"Sounds good." She smiled and leaned in to drop a quick kiss on his lips.
"Not so fast. He caught her against him, and the quick kiss turned slow and luxurious. When Cooper set her down, Poppy's head was spinning. "See you there."
He loped off to his truck, and Poppy blinked. It took her a moment to function again, and she let herself inside.
God, that man could kiss.
That man could do plenty more besides . . . Her thoughts turned to last night, and she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face, so wide, her cheeks ached. It turned out not settling for a life of "fine" was just about the best decision she could have made.
She hadn't known it could be so good.
Poppy managed to tear her thoughts away from Cooper for a moment to go change for dinner. It was only the local pub, but she still wanted to look good for Cooper, so she added a bright sweater to her jeans, and carefully applied mascara and a slick of pink lip balm. There. She wasn't due to meet him for another half hour, but Poppy decided to walk up to town early. She strolled around and was pleased to see several flyers advertising the literary festival up in Provincetown next week. She always loved doing signings and events; it was a great chance to meet her readers, and other authors, too. And having this one take place so close definitely made it convenient: she could do her events and be back in bed with Cooper at the end of the day.
Or out of it . . .
She blushed, remembering her boldness down at the beach. But she couldn't help herself. Something about her connection with this man was intoxicating; it made her want to throw caution to the wind and follow her instincts.
And her instincts seemed to lead her straight to his arms.
"Poppy!"
She heard a voice, and turned to find Mackenzie waving from across the square. She was just locking up the pottery shop, so Poppy walked over. "Hey, how are you?"
"Not as good as you, I'm guessing." Mackenzie gave her a mischievous grin, and Poppy groaned.
"Debra?"
Mackenzie nodded.
"I knew it!" Poppy gulped, her cheeks burning. "How do you manage, living in a town where everyone knows your business?"
"You learn to be discreet. Aww, it's not so bad." Mackenzie gave her a sympathetic hug. "It's just that you're new, so you're a mysterious outsider, and Cooper . . . Well, Coop has a lot of friends here. We just want to see him happy."
Mackenzie began strolling in the direction of the pub, so Poppy fell into step alongside. "I know. It's just a change, coming from the city. I've lived in the same apartment for three years now, and I don't think I even know my neighbor's name!"
Mackenzie smiled. "That sounds like heaven to me."
"Sometimes." Poppy thought about it. "But when the power cut out for days and I couldn't find any matches, I wished I knew them a little better."
"Well, you won't find that here," Mackenzie said. "You're more likely to have Bert show up to fix the fuse box and Franny drop by with a casserole, just in case."
Poppy looked around. The town square was lit up in the early-evening dark: twinkling lights strung on the trees and around the gazebo. It was beautiful and peaceful, and the night was so clear, she could even see the stars. "It's a really special place, isn't it?"
"It's home," Mackenzie said simply. "I get to thinking about leaving every few years, but somehow, it never works out."
"You've lived here all your life, haven't you?"
Mackenzie nodded. "Almost. My family moved here when I was sixteen. They're up in Truro now," she added, naming a town about fifteen minutes away. "There's more land there for the alpacas. Don't ask," she added, with a rueful face.
Poppy laughed. "OK."
They were outside the pub now. Mackenzie nodded inside. "Drink?"
"Sure. I'm meeting Cooper here for dinner, too."
"Romantic," Mackenzie teased, and Poppy laughed.
"I think it is. Maybe you're immune to it now, but this town is about as charming as it comes."
They stepped inside, into the warm. It was a cozy scene, with a fire roaring in the grate and a few people already settled in with food and drinks. They headed over to where Riley was behind the bar, still looking scruffy with too-long hair and a plaid shirt. "Look who it is," he greeted them with a charming grin. "My new favorite person."
"Uh oh." Poppy looked around. "What did I do?"
"Brought a smile to the face of the grumpiest bachelor on the Cape," Riley replied. Poppy groaned.