“You were amazing tonight,” Cooper said to Roxy. “I’ve never heard anyone sing and play so…” He broke off and shook his head. “Amazing.”
Hey, that was supposed to be his line. He was going to compliment her. “I hear her every night.”
The firefighter’s brows drew together, and his eyes darted to West’s in the rearview mirror. “Uh…”
“Through the walls,” Roxy clarified and shot West an irritated look. “I live in the downstairs unit. Sound travels.”
“Ohhhh.” Cooper’s relief turned the word into a laugh. “Got it.” The smile faded as he snuck another glance at Roxy. “You, ah, look really amazing, too.”
“Thank you.” She smiled and touched the neckline of her dress. “That’s sweet of you to say. I didn’t have much time to get ready. I kind of threw myself together.”
There was that word again. Sweet. He could be sweet, too. Hadn’t it been sweet of him not to bust her for hitchhiking? Or trespassing? Or hijacking his laundry? He was sweet as goddamn pie when it came to Roxy Goodhart.
“You throw together real nice, Roxy. Would you like to maybe grab a drink with me tomorrow night?”
Christ. Now he really was going to puke. “She doesn’t drink.”
Roxy aimed another armor-piercing glare at him before offering Cooper a soft smile. “I don’t. Plus, I have to work tomorrow night. Addy’s got me on the dinner shift.”
“Oh.” The younger man’s face fell. “I start a forty-eight Monday. Maybe after that we can go for ice cream, or—”
“Are we there yet?” Holy shit, this was the longest mile of his life. “Can you step on it, Coop? I’m really starting to regret that last shot.”
Funny how a guy who ran into burning buildings for a living could lose his shit at the thought of someone baptizing his ride with slightly used whiskey. “Hold on! We’re there. Practically. Just give me a sec.” Engine gunned, Cooper made a fast right and then pulled to the curb with a screech of brakes.
West was out of the car before the engine fell silent. “Thanks for the lift.” He stopped at the trunk to retrieve the guitar, spotted his suit jacket wadded beneath, and grabbed that, too. Then he came around and opened Roxy’s door. “Ready, Reckless?”
She looked up at him. “Could you give us a minute, West?”
“Sure. Take your time.” He didn’t budge. Yeah, he was being a dick, but no way was Roxy seriously interested in having ice cream with a guy barely out of high school. “Coop, what time does your mom expect you home?”
Now Cooper stepped out of the car, too, and shot him a We gonna do this? look over the roof of the Pathfinder. Apparently, his good nature bottomed out somewhere around giving an over-served, ungrateful cop a ride home. “I’m twenty-three, West. I’ve got my own apartment, my own car, I work a real job, and I pay my own bills. When it comes to my personal life, I don’t answer to my mama or anyone else.”
“Twenty-three? Happy birthday, big guy. I didn’t know you’d moved out of your mom’s place.” Or that the baby-faced firefighter was actually a year older than Roxy. Compared to these two, he was the grandpa of the group.
Roxy got out of the car to stare at both of them. “Is there a problem?”
“I knew you two lived in the same house, but…” Cooper shrugged. “Have I stepped in the middle of something here?”
Yes, West wanted to say, but Roxy responded first, stopping him with a cut of her hand and a shake of her head. “Officer Donovan, could Cooper and I have a few minutes alone?”
“Fine.” He turned away and began lugging the guitar, his jacket, and his sorry ass toward the front door. “I’ll wait for you downstairs,” he added, which made it sound like he had free access to her apartment even though he didn’t, but he refused to walk away and leave Cooper an open field.
Walk away? Hell, man, you were dismissed. Moved along so she can set up her ice cream social with Cooper.
Who went out for “ice cream” anyway? Was that firefighter code for sex? Like, “Wanna slide down my pole?” Firefighters were dawgs. Notoriously. At least they had been in the NYFD. Why would Bluelick be any different? Just ‘cause Josh had fallen helmet over boots for Melody and promptly gotten her in the family way didn’t mean the rest of the crew was ready to settle down.
He kicked the door shut behind him and then carried the guitar through the house, down the stairs, and into the dark, shared laundry room. Did Roxy know an ice cream date with Cooper was ultimately a euphemism for—
The door opened from Roxy’s side, spilling light from her apartment into the small space. She came through with her pretty eyes shooting fire, her cheeks whipped pink by temper, and her mouth un-kissed as far as he could tell. “You were rude.”
“Me? Hey, I didn’t throw up in the man’s car. Tonight, that counts as pretty fucking polite. Did you and Cooper pin down a time for your epic ice cream social?”
She sank her fingers into her hair and dragged it away from her face, bunching the curls into opulent piles. “That’s none of your business.”
“By ice cream, he means sex. You’re clear on that, right? The kind of cheap, meaningless sex you get from a twenty-three-year-old guy who finally moved out of his mother’s place and has a little freedom for the first time in his whole small-town life.”
“Oh, and I should avoid that? Why, West? Are you offering me cheap, meaningless sex of a better sort?”