“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She cleared her throat. “So what’s on your agenda today?”
“I have to get to work, but I thought I’d pick you up from your grandmother’s afterwards and we could go talk to Ricky together.”
Lexie had finished eating and Coop rose to clear the dishes. She stood and waved him away. “Oh, no. I’ve got this. You can go get ready for work. I’ll clean up and head out. I have to stop by the Hot Zone offices for a meeting and it’s easier for me to leave from here than to go home—if that’s okay.”
Coop nodded. “It’s fine.” More than fine, he thought. He hadn’t known what to expect from her this morning.
He’d sensed from her breathing that she’d been awake when he’d gotten up, but she hadn’t wanted him to know, so he’d let her pretend to be asleep, giving her more time and space. Now, though the wariness hadn’t left her gaze, she was speaking to him in civil tones and not rushing out of there.
He helped her bring the plates into the kitchen, but let her rinse and put them in the dishwasher, since she seemed to want to do her share. Either that or cleaning was a way of avoiding him. Whether or not they were discussing it, she was obviously upset with him. Coop didn’t hold on to hope that she understood his driving need to dig into this story or even write about it, but at least it wasn’t an overt source of contention between them.
“Is it okay if I take a copy of your book with me? I want to read it. It will help me design your site,” Lexie said as she dried her hands on a towel.
He nodded. “Take the one on the bookshelf. I have extra copies in storage.”
He tried not to squirm at the thought of her reading his work. After all, publication meant his words were out there for consumption. But Lexie’s opinion of him and his writing mattered, probably more than it should.
“I’ve been thinking,” she said, interrupting his thoughts. “Now that we know the ring really is stolen, there’s a good chance that the necklace is, too. Which means my grandmother’s in possession of stolen property. I need to talk to her and at least prepare her for the possibility that she might have to give the necklace back.” She leaned against the same counter he’d sat her on last night.
He shifted, pushing those memories out of his head before his body reacted more than it already was.
Her grandmother losing her necklace wasn’t something he’d wanted to bring up, and Coop was glad she’d come to the decision on her own.
“Let me come with you when you tell her. Maybe I can help soften the blow.”
Lexie shook her head, her eyes sad. “The necklace’s personal for her. Maybe she’ll want to be alone when I break the news.”
Coop narrowed his gaze. He’d met Charlotte and, despite her age, she wasn’t frail; nor was she irrationally emotional. He had a hunch she wouldn’t mind having Coop there, despite Lexie’s claim. Which meant it was Lexie who didn’t want him there.
Because she was trying to keep an emotional wall between them, something he refused to allow. “Come on, Lex. She likes me. Hell, she already considers me a member of the family,” he said with a grin meant to disarm her. “I’m sure she’d appreciate the moral support.”
Coop’s words were one thing. His goal another. In reality, he wanted to be there more for Lexie than for Charlotte. He’d already hurt her by not giving up the story and as their research and questioning progressed, harmful information might arise. He wanted to be there to help her through.
He could tell from her stiff posture and the uncomfortable silences that she no longer trusted him the way she had before. And she probably hadn’t completely forgiven him, either. But Coop was a journalist used to digging for information and working to get what he wanted. He enjoyed a challenge and he wasn’t giving up on Lexie.
He missed the comfortable woman who’d twirled lo mein in her chopsticks and talked a mile a minute between mouthfuls, laughing and smiling the entire time. He craved the soft, pliant female who’d come apart on his kitchen counter and again in his bed.
Coop never gave up. Eventually, he’d get her to soften toward him again. “What’s it going to be? I’ll meet you at your grandmother’s?”
She opened her mouth, ready to argue, then closed it again. “Fine, if that’s what you want to do. Be there around noon. My meeting should be over by then.”
He nodded, satisfied that she’d agreed. Though he already had an interview scheduled at noon, he’d just push it up or back, making Lexie his priority. “Afterwards we can go back downtown together and stop by the Vintage Jewelers to talk to Ricky. Okay?”
A muscle worked in her jaw. “Sure,” she said at last.
She wasn’t throwing pillows or eggs at him, but she was nowhere near ready to let her guard down. Coop was equally determined to stick by her side during their free time until he’d gotten past her walls.
He glanced at the clock on the microwave and muttered a curse. “I need to get going.” Without hesitating, he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her toward him for a goodbye kiss.
And not a quick peck, but a long, drawn-out, lip-locking, tongue-dueling, don’t forget what we shared last night kind of kiss.
LEXIE WAS FEELING CLOSED IN. Stressed by circumstances beyond her control, she needed time and space to think about her incredible night with Coop and the revelations she’d discovered afterwards. She also wanted to figure out a way to break the news to her grandmother about the stolen jewels and her grandfather’s possible role in the theft. Normally, when she felt trapped, she hopped on a plane.
That wasn’t an option this time, though she couldn’t deny the desire to see wide-open spaces somewhere in the world. But not when she was so embroiled in this mystery and…yes, with Coop. She couldn’t concentrate on work, so she canceled her appointment at the Hot Zone. Instead of heading home, she decided to do the next best thing to flying away.
Lexie found herself at the Empire State Building. She passed through security and purchased her ticket. Although early in the morning, the tourist site was already filling up, the lines beginning to form for the high-speed elevators. Lexie didn’t mind. The hum of voices kept her company as she headed to the eighty-sixth floor observatory, a place she’d come many times before. It was always worth the wait and the price of admission.