Lexie used this place as her personal think tank whenever she was home and felt the world crowding her. The view through the windows provided a balm for her sanity. She knew the statistics by heart, but it never ceased to amaze her. On a clear day like today you could see for eighty miles. The sky was blue and seemed to flow endlessly over the rooftops, reaching out toward Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, even Massachusetts.
She remembered her first trip here with her grandmother. As one of her “playing hooky” moments to avoid a skating lesson, they’d taken the fast elevators together. Her grandmother had held her hand and told her to lean her forehead against the cool windows.
Lexie repeated the action now, touching her head to the glass pane and closing her eyes. When she opened them again, she felt as though she were suspended in midair over the glorious city below. She inhaled deeply and waited for all her problems to float away. The breathless sensation she’d anticipated filled her for a little while, but soon her mind drifted to Coop and the feel of his lips on hers, the memory of his body deep inside her own and the uninhibited way she’d responded.
She couldn’t allow herself to forget that he had an agenda of his own. The bigger the story about the ring turned out to be, the more invested Coop the reporter would become. Not to mention Coop the fiction writer. His interest was completely at odds with her own.
And that of her grandmother. Which led to the next thing that preoccupied her thoughts. How to tell Charlotte that her beloved husband might have been involved in a house robbery and her precious necklace might have to be returned to its rightful owner. Suddenly, the endless blue sky and expanse of sun no longer held the same appeal.
Reality awaited her and Lexie had no choice but to deal with it the best way she knew how. Head-on confrontation. Which also reminded her that she needed to reprimand her grandmother for spying on her and Coop, snapping pictures like a voyeur and sending them off to the Bachelor Blog for public consumption.
She righted herself and stood for a few minutes, waiting for the light-headed sensation to end. Taking one last look at the incredible skyline, she turned and headed for the elevators.
She wondered what Coop would think of the view and realized she’d like to share her special place with him and watch his reaction to the city they both loved. A chill rushed through her, the idea leaving her shaken and yet giddy at the same time.
LEXIE ARRIVED back at her grandmother’s with plenty of time to spare before Coop would show up for lunch. She needed to shower, change and maybe even sit her grandmother down and start the awkward conversation they needed to have. But Charlotte wasn’t alone. Sylvia had just put hair dye onto her grandmother’s scalp and it looked like Charlotte was about to return the favor.
Lexie glanced at the two women. “Didn’t I call and say Coop and I were coming by for lunch?” She’d suggested that he pick up deli sandwiches from her grandmother’s favorite restaurant on his way and he’d agreed.
Her grandmother nodded. “And we’re getting ready!”
“I can see that.” Lexie glanced at the purple dye in Sylvia’s hair.
“Someone didn’t come home last night!” Charlotte said, a twinkle in her eye.
Though she was an adult, Lexie flushed. Until now, living with her favorite relative had never caused a crimp in Lexie’s social life. She’d always been thoughtful about checking in with her grandmother, just to keep her from worrying. Yet last night she’d been so consumed with Coop that all rational thought had fled from her mind. She’d never been so head over heels in lust before that she’d stayed out all night, forgetting about what her grandmother might think.
That, too, was telling.
“I hope you didn’t worry,” Lexie said, concerned that she’d stressed her grandmother.
Charlotte dismissed the notion with an unlady-like snort. “Of course not. I knew you were in good hands!”
If her grandmother only knew how good. Thoughts of the kitchen counter immediately came to mind and another heated blush crept up her face.
“Grandma, I heard the Bachelor Blogger posted an interesting picture yesterday. Would you happen to know anything about that?” Lexie asked, changing the subject.
Charlotte and Sylvia exchanged fleeting glances.
“Of course not,” her grandmother said.
Lexie raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “Oh, really?”
“Really. Your grandmother would never send a picture of you kissing Coop.” Sylvia slapped her free hand over her mouth.
“Kissing? Was that yesterday’s blog? I hadn’t had a chance to check it out for myself.” Charlotte shot Sylvia a disgusted look before attempting to cover.
“Me, neither, but that’s what Coop told me, too,” Lexie said. “What’s interesting is we’d only kissed twice. Once here and the other time we were completely alone.” She directed her pointed comment at her grandmother. “I don’t appreciate you snooping or making my private life public. And on that note, I’m going to shower.” Lexie stepped backwards out of the room, keeping a watch on the two women the entire time.
To Charlotte’s credit, she didn’t flinch. “Sylvia’s staying for lunch, dear.”
Lexie paused. As much as she adored her grandmother’s friend, some news was better broken in private. “Coop and I have a lot to discuss with you,” Lexie said to her grandmother, trying not to insult the other woman Lexie considered family.
“No worries. Whatever you have to say I’d just tell Sylvia anyway,” Charlotte said.
In this case, Lexie wasn’t so sure, but she forced a smile.
“But if you need a private lunch I understand,” Sylvia said as she walked to the sink and rinsed her hands.
“Nonsense. You’re my person. You know all my secrets, so you’re staying,” Charlotte said, hands perched on her hips.
Which meant there was no arguing, Lexie knew.
“You’re more than welcome any time, Sylvia,” Lexie reassured the other woman. “Coop will be here around noon.” Which gave them a couple of hours to finish their hair and get decent, and Lexie time to put her night with Coop into perspective.
As if such a thing were even possible.
CHAPTER NINE
THOUGH LEXIE HAD AGREED to let Coop come over, it had been grudgingly and he felt pretty sure she wouldn’t welcome him with open arms. He stopped not only for deli but for flowers, too, hoping to smooth things over between them. Coop wasn’t a flowers and chocolates kind of guy. He’d never given much thought to the whole kiss-and-make-up thing, either, but in Lexie’s case he wanted whatever time he had with her too badly to let her stay angry.