Page 25 of Summer Nights (The Kingston Brothers #3)

Chapter Nineteen

Ivy

After the tour of Shep's house, we hung out with my brother and sister at the park. Cooper tagged along with us to ice cream. Then he insisted on buying us dinner. I was exhausted by the time we got home and fell into bed without a bath.

The next day, we were supposed to go minigolfing, but I wasn't sure if he'd remember. I'd gotten used to believing that promises would be broken.

When I showered and went to the kitchen for breakfast, Cooper was already there, his hair damp as he manned the stove. "You want eggs and bacon?"

My stomach growled in response. "The baby does apparently."

Cooper grinned. "Happy to oblige."

A flush of something that felt akin to affection rolled through me. I sat on the stool and watched him work.

He managed to pour me coffee between checking the stove, cutting up avocados, and cooking toast.

When everything was on a plate, he added the avocado slices on top of the eggs and slid it over to me. "Eat. My baby's hungry."

"I think you mean our baby," I corrected before taking a bite.

He grinned. "Our baby."

I liked the sound of those words on his lips a little too much. Our baby. Our house. How did I know this would last? The familiar panic edged in, but I fought it. I wanted to enjoy this moment. For once, I even wanted to believe that this could be my reality.

I fought the logical side of my brain that said everyone left, everyone disappointed you, and I could take care of everything by myself.

Sometimes, it was too much. I wanted someone else to worry about the details.

To make the big decisions. That was a slippery slope.

If I leaned on Cooper, he had the power to walk away, and I'd be devastated.

"You still up for a game of minigolf?"

I raised my gaze to his, a little surprised. "You still want to go?"

Cooper nodded. "I love minigolf. Haven't been in years."

"You don't have other things to do?" I asked, giving him an out.

He leveled his gaze on me. "I have a billion things I could do. I thought we'd start with what we want to do. And I want to take you minigolfing. My baby can't grow up with a mother who's never been."

I shook my head with a laugh. "Now I know you're being ridiculous."

He flashed me a smile as he plated his food and sat next to me. "I'm taking you minigolfing, and we're getting ice cream afterward."

Warmth bloomed in my chest. "That feels like a date."

"We went about this all backwards. I knocked you up, moved you in, and now we're going on a date."

"You don't have to call it that. I'm not someone you're dating. I'm just the mother of your child," I said quietly, the toast dry in my throat.

"There's no just about it." The challenge I saw in his eyes prevented me from arguing the point any harder.

"Minigolf it is then," I said lightly, hoping he didn't see how important it was to me that he'd fulfilled a promise he'd made. It was one more piece of me that he'd see.

"You're going to love it."

I'd dreamed of minigolfing as a kid. That some boy on the island would ask me out and take me to the place every other girl went to on Friday nights.

And when someone had finally asked, I'd already heard the rumors going around that I must be easy since I lived at the trailer park.

It might not have been true, but I couldn't chance it, so I refused.

I had bigger plans for my future than ruining it on some boy.

When I was younger, they'd tease me about being dirty, as if living in a small house meant you weren't up on your hygiene. Those were hard memories to shake, but I hoped today's outing would clear them.

After breakfast, he drove us off the island, past a couple of elaborately decorated minigolf locations. "What will it be? Jungle or pirate?"

"I kind of want to feed the alligators," I said, hoping he wouldn't think I was ridiculous.

When he put the truck in park, he turned to me. "Why don't we do both, and then we can rate them? It’s research for our child.”

I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity. "We don't have to go to both."

He winked at me. "You want to though."

I nodded seriously. "I am interested in seeing which one is the best."

"Let's do it. But we'll have to eat ice cream in between to fortify ourselves."

"I might need more than that. I didn't eat my second breakfast yet." I pointed out, knowing how my appetite delighted him.

He got out of the cab and opened my door. "Come on. We have to fit in food somewhere."

At the pirate-themed course, Cooper paid for the game and the alligator treats over my objections. "This is a date. I always pay."

My nose wrinkled. "But it's not."

"You said yourself; it's a date."

I crossed my arms over my chest, prepared to argue more about this, but we were in the middle of the tiny shop area, and he opened the door and walked out.

Over his shoulder, he called, "I want to feed the alligators."

I ran after him. "Don't use all the food. I want to do it too."

He handed me a cup, keeping one for himself. Then we threw the pellets at the tiny alligators, watching them swim closer. There was a barrier between us.

We spent a long time with the alligators. I was fascinated with them. When we finally moved onto the course, we were behind a family of five. The kids were hitting the balls too hard and then having to hunt them down in the ponds and the waterways.

Cooper put his arm around me. "Is that how our child will be?"

We watched while the children tried to dig a ball out of the pond with the fountain in the middle.

"I have no idea. I was an only child most of my life.

" And we certainly didn't do family outings like this.

I played around the trailer park with other kids.

We weren't going to minigolf or the movies.

That stuff cost money my mom most certainly didn't have.

Every once in a while, she dated someone who would pay for us to go out, but those opportunities were few and far between.

"Our child should have a sibling," Cooper said with confidence.

"You'll have another child someday." It would be with someone else though. Someone who deserved a man like him. That thought sunk into the pit of my stomach. It was hard to ignore the old negative beliefs about myself. They'd protected me for so long.

Finally, the father told the kids to move onto the next hole without completing this one. He probably saw that we were waiting. But I was in no rush to be done with this day.

Cooper motioned for me to go first.

The first time, I whiffed. "Well, that was embarrassing."

"Here, let me." He wrapped his arms around me from behind, his arms bracketing mine.

I could barely breathe in without feeling dizzy. And it had nothing to do with being pregnant.

His hands closed over mine, and we moved in tandem. I was sure he was trying to teach me a skill, but I was hyperfocused on the feel of his hard body surrounding mine. Together, we hit the ball down the green.

I moved away from him so that I could see where it went. "It's so close to the hole."

"Why don't you finish it off, and then I'll go? I don't want to knock yours out."

"Good idea." This time I got into position without his help and hit it lightly. It only took two tries for it to drop into the hole.

He marked three on his score card, and then he tucked it into his pocket. I watched him hit the ball, and it ricocheted off the barrier, going into the hole.

"You got a hole in one!" I cried.

He bent down to snatch up the ball, and he came over to me, wrapping his arms around me and kissing me on the lips. He lifted his face, gazing down at me with a look of affection.

"You ready for the next one?"

"Absolutely." I couldn't remember the last time I felt free. I didn't have any work or obligations for the rest of the day. I could enjoy this time with Cooper. For once, I refused to give into my worst fears.

He guided me a second time, and my hit was just as good as the first. We teased each other as we moved from one hole to the next. From time to time, we had to wait for the family in front of us, and we told the parents several times that we weren't in a rush.

In fact, when we got to the cave, he cupped my cheek and kissed me. It was soft and sweet and left me aching for more. The pregnancy hormones were real. But it was a sweet move. One I wanted to experience again and again.

He must have gotten a go-ahead signal from me, because for the rest of the course, he touched me whenever he could, guiding me to the next hole with a hand on my lower back and sneaking into a corner to kiss me.

It was romantic and sweet and made me think that this is what I'd been missing when I was a teenager. But at the same time, I didn't want to experience this with anyone else.

When we were waiting for the last hole, I said, "You take anyone special here when you were in high school?"

"We usually came in groups. What about you? Did you date?"

"Not when I realized the boys only wanted one thing from the trailer park girl.

" They actually called me much worse, but I had the wherewithal not to reveal that truth to Cooper.

I knew he'd be angry about something that happened years ago.

It wasn't worth remembering or even rehashing with someone else.

Cooper grimaced. "I can't believe they treated you like that."

"My mom was easy, so why wouldn't I be?"

He put his arm around me and pulled me into his side. "You don't believe that."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course not. And people treated me differently in college. It was like starting over. It was what I needed."

"Then why did you come back?" he asked, his voice filled with curiosity.

"This place is in my blood. I love it so much."

"I'm glad you still had good memories of this place, even after how people treated you."

"I knew what they said behind my back. People thought I was no good or would end up like my mom. And maybe I wanted to prove them wrong."

"Is that why you have designer purses and your car is immaculately kept?"

"I work hard for what I have, and I take care of my things."

"There's nothing wrong with that."

"I'm grateful that I'm able to support myself and the baby."

He grinned, covering my bump with his hand. "This little one will be loved by so many people."

"Congratulations," the mother who had been in front of us said.

"Thank you," Cooper said.

"Good luck to you," the dad said as he ran to catch up with his kids.

"Was that a warning or actual well-wishes?" Cooper asked me.

I laughed. "I think it might have been a bit of both. I know it won't be easy but?—"

He grinned, pulling me closer. "I'll be with you every step of the way."

For the first time, I heard his words and felt them in my body. "You're not getting rid of me."

He grinned wider at my statement. "You ready for some ice cream?"

"I've been looking forward to it all day."

We finished the last hole, Cooper won a free game for next time, and we ordered twist cones, savoring them at the picnic tables in the shade.

"You want to play the next course, or do you want lunch first?" Cooper asked.

"Lunch. Are you judging me for eating dessert first?" I asked as I licked the ice cream.

His gaze followed the movement. "I'd never judge you. Besides I'm eating dessert first too."

He found a restaurant around the corner where we ate fish tacos and drank a concoction of fruit juices. It was delightful. For once, I was able to truly let go of everything. There was nothing else in my head but him.

I was looking forward to another round of golf, and then I wanted to take him home and have my way with him. It would be the perfect way to thank him.

At the second course, Cooper said, "I think we need to jump in the pool after this."

"I'm not a strong swimmer." That's why I'd avoided the pool since we'd moved in. Not that the topic had come up much.

He tipped his head to the side. "How can that be? You grew up around the water."

I shrugged, a little uncomfortable with his shock. "We weren't members of the local swim club, and it wasn't like we had one."

His brow furrowed. "What about the beach?"

"I played in the sand and stayed out of the surf."

He was quiet for a few seconds, and then he said with conviction, "I can teach you."

"You don't have to."

"You'll need to learn so the baby will be safe."

His words settled over me. He worried about the baby and me. I loved this feeling of being supported, taken care of. It didn't make me panic as much as I thought it would. "Okay."

He raised his brow. "You'll let me teach you?"

"You act surprised that I would."

He held his hands. "This is not a criticism. But you're fiercely independent. It's one of the things I admire most about you. But I think you could be stronger if you let people in more often."

"Let's start with learning how to swim. I want to be able to protect my child around the water."

This course was busier with families and couples. We had less time to sneak into corners and kiss, but he touched me whenever he could, and we bantered back and forth.

On the way home, we stopped for smoothies, which I appreciated. Cooper was always thinking of me and my needs. Plus, it hit the spot after a long hot day.

He glanced over at me. "So what's the verdict, jungle or pirate?"

I grinned. "Pirate. I loved the alligators."

"We should go to the Everglades and do one of those water tours then," he said flippantly, like it was no big deal to plan more outings together.

"I never even thought about doing something like that."

"Stick with me, and you'll do all kinds of cool things." His voice was full of confidence.

I almost said I intended to, but that was too much too soon. I didn't like to look that far into the future. How did I trust that he'd stick around? That he'd be here with me in a year? Two?

The thought was overwhelming.