Love on the Line (Beaumont Legacy #2)

43. Cooper

Chapter forty-three

Cooper

T hree weeks later, the day after the Sabertooths won their first preseason game, Cooper went through the motions of pool recovery, then watched some film and showered before meeting Maya at the entrance of the facility. She looked breathtaking, unsurprisingly, in a loose tennis dress, her long hair down and a folder full of papers in one of her hands.

Cooper hadn’t seen her in two days, since he’d left for Minnesota for the game, though it’d felt like eons. Her smile was beautiful, and he took her by the hand and pulled her into an empty meeting room past the front desk, waving at the guy behind it.

Maya giggled as he closed the door of the dark room. “I should say hi to Colton before we go talk to the philanthropy department, right? ”

“Screw Colton—we’ll see him tonight for dinner.” Cooper dropped his forehead to hers, taking her face in both his hands and kissing her deeply. After a few seconds, he pulled away and whispered, “I missed you.”

Maya grabbed him by his T-shirt and pulled him back for another kiss. “I missed you more.”

“You think we have time to have a little fun in here before our meeting?”

She shook her head, fixing her dress. “Definitely not. Krista’s going to be expecting us any second now.”

Maya had spent the last few weeks painstakingly putting together a proposal for the Sabertooths’ philanthropy department in the hopes that they would be willing to create a board and provide funding to allow for a branch of On the Line in Charleston, with the potential to expand all over the country. Cooper had tried to be helpful, but it often ended in Maya telling him he was distracting her, or with them in bed.

Cooper knew she hated the idea of using his and Colton’s team for better funding and exposure, but she was doing much better about accepting help, even when she wasn’t completely okay with it. Often, she found ways to still be independent, because at the end of the day, she was his stubborn sunflower.

He was so proud of her.

Maya’s hand slipped into his, and she led him out of the meeting room. She was almost bouncing, either with nervousness or excitement, as they waited for an elevator. If one hand wasn’t gripping her proposal, the other in his, she’d probably be twirling her hair around a finger.

Cooper turned her by her shoulders to look at him. “You are going to be amazing, okay? You’ve spent hundreds of hours working on this, and you’re already established in Los Angeles. They’d be crazy to say no, especially considering some of my teammates’ charities they do help.”

Maya sighed, nodding. “Okay. I’m just nervous because if I can convince them, this could mean big things for On the Line. Imagine an expansion into other states. That would be incredible.”

“And she’s going to see your passion and be excited to help in any way she can. What you’re doing is amazing, sweetheart. Krista will see it.”

“What we’re doing.”

Their eyes met, and they smiled at each other. When the elevator finally arrived, they walked in. Cooper pressed the level, and when he turned to her, Maya was pointing at the piece of paper sticking out of his sweatpants. Her eyebrows furrowed. “What’s that?”

Cooper pulled it out of his pocket sheepishly. He held it up for her.

“Is that from minigolf?”

Cooper nodded. There, right below the eleventh hole, was a frowning face.

“You kept that?” She laughed. “Why? ”

“It was the first conversation we had where…” He looked away from her. “Where I felt maybe we didn’t just have to be Colton’s best friend and sister anymore. I don’t know. Something clicked for me then. Maybe hope.” Cooper looked back. “I like to think it’s good luck.”

Maya’s eyes searched his. “Hope,” she murmured, then smiled. She pecked his lips. “You’re the sweetest man in the world.”

Cooper’s chest constricted at the healing words. “Only for you.”

When the elevator opened, Maya took a step back. “For professionalism,” she whispered.

He pocketed the scorecard and they walked side by side into the philanthropy department, waving to Josh before heading down the hall to Krista’s office.

Krista looked up from her computer and smiled. “Good afternoon! I’m glad you’re here.”

“Thank you so much for having us. I’m excited to talk to you about On the Line.”

They sat in the chairs in front of Krista’s desk. “Is that folder for me?” she asked, and Maya nodded, handing it to her.

“Wow, this is thorough,” Krista murmured as she flipped through each page. It took her a couple of minutes, and Maya turned to look at Cooper nervously every few seconds. His smile never wavered.

Cooper was certain Maya’s hard work would pay off. Like he’d said, some of his teammates had questionable charities that the department was helping with, so something of this magnitude that was already established and strong should be no problem.

“This is impressive. Everything I was going to ask for is here and more. You clearly know what you’re doing, and based on how well everything is going in Los Angeles and the interest we’ve already received for a Charleston branch, I could absolutely see expanding into more cities in the country.” Krista set the documents down. “I know we could’ve done this over email, but I wanted to meet you in person. Philanthropy can be life-changing, and I always want to know who we’re working with before we do.”

Maya was nodding enthusiastically, twirling her hair around her right pointer finger. Cooper bit back a smile.

“I’d love to hear what it’s like on the court. What has running this charity meant for you?” Krista looked between the two of them, but they both knew Maya would answer.

“I spent most of my life playing tennis competitively, and it’s been one of my greatest joys in life. It brought me and my mother together before she passed, and it helped me feel close to her after. It gave me a team to root for in college, great friends when I went pro, and it gave me a means to support myself in a nontraditional way. But honestly? None of that would’ve been possible if I hadn’t been born into a privileged family.”

Maya stopped twirling her hair, like talking about this elevated her confidence. “My best friend was born with almost nothing and learned early that she had to choose between a lot of things that I took for granted growing up. Food or clothes? Save money for her siblings or spend a little to pay for something she liked? She battled that constantly. Only because she made a friend whose parents were in the tennis world was she given an opportunity that so many others aren’t.

“So, in many ways, this is about helping those talented kids break away from their life experiences and find something that they can use to support themselves and their families. For others, it’s a great opportunity to give parents some reprieve for after-school care while teaching them a sport that they may grow to love. Making tennis accessible to lower income families is something that can help them, even in a small way. I love being able to be on the court and do what I love while also giving back to a community that needs it.”

Maya finished, putting her hands in her lap, and Cooper’s chest almost burst with pride for her. He couldn’t believe he’d accepted the title of cofounder when she put so much love, energy and hard work into it. He wanted to give her a standing ovation for that, even though he’d known everything beforehand.

Because she spoke from the heart and she truly meant it.

Krista seemed to be thinking the same way, a smile curving her lips as she put her hands on the desk.

“Well, if I wasn’t convinced before, you can bet I am now. Your passion is infectious, Maya. I don’t have final say in these decisions, but I think this is the exact thing we’re looking to help with right now. I’m going to give you some paperwork to fill out in the lobby and leave with us, and then my hope is that we can get back to you in the next couple of weeks. Is that okay with y’all?”

Cooper nodded. “Thank you for being so helpful throughout this process.”

Maya nodded enthusiastically. “Oh, yes! I never got to thank you for all the invaluable information you gave me via Cooper when I was first starting out. I appreciate it so much.”

Krista stood. “I’m just glad it went to such good use.”

She handed them the paperwork she had clipped together and walked them to her door. They thanked her again, and this time, Cooper was sure Maya’s bouncing was from excitement.

“You okay, sunflower?” he asked as they walked to the lobby.

“More than okay,” she whispered back.

It took them a little over half an hour to finish the paperwork, even with both of them working on it, and when they finished, they handed it to Josh, who still sat at the front desk. When they were finally in the elevator, Maya breathed deeply, and Cooper pulled her into his side.

“You are wondrous. Brilliant. Passionate. Beautiful.” He kissed her hair between each word.

“I think she liked it. I think…it seems like we have a good shot. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but I really think there’s a chance.”

“Of course there is. Did you hear what she said? She was absolutely enchanted by you. ”

Maya leaned into him. “If this works out…I think I’d be so happy I could die.”

Cooper squeezed her to him. “I would not appreciate that. I would like to keep you happy and alive until well after I’m gone.”

“You are so old,” she mused. “Won’t be long now.”

“The oldest. Soon I’ll be playing geriatric football.”

Maya snorted as the doors of the elevator opened onto the main floor, where Maya had parked. “That’ll be the day. Imagine an old you and Colt running routes.”

Cooper dropped his voice as they stepped out. “I think I like when you talk football to me.”

“Too bad our meeting room is in use.” She pointed to the small window of the room they’d been in less than an hour ago, where a light was now turned on.

“We have hundreds of empty rooms, sweetheart. You just give me the word, and I’ll have you screaming in one in no time.” Cooper kept his voice quiet as they smiled and waved to the guy behind the front desk of the facility.

Maya shoved him. “Inappropriate, Mr. Hayes.”

Cooper grinned. “You like that last name?”

Her cheeks pinked, but she rolled her eyes, pushing the door to the facility open, the cool, air-conditioned air giving way to the oppressive August heat.

Once upon a time not so long ago, he’d been dodging away from women as they exited buildings because he was so concerned with what would be said about him or who he would be linked with. Now, he kept his arm wrapped around Maya’s shoulders as they moved to the outdoor parking lot in search of her car.

Let everyone see how absolutely gone for her he was.

They could print what they liked. If Maya didn’t care, no matter how often they tried to pin some ridiculous cheating allegations on him, he didn’t either. Cooper hadn’t even checked in weeks.

“Maybe tonight after dinner. I’ll wear that dress you like.” Maya looked back at him, shy, despite knowing what she did to him.

“I have never been tortured more than now that I’m with you.”

“Would you want it any other way?” she asked, clicking her car unlocked.

“God, no. Never.”

Maya turned, her back against her car. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Cooper leaned down to kiss her, assuming that’s what she meant, but her chuckle and hand on his chest stopped him. “No, cowboy. You drove here this morning for practice. Are you going to come to my apartment and leave your car here?”

He shrugged. “I haven’t seen you in two days. I don’t give a fuck about my car. I have plenty more at home, and I can easily get it later.”

Maya kissed his lips quickly, just a peck, before opening her door and hopping in. “Well, then you have to be okay with me getting on the phone with the girls for a couple of hours while we figure out what we’re doing when I visit them in Florida in December.”

Cooper knew how excited she was to visit them. It was one of the many reasons she’d agreed to live in Charleston, especially during the season, since the women’s tour was usually finished by mid-November.

“That’s fine. It’s time I get to know them better anyway.” He walked around the car and jumped in her passenger side while she turned the car on, air conditioner blasting.

Once she got on the highway, she got a notification in her sibling group chat from Landon.

“Are you still flying to San Jose for his first home game of the season?”

When Cooper had talked to her before he’d left for Minnesota, she’d planned to meet up with her grandparents and Devi in Northern California to see Landon’s game and visit some of the tourist sites her nani and nana wanted to see while they were there.

“Yes! I know Colton’s going to be sad I’m missing your season opener, but Landon deserves some family support too.” Her eyes flicked to his for a second before they were back on the road. “Will my geriatric football player be okay if I’m not in his box for one game?”

Cooper pretended to think about it, trying to hide his grin. “If we lose, I’ll blame you publicly for not being in my box to support me. ”

Maya rolled her eyes. “I’ll be sure to check the play-by-play every five seconds to see if you’ve scored.”

“Well, in that case, I’ll score two just for you.” He reached for the hand that wasn’t on the wheel, threading their fingers together. “Actually, I asked my family if they wanted to come. My sisters and my ma are coming to watch. Called them right after I called you after the Minnesota win, and Ma told me how proud she was of me.”

It’d taken a few tries, but his mother had finally figured out the right things to say to him when they did their new weekly calls. His dad rarely talked during them, and Cooper wasn’t sure he’d ever fully forgive him for not coming home or be proud of him for his accomplishments, but at least he wasn’t being berated for being selfish anymore.

A win was a win, however small.

Maya squeezed his hand, turning her blinker on. “Coop, that’s so exciting. I’m sad I’ll miss them though.”

“Oh, my mother was emphatic that she see you, so they’ll either come early when you’re still here or leave after you get back. She’s very excited about it. Though, I must warn you, she’s definitely going to bring up us getting married and having children.”

She had practically been chomping at the bit when she’d learned Cooper had bought an engagement ring for Maya, though she’d been less than thrilled to learn he wouldn’t be asking the question for a while .

Maya was still getting her footing in Charleston, and he wanted her to feel comfortable, live in their house together, before he proposed. He knew she wouldn’t be ready until then anyway. Still, that hadn’t changed the fact that he’d known from the moment he’d seen her after that asshole had broken into her home that he was going to marry her someday, if she let him.

“Don’t worry. Nani and Nana have been asking the same thing. I keep telling them I’m waiting on you.”

Cooper whipped around before he saw her playful smile. “Sunflower, you know damn well that the minute you’re ready, I’m going to ask the question. Probably before you’re ready, a hundred times, until I wear you down.”

“You’d better.”