Matched For Love(61)
He opened his mouth to answer, but then Emily appeared. “Hi, Mr. Cooper.”
He lifted a hand. “Hey, Emily. How are you?”
“Starving.” She looked up at her aunt. “When is Mom getting back from the grocery store?”
Rachel laid her hand on Emily’s back and guided her back to the den. “Change of plans we forgot to tell you about. I’ll make you something in a minute. Go watch TV.”
Rachel came back and said, “Lori went to the grocery store before her date. Had to pick up…beer. Because her date is a famous football player and he likes to play beer pong.” She waved a hand. “Anyway, you were saying?”
Beer pong? What the heck? Shaking it off, he said, “I was going to say that I finally figured out that Asher and I deserve to be happy. And Lori makes us happy. Annie doesn’t.”
“So this is all about you?” She pointed to the door. “Get out!”
“No! You asked about Asher needing his mother. You didn’t ask me how I felt about Lori.” Rachel could be a very confusing person.
“Okay, then. How do you feel about my sister?”
He stood up, moved in front of Lori’s pit bull, and peered down at her. “I love her.”
“Because?” She waggled her fingers. “Come on, Deek. Dig deep. She’s going to need the reasons why.”
Was it Rachel or Lori who needed all the reasons? But he’d clearly not get to Lori without passing her guard dog’s tests. “Because she’s pretty both inside and out. She’s funny, kind, patient, and am I allowed to say anything about when we’re in bed?”
“To her.” Rachel shrugged. “I don’t particularly want to know those details. Skip that for now and give me more.”
More? What else could a guy say? “You mean like how she makes my heart full when we’re together, and I miss her when we’re apart? And how I never slept with Annie because I feel like I belong to Lori?”
“That last part about belonging to Lori is good.” Rachel slowly nodded. “And that’s all a great start. But still not enough. You’re making the assumption that she loves you back. I think you still have some work to do to make that happen.”
His stomach sank. He was making that assumption. “So you don’t think Lori has strong feelings for me?”
“How would I know, Deek? But just in case, you need to put it all out there and make her fall in love with you.”
Lori’s words when she’d laid her hand on his chest in his bedroom came back to him. She’d said, “I have to own all this real estate. Listen to your heart, Deek.” He could still feel the warmth of her palm on his skin. “She already owns all my heart.”
“Really?” Rachel threw her hands up in the air. “So to prove that, your idea was to knock on her door empty-handed?”
Now he was really confused. “Lori doesn’t care about shiny things. She’s happy with very little. I like that about her.”
“Wow. You are such a…guy. Listen up.” She poked him in the shoulder. “All. Women. Like. Shiny. Things. But those shiny things don’t have to be diamonds, or expensive. They have to be a token to show love, get it?”
“No.” His head hurt.
Man, a vase of flowers was looking awfully good at the moment.
“Okay. Look. Words don’t mean jack right now. You have to find a way to mend the damage you did when you pulled that boneheaded thing by choosing Annie over her. What’s to stop her from thinking you might do it again?” Rachel grabbed his arm and navigated him toward the door.
“You’re right.” She said she had trust issues, so he was going to show her he loved her in a way that would leave no doubt that he always would. “I don’t know how I’m going to pull this off, but I’m going to do it!”
Rachel took his face in her hands and kissed his cheek. “You really are adorable when you’re determined. I can see why Lori fell for you.”
“Don’t tell her I was here. I’m afraid I’ll only get one chance to say I’m sorry, and I need a little time to figure this out. When I’m ready, she’ll have no doubts about my love. Thanks, Rachel.”
“Welcome.” Rachel opened the door for him. “By the way, Deek. How did you know it was me so quickly? Most people have to wait until we speak to tell us apart.”
“It’s in the eyes.” He stopped and faced her. “Lori looks at me like I invented chocolate. You look at me like I’m a guy who wants to break her sister’s heart.”
“That’s because it’s such a tender one. So don’t do that.”