“I think I could have made your life a little easier, too,” she said, laughing.
He smiled, but quickly sobered. “The question is, Where do we go from here?” he asked awkwardly.
Lexie drew a deep breath, the answer obvious at least to her. “How about we go forward?” she suggested.
Her father stood and rounded the desk.
Lexie rose from her seat and met him halfway, giving her father the first heartfelt hug she could remember.
And she knew she had Coop to thank. Not that he knew it. Telling him would come later.
Assuming he still wanted to hear it.
LEXIE ARRIVED BACK at her grandmother’s to find Charlotte trying on clothes, parading through the apartment. Sylvia sat in the living room, offering her opinion on a ruffled, magenta-colored dress that clashed with her hair.
“This is my favorite!” Charlotte exclaimed. “What do you think?”
Sylvia narrowed her gaze. “The ivory one suits your skin tone better,” she said, glancing at Lexie with a quick wink.
“What’s the occasion?” Lexie asked, settling into a chair.
Charlotte twirled in her dress—as well as she could twirl at her age. “We’re all going to a gala for the Lancaster Foundation.”
“Excuse me?”
Sylvia reached for a glass of water, taking a sip before explaining. “It seems they’re auctioning off the jewels to raise money and they’re throwing a big shindig.”
Lexie narrowed her gaze, focusing in on the two ex-thieves who’d just happened to once own said jewels, preparing for the occasion. “How did you two wangle an invitation?”
Charlotte smiled, beaming from ear to ear. “From the master of ceremonies, of course! Your favorite bachelor and mine, Sam Cooper.” She imitated a drumroll for emphasis.
Lexie’s stomach curled at the sound of his name. “Coop invited you?”
Charlotte bent down, leaning closer to Sylvia. “I think she’s jealous,” she said in a stage whisper.
Despite the idiocy of it all, Lexie flushed. “I am not.”
“Well you shouldn’t be, because you’re invited, too!” her grandmother said.
Once again, Lexie’s stomach flipped. “Did Coop come by?” she asked, pathetically hopeful.
Sylvia shook her head.
“But this lovely invitation came in the mail with a handwritten note.” Charlotte pointed to a large invitation on the coffee table.
Lexie lifted up the envelope and scanned the preprinted address. “Hey, it’s addressed to me!” She shook her head at her grandmother.
“Yes, but the note inside says there are enough tickets for all three of us—by name!”
“Something you wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t opened my mail,” Lexie chided.
“Minor details. Do you like this dress?” her grandmother asked.
The two women had certainly bounced back from the revelation of their caper and losing the jewelry.
“Honestly? I prefer ivory on you as well,” Lexie said diplomatically.
“Okay, ivory it is. Would you like to borrow this one?” her grandmother offered.
Lexie nearly choked. “No, thank you.”
“Don’t tell me you aren’t going! I know you, Lexie Davis. You’ve been avoiding Coop ever since you captured the three of us.”
Lexie rolled her eyes. “What is it with people and that word avoiding?”
“If the shoe fits, dear,” Sylvia said.
“It’s always the quiet ones you have to watch out for,” Lexie muttered. “I’m going to my room.” She rose and turned toward the hall.
“Are you saying you aren’t avoiding Coop?” Her grandmother planted her petite body directly in Lexie’s path.
Experience told her if she didn’t deal with the question directly, she wasn’t getting past. “I was and now I’m not. Satisfied?”
“Not yet. What are you going to wear to the party?” Charlotte pulled a tissue out of her cle**age and blew her nose. “Buy yourself something new. Something eye-catching. Expose your boobies,” she said when she’d finished.
“Oh, brother. You two stay out of trouble.” Lexie darted around her grandmother and headed for the safety of her room.
She lay down on her bed, hands beneath her head and stared at the ceiling. She needed more than a new dress, though she’d definitely go through the pain of shopping to look good for the event.
She needed to talk to Coop before the gala. She couldn’t say what she wanted to in a public place. And she couldn’t handle seeing him with everything still unsettled between them.
But she’d tried to reach him after leaving her father’s only to get his answering machine at home, the recording on his cell and his voice mail at work. Even if he didn’t want to speak to her, he wouldn’t avoid her. Which meant he was busy on a story.
She didn’t leave a message because she wanted to hear his voice and gauge his reaction when she called. She didn’t want him to have time to think or cover his feelings.
So she’d just have to keep trying.
A TEENAGER TURNED UP missing, consuming the cops and the press for the better part of a week. By the time Coop found himself with downtime, he was dressing for the auction and he’d barely slept in days. He thought he’d been eating, but he couldn’t remember. Though the child had been found alive, he didn’t want to think about the psychological damage that had been done to her in the interim. He’d been living, breathing and eating that news for too long as it was.
At least the auction, as much as he was dreading it, would take him away from the horrific story he’d been covering. It helped that he wouldn’t be alone there. He’d invited his family to the event. Matt and his wife were busy, but his father had surprised him by agreeing. Not only had he gotten someone to cover the bar, he’d also invited a date. A widow he’d been seeing on the side.
Coop was happy for the old man. At least one of them had a love life that seemed to be on the upswing.
Coop also had a date. On speaking to the foundation people, they’d told him they were hiring guards to keep an eye on the items being sold. Charlotte’s pieces were only a part of what was on the block and they needed at least two security guards. Knowing that Sara liked to take outside work, he’d tipped her off and she’d applied for the job. She’d extended the information to Rafe Mancuso, her ex-partner, and with Coop’s recommendation and their references, they’d both been hired. Coop and Sara were going to the event together.