusement and delight vied for top billing, but we took turns feeding each other bites then testing how they tasted on our tongues. He seemed especially fond of the Double Stuffed and we both liked the Perfect Partner. Poor Missionary Crisp though, we did make an effort at it.

  I was practically vibrating from all the sugar. When it was time for our next round of coffee, I was happy that it was darker and far stronger than the first round. Even the dark chocolate seemed richer somehow.

  “Happy birthday,” I murmured for our coffee toast this time.

  “Thank you, Beautiful.”

  We lingered for a little while longer, teasing each other, reminiscing about past birthdays. The guys tried not to linger on the topic too much, but I was determined to take back everything that had been pulled away. Maddy’s choices may have created an issue on one of my birthdays, but she didn’t get to ruin them all.

  Bless him, Coop didn’t bat an eyelash or bring up why he might be worried about it. Nope, we just laughed. When we were done, we took a separate elevator to go down to our room.

  “Aha!” Coop threaded his arms around me and pulled me back against his chest after I pressed the button for another floor. “I knew you had more planned.”

  “Of course, I did.” I held up my phone. “I even checked in on the phone and everything.”

  I loved the new system. I didn’t have to pick up a key because the phone let me scan it as a key and it worked to open the door. I’d gotten us a suite. It wasn’t huge, but we didn’t need huge. It had a lovely view of Times Square and all the lights.

  “You really went to a lot of trouble,” he murmured once we were inside. I set my phone and purse down with my jacket.

  Turning to face him, I looped my arms around his neck. “You’re important to me… and I miss you.”

  He let out a little sigh, then rested his forehead against mine. “I’ll work on my schedule—”

  I pressed a finger to his lips even as I stroked my free hand through the hair at his nape. “This isn’t me criticizing you or trying to get you to change anything. It’s me valuing you every minute we get together. I’ve been very spoiled the last few years.”

  He nipped my finger and then raised his brows. “Yeah?”

  “Oh, yeah. You see, my best friend lived three doors down from me for years. He was always right there whenever I needed him. I saw him every day. Sometimes, I saw him for hours in and out every day. Only twice did he leave for summer vacations where I didn’t get to see him and he still called me all the time.”

  “Sounds like a good guy.”

 

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