Page 45 of Forbidden Dreams
I stiffened. Not when it was my normal state of being. "No."
"Huh," he said like he didn't believe me.
"You're looking for something that isn't there. I'm not interested in meeting anyone. I have no desire to be tied down. I'm not boyfriend material."
"Because women say you're closed off?"
"That and the example my parents set was awful." I held up my hand. "And don't say that I'm different. You can't know that."
"I don't have to know about your past to know that you're a good man now."
I snorted. How could I be any different from my dad?
"You had my family as an example."
That was something I hadn't considered. "Maybe."
"Are you going to the Cocoa Crawl?" he asked.
"That's not really my thing."
"I'm surprised that Aspen hasn't gotten you to participate in more town events since you're working together."
"We keep it about the work that needs to be done. I'm not involved in the events." I hoped that was convincing. We didn't talk when we were having sex unless to say harder.
"Huh. I was hoping Aspen could pull you out of this funk you've been in."
"I'm not in a funk." I drank the rest of the hot chocolate and tossed the cup in the waste bin. "I'd better get back to work."
"You shouldn't be working so much."
I shrugged. "It's just for this project. Eve wants it done before the winter ball. So we only have a few weeks to get these two bathrooms completed. Then we'll move on to the ones in the lobby of the inn."
"You're a hard worker, Cooper," Morgan said, considering me.
"I try to be."
"But you don't always have to prove that you're different than your dad." He held up his hand. "I don't have to know anything about your upbringing to know that you have some hang-ups, and I can only assume they are about your family."
The Sterling brothers had never focused on me like this before. I was just an addition to the family. I blamed it on them dating women. They thought everyone should be happy, which was ridiculous.
"You should join us. Aspen put on a good event. She has more food trucks than ever before, and every shop is serving a different flavor of hot chocolate. There are carriage rides and ice skating."
I snorted. "You know that's not my thing. But I'm sure it's perfect for you and Reina."
A slow smile spread over his face. "I proposed to her on a horse-drawn carriage ride. It was special."
I'd never seen Morgan look so satisfied with life. He was happy. And he deserved that. But good things didn't happen for everyone. There was no point in hoping and wishing for anything different.
The best I could do was a few stolen moments with Aspen. I would be kidding myself if I thought it could be anything else. Hoping to change the subject, I said, "I'm happy for Aspen. She really seems to be in her element planning events for the town."
Morgan's face softened. "Yeah, Mom's hoping this will be the thing that she settles on."
My forehead wrinkled. "Maybe her interests change, or her passion shifts. Nothing wrong with that."
"Mom's talking about setting Aspen up on blind dates. I'm just glad it's her and not us." He pushed off the wall and moved toward the exit.
I whistled. "Blind dates would be brutal."
