“Neither do I.” Cooper drew in a breath. “I swear I want to hug you so much right now. I had no idea you’d been going through all this. Have you seen your father since he disappeared with the secretary?”
Felicity withdrew her hand, uncomfortable and embarrassed all over again. “Yes, once. I didn’t measure up, despite everything.” She gave a tight laugh. “Well, he’s dead now, so if I ever do reach a status he’d finally consider impressive, I’ll never know.”
“Well, then, he’s a fool not to have seen how amazing you are. You’re plenty impressive to me.”
Felicity lifted her head. That felt…wonderful. “I’m glad you think so.” She could count on one hand the number of people whose opinions mattered to her: Elena. Her mother, despite her lifestyle choices that involved quitting academia, lady-bird hair accessories, and loving Pinckney. And now…Cooper? Felicity had known her only a few days, so what on earth was that about?
“Definitely impressive,” Cooper said. “You had Councilor Deedra Randall, who is known to be a dragon when it suits her, in absolute awe of you. And you carved up our mayor today like it was nothing. You did it for people you don’t even know and animals you’re too afraid to even touch.” Cooper’s head tilted. “Would you mind if I asked if you have many close friends? Or, well, any?”
Felicity speared lettuce onto her fork with force. She always hated this question, especially since Starbucks employees apparently didn’t count. “There’s nothing wrong with being career focused and having no distractions. You don’t need friends to prosper.”
“That’s what I thought. And the reason I asked is because I see someone who managed to conquer the universe completely alone, without any support. That’s incredible.”
“I have support,” Felicity protested. “My boss is mentoring me. She’s exceptional.”
“Is she a friend, though? I mean, do you ever go out for a drink after work? Hang out at each other’s places?”
Felicity heart contracted. “No. Actually, I’m not… I’m not sure why she doesn’t…why…” She really didn’t have the first clue to understand what she lacked that made Elena never confide in her or reach out in friendship. And yet Maddie did it effortlessly. She’d just blown in, and suddenly Elena was emailing her when Maddie was off on assignment in Vietnam five minutes later. It was so frustrating.
“Do you want friends?” Cooper asked gently.
Felicity couldn’t answer. Did she want something she’d never sought out? Others seemed to think it was worthwhile. Felicity hadn’t really had friends since school. “They’re unnecessary distractions,” she muttered with little conviction. “Emotional roller coasters are exhausting. Human or animal. This was what my father was trying to tell me back then. He told me to suck it up so I wouldn’t be weak.”
“Weak?” Cooper blinked. “How old were you?”
“Twelve.”
“He told a twelve-year-old to suck it up?” Cooper eyed her. “To me you sound like a perfectly lovely, sweet child who adored her cat. You didn’t need to change who you were to be good enough or worthy of him. You don’t have to be this driven woman you’re trying so hard to be. You’re already enough, Felicity. You’re there. You’ve made it. Okay? You can relax now.”
Felicity chased some chicken around on her fork. “Hardly. I’m about to take over all of Bartell Corp. I’m far from ready to relax.” She took a bite, chewed without tasting it, and swallowed. “And I’d really rather never discuss my father again. The topic gets my blood boiling.”
“Okay,” Cooper lifted her hands. “Sure. But hey, if you ever want to talk about demanding dads in the future, though, I’m all ears. I have one of my own. My dad’s this big ole Army dude who decided I should be an Olympic athlete.” She chuckled. “Even as a kid, I was so big for my age.”
“I can believe it.” Felicity forced herself to unknot her muscles, relieved at the conversation shift. “Which sport?”
“He didn’t care. He tried me on all of them.”
“And were you any good?”
Cooper shrugged. “Sure. World-beating standard, though? Not even close. Besides, my good boys and girls were calling. I just can’t stay away from animals. Like Brittany—oh, she was love at first sight. She was given to me by a homeless woman just before she passed away. The woman was so scared I’d say no and Brittany would end up in a shelter. But I was smitten. Been stuck with that amazing dog ever since.”
“Like gum on a shoe.” Felicity said dryly. “You have that effect, too, you know.”
“I’m like gum? Used, icky gum?”
“In the sense you’re hard to shake,” Felicity said. “Memorable.” She reached for her wineglass and took a sip.
Cooper beamed. “Okay, speaking of memorable, you have to try a bite of this. It’s fantastic.”
Felicity was shaking her head, even as Cooper pointed a pizza slice just outside her mouth. Lord, this was so wrong. It was intimate, for a start, and she barely knew Cooper, although God knew her hormones definitely wanted more. Not to mention, hello, carbs! And cheese! But…why did it have to smell so sinful?
And oh. Suddenly she was tasting the food. Chewing slowly. Swallowing. It was glorious. Felicity sighed out appreciation, melting under the delicious spices. It had been years since she’d eaten something so flavor packed. “Heavenly.”
“Why do you look so surprised? Haven’t you had pizza in a while?”
“No, not in…” She stopped and thought. “Well, I haven’t had carbs in any major form since I was sixteen. So twenty years.”
Cooper looked horrified. “Is this all about the women in your family being round again? Because twenty years without pizza is overkill, don’t you think?”
“I guess I have been on the world’s longest diet.” Felicity shrugged, suddenly realizing how absurd that sounded. “I don’t have an eating disorder, if that’s what you’re wondering. I just… Well, it’s a habit now. It started out as a preventative measure against my genetics, yes. Then after a while, it just became convenient to pretty much eat the same things all the time because I don’t have to think about it and my clothes always fit, and that’s the end of it. I’m busy, and it’s easy. But I need to remind myself that a lapse every now and then is hardly a calamity, especially given this is what I’m missing. Actually, it’s wonderful.”
Cooper grinned. “Does that mean you’d be open to trying more things? I’d love to reintroduce you to every food there is. I’m an expert, given I love to taste everything.” She patted her rounded stomach. “Which probably shows.”
“Oh, it shows.” Felicity said, then realized with alarm how that sounded. “And it suits you,” she rushed on. “All of you seems so in proportion. Wide shoulders, long powerful legs, full hips, and round stomach. You’re just so…substantial.” She licked her lips at the thought. In fact, ever since she’d met Cooper, she couldn’t imagine any body shape more impressive than hers.
“You seem to have thought a great deal about my body.” Cooper’s eyes sparkled.
“Oh.” Felicity felt her cheeks warm up. Yes, that had sounded a bit too appreciative, hadn’t it? Christ. “I mean, it was a purely aesthetic observation. Like how Brittany is short and brown.”
“Tell me you did not just compare your date to her dog.” Amusement laced Cooper’s tone.
“I—” Felicity paused. “Wait. This is a date? I was under the impression it was a celebration.”
“Can’t it be both? I mean, I thought you were pretty brazen in your appreciation of me the first time we met. Remember when you took over two minutes to get my keys out of my pocket, like you were on the hunt for buried treasure?”
Oh God. She’d been that obvious?
“And just now you listed all my physical attributes in a pretty flattering way. What’s a girl to think? That you merely like my aesthetics in the same way you like my dog?” Cooper’s expression turned cocky.
