No. I had to focus. I looked into his eyes. “We were two people who were experiencing weakness at the same time.”

Cooper closed his eyes and rested his forehead against mine. “A stupid mistake.”

“An accident,” I agreed. My eyes closed again. This wasn’t going well for me.

“But since we are both going to be here for a while, maybe we should at least keep one of our rules.”

“Be friends?” My eyes opened as he stepped away from me and held his hand out for me to shake. I could be his friend. I could tame my hormones and be his friend. I shook his hand and it was done. We were officially friends. We didn’t let go of the handshake. I could see it in his eyes that he wanted exactly what I was secretly longing for. I ran my tongue across my upper lip and pulled him closer to me. “Maybe one more soda pop. For the road?”

“Like a final hurrah?”

In an instant our lips connected. The heat running from my neck and down my spine ignited all of my senses. Everything was heightened. I tasted the peppermint flavors left on his lips. I smelt his shampoo—coconut. I could hear his breaths. I saw his passion, but what I loved the most was that I could feel him. I missed him more than I was ever willing to admit. A moan escaped me while he slid his tongue into my mouth. He lifted me up against the wall and next thing I knew, my fingers were unbuckling his jeans.

His strong body holding me up against the ice cold wall turned me on in an instant. His mouth began to nibble on my neck, where his tongue licked me up and down. Left and right. Figure eights. Oh, the things he could do with that mouth of his... My inner thighs were throbbing as he went examine my jeans…

“Anders? Are you okay?”

Ughhh. Nothing could kill a moment more than having your mother knock on the bathroom door when your legs were wrapped around a Cooper Davidson. Cooper lowered me to the ground as I tried to hide my giggles in his shirt. Placing a finger across his lips to silence him, I grinned as I felt him kiss that finger.

“Get in the shower,” I instructed. He obeyed, and I looked at myself in the mirror to fix myself up, buttoned my jeans, and opened the door to the bathroom to find my nosey mother standing there.

“Are you okay?” she repeated.

“Yeah, Mom. I’m fine. I think I had a bad bagel on the plane,” I lied. I hadn’t eaten a bagel, but I knew the idea that I was eating would make her calm down.

“Yeah, well, dinner’s ready. Did you see where Cooper went?”

“Probably to one of the other millions of bathrooms in this place.”

“He looks good. He grew up quite a bit. You remember him when he used to come visit here as a kid? You two were close.”

I rolled my eyes, trying to play it cool. “No, I don’t. Let’s go eat.” I bet Cooper was smirking at the compliment my mom had paid him. Mom’s hand landed on my forehead as she looked at me concerned. I cocked an eyebrow at her. “What are you doing?”

“Your cheeks are as red as a tomato. You sure you’re feeling all right?”

If only she knew.

Chapter Twenty-Four

AS I ENTERED the dining hall, the first thing I noticed was Andrea seated next to Ladasha, whispering something to her. Ladasha’s eyes shifted to me and she gave me a halfway smile. I was sure she was being informed to act as if we’d never met.

“Cooper, you can sit here!” Michelle grinned and patted the seat next to her. My cousin was the same ol’ happy-go-lucky girl she was when we were children. There are some people who are born to be cheerleaders. They have a joy that can sometimes be overbearing and to some appear pretty damn annoying, but Michelle was so damn small and adorable it was hard not to love her.

“Thanks.” I took my chair at the overstocked table. It was filled with food, but nothing on the table would fill my appetite—only Andrea could at this point.

“Okay, really quick. Let me introduce you all to my one and only favorite cousin, Cooper Davidson. I know you probably remember him from when we were younger, but since then he went to become a successful photographer who I am so proud of.” She beamed with pride. Instant guilt took over me as I realized I’d walked away from the family that took me in each summer when I was a child because I’d become famous. I’d turned my back on the people who took care of me because I’d made a few bucks. Sure, I sent them a Christmas gift every year, but it was nothing personal. I guess I forgot how nice it was to be around people who loved you without any judgments. But after Mom’s accident, it was hard to look back. I guess I could understand that with Andrea.

“It’s nice to meet you, Cooper. I’m Ladasha.” Ladasha winked and I smiled widely, greeting her as if it were our first time crossing paths.

Andrea’s mom, Betty, told me how handsome I’d grown up to be. I thanked her and informed her that Andrea was a spitting image of her. Her cheeks reddened up and she nodded. “Well, she was, until she got this horrid haircut. Really, Anders. Tomorrow I’ll take you into town and we’ll have Ms. Sally help you out.”

“Mom, my hair is fine,” Andrea argued. I quickly learned an argument with Betty would normally be pointless, because the woman may have been short and petite, but she had a big-ass personality with opinions she wasn’t afraid to speak.

“It’s so nice to have everyone here. Together.” Michelle grinned as she patted my shoulder. I squeezed her hand as I agreed.

“I agree,” Betty chimed in. “It’s a shame Derrick isn’t here…” Her head lowered and my eyes landed on Andrea. I could tell the words stung her as I saw Andrea’s hand being held by Ladasha’s.

Betty wasn’t done. She looked at me with tears in her eyes. “Derrick was Anders fiancé. He passed away earlier this year, and this is the first Christmas without—“

“Mom, do we really have to talk about this?” Andrea barked at her mom. That stone wall I had spent the past few weeks breaking down with Andrea was slowly rebuilding itself.

“Andrea Mae, I am just saying. It’s different, that’s all.” Betty truly appeared shocked by her daughter’s sharp tongue. I felt sorry for the both of them; they dealt with their feelings differently. Betty spoke, and Andrea didn’t.

“I’m so sorry.” I made sure my eyes locked with Andrea’s—to let her know she wasn’t sitting at this table alone with her past. She had both Ladasha and me there now. “I’m so, so sorry.”

Her eyes softened and she bit her bottom lip. “Thank you.” If we were going to be friends, I planned to protect her as best I could.

Time for a change of subjects. “So this Christmas party, it’s a big deal?”

My cousin’s face lit up. “Huge! And this year’s theme is Pride and Prejudice Christmas. So a group of my and Eric’s friends are taking dance lessons. Oh my gosh.” Her eyes lit up as she turned to me, Andrea and Ladasha. “You three have to do it!”

“Oh no. I’m not a dancer, but I’ll take photos.” I grinned but knew she wouldn’t let me off the hook that easily.

“No! No you have to! We are having a rehearsal tomorrow afternoon. You have to come!”

Well, I guess I had to come.

“Andrea, eat something,” Betty whispered. The whisper wasn’t quiet enough to keep everyone from hearing.

“Mom, give her space,” Eric requested. Watching him step up for his sister gave me a quick idea of the type of person he was. He was perfect for my cousin. A good guy.

“Well, I was speaking to Ms. Jacobson a few days ago as we were working on costumes for the party and she mentioned something that bothered me.”

This couldn’t be good.

“She said she read an article about how young people who lose someone feel as if they’ve lost themselves, too. And sometimes turn to alcohol or drugs or such things. Ms. Rivers also said life in New York City can been tough with its fast pace. And you show up here looking extremely skinny and…”

The sad thing was, she really meant well. Andrea slipped lower into her seat and her eyes narrowed as she studied her plate in front of her. “Are you asking me if I’m a drug addict?”

Betty’s eyes widened as if her worst nightmare had come to life, “It’s just that they said…”

“Betty.” Walter, Andrea’s dad, stepped in to ease the conversation. He was a quiet man, but only spoke up when truly needed. Yet I feared it was too late to put out this fire.

Andrea hissed at her mom. “Ms. Rivers and Ms. Jacobson spread rumors that I was drinking when the car accident happened. Ms. Rivers and Ms. Jacobson called you a bitch behind your back at last year’s Christmas party. Ms. Rivers and Ms. Jacobson can kiss my skinny ass!”

“Andrea Mae!” her mother hollered.

Andrea stood from her chair and slammed it against the table. “Home, sweet home.”

With that, she disappeared to her bedroom. Ladasha was quick to follow behind her. I wanted to run to her. I wanted to tell her it would all be all right, but I knew I couldn’t. So I remained seated. I felt for her because it seemed to me Ms. Jacobson and Ms. Rivers were the paparazzi of the small town of Wisconsin, baking up lies to keep them busy.

Michelle tried her best to keep a smile on her face. Everyone was quite shaken by the events that had occurred, yet my cousin kept on with her happiness.

“Who wants dessert?”

Chapter Twenty-Five

LESS THAN TWO hours. I had been home less than two hours and I had already had enough family time. I sent Ladasha away, telling her I was fine and needed some rest. Before I could let out my first breath of relief, there was someone knocking at the door. I didn’t feel like talking to anyone. What didn’t they understand about that? “Come in.”

When the door opened I released a sigh when I saw Daddy standing there. He was holding one of his craft airplanes in his hand and dangled it in the air as he made animated airplane noises. He walked over and landed the aircraft on the dresser before sitting next to me and patting my leg. “How you doing, kiddo?”

“I’m fine.”

“Today was interesting, eh? She doesn't mean any harm.” He was justifying Mom’s actions. Of course he was; he always backed her up, even when she was outside her mind.

“I've only been here for a few hours and she's already driving me up the wall, Daddy. I don’t know how much I can take.”

He chuckled. “She can be a handful at times.”

Eyebrow raised, I smirked. “At times?”

Lifting the model airplane off the dresser, Daddy studied it and grinned. “I always get my hands in crazy projects.”

“You’re talented.”

“I'm wacky. A few weeks ago, I built my own snow blower machine, and as I was using it on the sidewalk, the engine exploded, knocking over the neighbor's mailbox.”

“Ms. Kathy's dog-shaped mailbox?”

He nodded. “A paw went flying down the street. Your mother told me to stop with my projects. That I was wasting time, and she hated how the town laughed at me. That same afternoon, she brought me a model airplane kit, saying she saw it and thought of me. Anders, she just wants to protect us from...”

“The world,” I finished for him.

He placed the airplane into my hands and stood up to walk towards the door. Mom entered the doorframe with blankets in her arms. “I thought I would bring you extra blankets before we head home. This house seems a bit drafty.”

My eyes locked with my dad’s and my heart softened a bit. “Thank you, Mom.”

Mom studied my face. She smiled and lightly brushed my hair with her fingers. “We’ll get this mess fixed tomorrow. Ms. Rivers would have a field day talking about this in our book club. And you really do look skinny. You don’t feel the need to be a certain size to make strides in your dance career, do you? You don't struggle with that?”