Love on the Line (Beaumont Legacy #2)

18. Cooper

Chapter eighteen

Cooper

A couple of weeks later, Cooper flew into Los Angeles for the day so he and Maya could meet with their event planner. The gala was only two short weeks away, and the pressure was on. After the meeting, where they’d gone through every minute detail so Jane could ensure everything went according to plan, it was like a stopwatch had begun ticking, letting them know their free time together was coming to a rapid end.

Thanks to the Friday evening traffic, it was over forty-five minutes to the place Maya described as “the best ice cream of her life.” Though they’d spoken on the phone nearly every day, the ride gave them an opportunity to catch each other up on the little details .

As usual, Cooper was starting to get that antsy feeling he always did when he had to leave soon. Draft day was fast approaching, and getting away from Charleston and the Sabers had been getting more difficult. He hoped it would be better during the couple of months after the draft, but he knew once summer hit, he’d rarely be able to leave.

The thought of not seeing Maya as much made his whole body ache.

When they finally parked, she was practically skipping with excitement. Cooper was glad to get glimpses of this Maya. It’d been a few months, and there were still times when she seemed to be grieving, but the charity appeared to be distracting her. Despite only having one quick coaching session, he knew she’d make an amazing coach.

Maya would make an amazing anything, though.

When they got to the front of the line, she didn’t even sample any of the flavors, choosing a scoop of lavender vanilla ice cream with gummy bears on top. Cooper tested a few before landing on the salted caramel.

It was just okay. He imagined the reason she loved this place was because it offered the mutant ice cream she seemed to be enjoying so much. Still, he finished the small scoop quickly and tossed out his trash.

Maya stuck a spoon of the monstrosity into her mouth as they exited the shop. “The beach is right down the street if you want to stop there.” She pointed ahead of them. “I know you like the beach. But only if you want to. ”

“Only if you promise you’ll throw all those gummy bears into the ocean.”

She gasped. “How dare you even think of something like that? Gummy bears belong on lavender vanilla ice cream.”

“Lavender does not belong in vanilla ice cream, and gummy bears belong on an island far away from ice cream.”

“You’re just jealous you have such bland taste. It’s too bad you weren’t blessed with taste buds like mine, or you could be enjoying the goodness that is this .” Maya put a spoonful in her mouth, sucking on the spoon, closing her eyes and moaning. It took great effort for Cooper to cut his eyes away before his brain started working through its many fantasies that only seemed to be getting worse the more time he spent with Maya.

Only now, half of those fantasies weren’t even remotely sexual in nature, and often, they involved them getting food together, cuddling while watching TV, or enjoying a night at a bar knowing they could go home with each other.

It just wasn’t the right time. Maybe once the fundraiser was done and On the Line was up and running, things would be different. Maybe the Tribune would stop reporting about the parts of his life that mattered least.

Like the post from today that looked a lot like a conspiracy theorist’s work, trying to figure out if he and Tara Carr were together.

Bizarre and kind of sad that reporting on his relationship status was someone’s life’s work .

Cooper followed her down the sparsely lit road to what appeared to be a private beach. “My taste buds are perfect, thank you. I just don’t like toxic waste. And have you been here before, or are you trying to get us in trouble?”

She grinned over her shoulder at him. “Who said those were mutually exclusive?”

Maya walked through a hole in the fence with a sign that read No Trespassing. Private Property , stopping as Cooper took it in. She smirked, and despite the shadows, he knew she was calling him a chicken.

“Come on, old man. There’s a hole in the fence. It’s practically begging us to come through and enjoy the view.”

“Yeah, that’s my fear. Next thing you know, there’s gonna be a guy with a shotgun coming after us,” he murmured as he once again followed her, ducking through the hole.

“Such a worrier. This is California, not Tennessee. The people living in this house probably don’t even own guns.” Maya ended the thought with another moan as she put one of the last few bites of her scoop into her mouth.

A breeze blew through her long hair, and the moon illuminated the small stretch of sand that led to calm waves. She took a seat a few yards from where the waves were breaking, motioning him to join her.

“It’s so calming,” she hummed as she set her cup down beside her.

“Does my presence bother you so much that you have to come to a private beach to get calm?” Cooper asked as he sat.

“Yes, I can’t stand to be near you for longer than a few minutes before I’m rushing elsewhere for peace and quiet. Haven’t you noticed?”

“I’ve been so busy doing the same, I guess I haven’t been paying attention.”

Maya pouted. “You wound me.”

“You’re too pretty to let the thoughts of any man wound you.”

She turned to face him, eyebrow raised. “Are you flirting with me?”

“Sweetheart, I’ve been flirting with you against my better judgment for months. Maybe even years.”

She paused for a moment, and in the light of the moon, he could see the reddening of her cheeks. “Do friends often flirt with each other?”

His heart fell to his stomach at the question. Maybe she hadn’t pulled away the times they’d almost kissed, and maybe she’d stayed tucked beside him on the couch after the disaster of a press conference, but clearly, she didn’t feel the same heat for him that he did for her. But when he looked at her before he responded, the smirk on her face told another story.

“Are we really just friends?”

He didn’t know why he asked it, because he’d continuously promised himself that yes , until he could prove to everyone that he was worthy, they would be just friends.

Maya looked at him thoughtfully before pulling him close by his Sabertooths sweatshirt, her eyes falling to his lips for a moment before they were back up, looking into his eyes. Cooper sat rigidly, wondering if he needed to pull away from her for what felt like the tenth time in the two and a half months they’d been growing close.

“I guess that depends on one’s definition of friends.” Her words were hushed, and before Cooper could process what was happening, she was pulling off her shirt.

It was as she pulled the zipper of her jeans down that he asked in a raspy voice, “What are you doing?”

“Getting in.”

“What?”

“Come on. Let’s swim.”

A few moments later, after he’d taken in the fact that he’d just seen his closest friend’s little sister strip down to her tiny underwear and walk with a purpose toward the water, he heard a splash, and she disappeared under the waves.

Something felt off. Maya was certainly fun, even wild at times, but this felt different, like she was overcompensating for something. Pushing limits she might not usually push.

Cooper stood, pulling his sweatshirt and shirt off quickly, then stepped out of his jeans, leaving them in a pile with her clothes. He walked slowly toward the water, sighing thankfully when her head emerged a few feet in.

When he finally made it to her, walking with slow, determined steps, he asked, “What’s going on, Mai?”

She didn’t meet his eyes. “What do you mean? ”

He grabbed her chin lightly, pulling her eyes to meet his. “Maya.”

She sighed. “I like being with you, okay? I get lonely when you’re gone, even with Viola and the tennis center and the lessons. Even when I’m busy or when I’m with others, I miss you. I know you have to leave tomorrow, and I guess I just didn’t want our time together to end so soon.” She pushed away from him, and he let go of her chin. “You just got in today, you know? I’m used to getting you for a couple of days at least,” she finished quietly.

A sharp stab of pain slammed into his gut, and guilt washed over him like the waves that moved them, wishing he hadn’t pushed her to talk and yet thanking the stars above she’d finally said what he’d been thinking.

“Sweetheart, I would’ve stayed up all night with you if you’d asked.”

Bright, hesitant eyes looked at him, as if trying to confirm his words were real. She opened her mouth and then closed it, searching his face before she turned to the dark horizon.

“I don’t know if you remember a couple of Thanksgivings ago when I showed up at the Barrett house in distress.”

“I remember.” Cooper had been outside playing with some of his teammates’ children, and when it was time to come in and eat, she’d been standing there, looking distraught and like she’d been crying for days. It’d been the first time he’d seen her since her birthday, when they’d nearly kissed, and his heart had stopped at the sight of her .

Maya had been hauntingly beautiful, and no matter how many times he’d quietly asked her how she was during dinner and trivia, she’d just shaken her head.

“I’d been, um, I’d been seeing this guy. Kind of. He was on the men’s tour and so we’d been friends for a while before we started…hooking up.”

Cooper’s hands clenched of their own volition at her words. Did he want to hear about this? She looked so vulnerable that he just nodded encouragingly, even though he was sure he didn’t.

“So, we were hooking up for a while, and we agreed it was just a friends-with-benefits situation, so it was my own damn fault. Unsurprisingly, I got attached. After we…you know…he would always make up an excuse to leave. As soon as it was over, he was gone. And I got it, because that’s what we’d agreed on, but there was still a part of me that wished he’d lingered. Wondered if it was something I was doing. Later, he told me we couldn’t hook up anymore because he’d developed feelings but still didn’t want anything serious. That’s why I showed up that day.”

Cooper’s nails bit into his palm as he tried not to lose his cool, unfurling one hand to push a wet strand of hair behind Maya’s ear while she looked out over the ocean.

“Of course it wasn’t something you were doing, sunflower. Never you.” He wondered if he’d ever made a woman feel that way. Knew he probably had. The thought flitted in and out of his head like a hummingbird before he focused his attention back on her. “And if you ever want me to stay with you, doesn’t matter for what reason, you just tell me, and I’ll do my best to stay, okay?” Cooper didn’t want Maya equating him with this guy ever again, because he’d meant what he’d said. If she asked him for the moon right now, he’d try and find a way to get it for her.

“Thank you.”

Maya pushed her hands up toward the surface of the water, then pushed them back down, up and then down, displacing the water enough to sway them.

“My mom was truly the only person who ever made me feel like I was a priority without a thought when I was growing up. Sure, Colton and Landon did their best, and I appreciate everything they’ve done for me, but they were older, busier, and dealing with their own stuff. Dad hasn’t cared about me from the moment I was born. If I couldn’t play football and continue his legacy, what good was I? So, yeah, Mom was the one who was always there, championing me, making sure I knew how much she loved me.” She continued looking away from him toward the ocean.

Cooper couldn’t stop himself from holding her any longer. He wrapped an arm around her waist, tucking her body into his and setting his head on top of hers. It didn’t feel right voicing the words that were on the tip of his tongue, that he wanted to make her a priority, not when he wasn’t sure what he was ready or able to give her. He hoped holding her would show her, at least, that no matter what, he was there for her .

“And then Mom died, and I was alone. My mom’s side of the family never reached out, whether because they couldn’t stomach seeing us after having to bury her or something else, I don’t know. But either way, I didn’t hear anything from them. And so, once again, I felt lost and alone. Even in college, my team’s love for me and interest in me always felt conditional upon my abilities. But at least when I was playing, I felt wanted. Needed, even.

“And then I met the girls, and I had a place. I had my people. I felt loved, even if we were often too busy to talk, even if it was just a wave from another tennis court down the way. And then all that stuff happened with Ryan dating Anya, one of the girls at the academy. That was hard for a while, but I still had my girls. But then I got injured, and it felt like I’d lost the people who loved me again.”

She was quiet for a moment, and Cooper placed a kiss to the top of her head, sensing that she had more to say.

“I know I still have my friends, but they’re so busy, we can hardly talk now that I don’t travel with them. It’s almost like the universe was trying to tell me, each and every time, that I didn’t deserve that love. That if I ask for too much, I could lose everything.”

He kissed the top of her head again, moving his pointer finger in figure eights on the bare skin of her waist. She’d barely taken a breath as she spoke, like she was airing it all to him, everything that lived in her head .

“I had no idea. I wish I could’ve been there for you during all this, sweetheart. I wish I’d known so I could’ve held you like this when you needed it.” He wrapped his other arm around her waist, needing her as close as he could get her.

“But now that I am, I want you to know that you are an incredible human being. One of my favorites. You’ve been through so much and have come out the other side so much stronger. Screw Ryan and Anya. And I don’t mean to speak ill of elders, but if your grandparents don’t care to learn who you are now, screw them too. You’re too vibrant and amazing to be pulled down by the opinions and whims of idiots. You’re Maya fucking Beaumont, and if anybody ever makes you feel like you’re not special again, they’re gonna have more than your brothers to contend with.”

This was one of many reasons he’d called the paper of that reporter—the one who’d accused Maya of sleeping with him for her job—to speak with his superior. That anyone could ever make her feel so small was unacceptable.

Like she was weary from spilling her guts, or maybe Cooper had just finally said the right thing, Maya rested her head against his chest, and they breathed in the salty air together as they looked out over the ocean. His sunflower, always so beautiful and vibrant despite the many layers of grief that lived underneath. The ones she rarely let anyone in to see.

As if prodded by her honesty, and despite never having expressed it to anyone, not even Colton, he said quietly, “In college, I dated this girl, Gabi. Well, at least I thought we were dating. To her, I guess we were just sleeping together. I was the person she posted to social media and went to sorority parties with but not the person she wanted to be with. I thought she was the love of my life, but to her, I was some trophy. The Bama tight end she could enjoy evenings with, but who wasn’t exactly long-term relationship material.”

Maya pulled back, anger clear on her face. “She said that?”

Cooper nodded. “She said she’d gotten the following she’d been looking for on her socials and didn’t need to be seen with me anymore. It wasn’t until then that I realized she’d never once said she loved me back.”

“And that’s why you feel like casual relationships are all you’re good for,” she breathed out. It wasn’t even a question. She’d shrewdly figured him out so easily, so quickly.

Cooper didn’t respond, worried Maya would tell him she agreed. He knew she wasn’t like that, knew she’d only ever made him feel worthy of love and kindness, but he still waited with bated breath to hear those fateful words he was so used to hearing. It was what the media, no, the whole country, believed. He wouldn’t have faulted her for it.

“You deserve the world, Coop.” She cupped his cheek, rubbing a thumb over his stubble. “You deserve the fucking world. Someday soon, I really hope you see that.”

They stood like that for minutes, until someone from the shore shouted at them to get off their property, and then they were racing to get their clothes on and get back to Maya’s car, twin smiles etched onto their faces.