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He turned around and put a carton of eggs on the counter. “Depends on what I’m training for. What about you?”
“Same.”
“Why’d you ask?”
“You’re in really good shape.”
His cheeks flushed, which surprised me. “So are you.”
“You’re also really pretty.”
Cope laughed. “So are you.”
“Yeah, I kinda handed you that one.”
I watched as he cracked ten eggs into a bowl. “I only know how to make them scrambled,” he said when he looked up and saw me watching.
“Those better not all be for me.”
“I’ve seen you eat. You can polish these off in a hot minute.”
“Very funny. So…do you need to go to work or something today?”
“Working from home, but tomorrow is a different story. I’ll probably be gone most of the day. I’ve, um, asked my mother to come over.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s sweet, but not necessary.” Not to mention, I didn’t feel right about getting to know Cope’s mother or anyone else in his family. Spending time alone with him like I was, was bad enough.
“The nurse said you can’t be alone for more than a couple of hours.”
“I’m sure she was exaggerating. I’ll be fine.”
He shook his head. “I won’t be.”
“What do you mean?”
“Instead of getting done what I need to, I’ll worry about you.”
“I’ve been on my own for a really long time, I can take care?—”
He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the counter. His face was only a few inches from mine. “I’ll worry about you.” When his cell phone vibrated, he reached over and picked it up. “Rock’s here,” he said after setting the phone back down on the counter.
“Rock?”
“You’ll see.”
When he opened the door of his apartment, the man standing on the other side of it could’ve been a stunt double for Dwayne Johnson.
When Cope introduced him as Ritter Johnson, I wondered if he and his doppelganger were related.
He set a bag on the counter. “I’m pretty sure this is for you.”
I scrunched my eyes and looked at Cope.
“Open it,” he prodded.
I pulled out a box containing a brand new version of the same kind of computer that was taken from the apartment. I looked up at Cope a second time.
“You need to work,” he muttered.