It was the very first piece of jewelry she’d designed and created. And Cooper had obviously found it and kept it. Her heart swelled and her knees were weak. One tear escaped as she slipped it around her neck.
He’d gone and done it. He’d made her fall in love with him.
It took several minutes for her to compose herself, and then she couldn’t wait to be in his arms. What a cherished gift he’d given back to her.
When she stepped from the room to find candlelight and soft music along with champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries, and an assortment of appetizers, her senses were overwhelmed.
“Cooper . . .” Her husky voice made him turn his head and the glow that instantly entered his eyes gave her confidence. “I’m ready for more dessert,” she said.
He didn’t hesitate. His clothes went flying as he rushed across the room to her. He lifted her and turned right back toward the bedroom she’d just exited.
“Romance will come after we’ve appeased this hunger,” he growled.
“I don’t think it’s ever going to be appeased, but you’ve given me more romance with this than anything else you could have ever given me,” she told him as her fingers ran over the locket she wore.
“I never stopped thinking about you through the years. I needed you to know this. I’m giving up my lucky charm,” he said with a gentle smile.
“You use it as a lucky charm?”
“No. You’ve been my lucky charm all along,” he said.
She couldn’t speak. But then she didn’t have to because all talking stopped as his lips captured hers.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Cooper and Nick moved in sync around the hangar where they were working on the P-51 D plane they’d been ecstatic to get their hands on. It was going to take them months, if not over a year, to complete the project, but when she was restored to her former glory, they’d be fighting over who got to fly her the most.
Turning too fast, Cooper knocked over a bottle of oil, the slimy black liquid running through his fingers. He quickly cleaned it up, then got back to his brother who was beneath the plane hard at work.
“Are you going to take all night?” Nick hollered.
“I’m coming,” Cooper yelled back with a roll of the eyes.
“Cooper Armstrong! Is that really you?”
Cooper turned around and found Keri Jensen running up to him from across the hangar bay.
“Hi, Keri. What are you doing here?”
“I’m here with my brother. He’s taking me up in a few minutes.”
“Well, I don’t want to keep you,” he said.
“I’ve missed you,” she cried.
Keri had been one of his favorite flight attendants to flirt with back in the day, a tall blonde with all the right curves in exactly the right places. Plus, she was perky, fun, and always out for a good time. He’d decided after one night of hanging out with her that he thanked God she was one of the few women he hadn’t slept with. They were much better off as friends.
Before he even finished his thoughts, she was launching herself into his arms, her legs wrapping around his waist as she grabbed his cheeks and kissed him with a loud smacking noise.
“Keri, I’m in a relationship. I can’t have you crawling on me anymore,” he said with a laugh as he tried to untangle her.
“Oh, heck, if you’re in a relationship, she’ll be the type of girl who will appreciate me,” she told him, not moving.
“She’s great, but I don’t think any girl likes to see her man wrapped around a pretty blonde,” he said with a laugh.
“But I’ve missed you so much,” she said with a pout.
“I’ve missed you, too.” And Cooper did love his friends.
“Work has called,” he told her with another laugh.
“It’s not always about being a mile high in the sky, love. Friends are important, too,” she reminded him.
“Yes, I tend to forget that at times,” he admitted.
“Okay, my brother is gonna kill me. Love you, darling.” She leaned in, gave him another smacking kiss, then jumped down.
“Just think, you actually thought about marrying that girl so you could get your inheritance,” Nick said with a laugh.
“For all of two seconds. Then I realized the money just wasn’t worth it,” Cooper replied with a laugh. “I adore her, but she’s just too high maintenance. It took me seconds to decide friendship was the only thing we could sustain.”
“Well, looks like you might be getting that money after all,” Nick added with a wink.
“Yeah,” Cooper said. Though he didn’t give a damn about the rest of his inheritance. He had more than enough money of his own. He didn’t need any more. But he did want to marry Stormy. It was a wonder to him. “I am going to ask her to marry me,” he finished.
“Not bad. A hot wife, more cash in your bottomless pockets, and all the sex you can ask for.”
“You’re such an ass, Nick,” Cooper replied with another laugh. “But yes, married life doesn’t seem so bad anymore.”
“Are you kidding me?” Stormy was standing in the doorway, her face washed of color.
“Stormy,” Cooper called, a smile lifting his lips until he saw her face. Crap! How much of that conversation had she heard? He played it back in his mind. It couldn’t have sounded right.
“I thought . . . I don’t know what I was thinking,” she said, her eyes filling.