Page 66 of Forbidden Dreams
Aspen: Are you okay with that?
Cooper: I told her to stay at school. I was hoping she'd accept an invite from one of her new friends. But she didn't.
Aspen: Maybe she missed you.
Cooper: I don't want her to come home. What if Dad shows up?
My heart warmed at his protective instincts for his sister.
Aspen: You shouldn't have to worry about that.
Cooper: My dad is no good. I don't want him to hassle you or the other Sterlings. It has to be like this. I won't compromise my relationship with your family.
I shouldn't push. It would only make things worse.
Aspen: I know.
Cooper: We have to pretend that nothing is going on between us today.
I wished it could be different. That he'd stayed in my bed, and we’d eaten breakfast together. Then we'd go over to my parents, then after dinner, to his mom’s. He was ashamed of his upbringing. But I accepted every part of him. Too bad he couldn't see that.
Cooper: Your brothers can't find out.
His text had a frantic quality to it, and I wanted to reassure him.
Aspen: They won't.
I hated having to pretend that he meant nothing to me, but it was what he wanted. And there was no way my brothers would be okay about us dating. They'd feel like we went behind their backs, which we had.
It was going to be a long day of pretending, but I'd protect Cooper.
I snapped a picture of the tree and sent it to him, captioning it:
Aspen: Wish you were here.
Cooper: It looks great. I'm putting up my tree now.
I'd almost forgotten that he'd gotten one too. A few minutes later, he sent a picture of his tree in front of his living-room window.
Aspen: Perfect.
Cooper: I don't have blue lights for mine.
Aspen: White will look nice too.
Cooper: We have a few more hours of quiet, then it will be chaos.
Aspen: Speak for yourself. I have to go over sooner to help my mom cook.
Cooper: Good luck.
Aspen: Hopefully, no one gives me a hard time about my job this year.
Or the lack of a boyfriend. I wasn't looking forward to the pressure to go on blind dates or any dates, for that matter. I felt like I was taken, even if it wasn't true.
The texts stopped, and I finished my coffee before heading to my parents’ house. I'd help Mom prep the food. My brothers would pop in with their significant others. It would be loud and chaotic, and I would love every minute of it.
Hopefully, Mom would be too busy planning for the future filled with weddings and grandbabies, and she wouldn't harp on my situation.
