with the interior decorating, but she was afraid to bring it up. Things were good between them as they worked side by side and slept tangled in each other’s arms. She didn’t think she could bear it if the answer was “no.”
Not that Cooper gave her reasons to doubt him. If anything, he seemed intent on protecting her happiness rather than tearing her down.
“Can you hand me that hammer?” he asked absently, sprawled on his stomach below the peak of the roof, surrounded by piles of replacement slate shingles.
From her position on the ladder, Vivian could reach the spot it had slid to if she stretched, but the zipper of her puffy down vest caught on the edge of the roof.
“Whoops!”
Cooper’s head shot up, concern darkening his handsome features. “Never mind! Stay put, I’ll get it.”
Vivian unhooked the zipper and rolled her eyes. “I can do it, just give me a minute.”
“No need. Just hang out on the ladder. It still feels steady, right?”
She hid a smile, fond exasperation tickling at her. “Yes. The ten-pound bags of mulch you braced it with are holding. Honestly, Cooper, when you said you wanted to oversee the renovations, I didn’t imagine that meant you’d be doing them all yourself!”
“You’ve helped.” He hooked the hammer with his foot and inched it up the roof to where he could grab it. Holding it aloft triumphantly, he wiped a trickle of sweat from his forehead with the back of his wrist. It was another mild winter day on Sanctuary Island, and working on the roof in the afternoon sun made it seem almost hot.
Not that Vivian had been allowed to do much actual work.
“Sure, because standing on a ladder and doing nothing is really helpful,” she grumbled.
“You made me lemonade,” Cooper pointed out. “And brought me lunch.”
“I’m supposed to be learning about home repair and renovation, not how to be a waitress!”
“Learn by watching,” he said firmly, going back to his careful placement of the dark grey stone tiles. “I don’t want you scrambling around up here. You could fall.”
“So can you. But I already know how useless it is to mention that fact.” She sighed. “Useless is basically my middle name.”
“Don’t say that,” Cooper mumbled around the nails he’d stuck in the side of his mouth until he needed them. “You’re not useless. I’m here to help, so just accept it. You don’t have to do this all on your own.”
A wave of warmth swept through her, but right on its heels was the old, familiar clench of guilt. She should be on her own. It’s what she deserved.
Cooper’s eyes narrowed as if her negative thoughts were written on her forehead. He propped himself up on one sweatshirted elbow and pointed the hammer at her. “Stop it. Seriously. I can’t take that guilty face. What do you have to feel so guilty about anyway?”
She could hardly believe he had to ask, but… “Um, disappearing on our wedding day without even leaving a note?”
An odd look came over his face. “You really still feel bad about that.”
Bad didn’t begin to cover it. “It was the worst mistake of my life. And it led to a whole host of other mistakes, terrible choices and stupid decisions, and I feel guilty about all of it. All those people my parents and Gerald defrauded—some of them lost their life savings.”
“Yeah, and you spent your life savings trying to pay them back,” Cooper argued. “Even though you had nothing to do with the crime.”
“I should have known what Gerald was up to. How could I not have realized something was wrong?” She shook her head, hands tightening on the top rung of the ladder until the rough metal tread cut into her palms. “The truth is, everything was wrong back then. I couldn’t pick out that one criminal thread of wrongness from the mess of the rest of my life.”
Cooper’s eyes flashed, and he began the slow, precise process of making his way across the slanted roof toward her. Vivian swallowed, nose and
Not that Cooper gave her reasons to doubt him. If anything, he seemed intent on protecting her happiness rather than tearing her down.
“Can you hand me that hammer?” he asked absently, sprawled on his stomach below the peak of the roof, surrounded by piles of replacement slate shingles.
From her position on the ladder, Vivian could reach the spot it had slid to if she stretched, but the zipper of her puffy down vest caught on the edge of the roof.
“Whoops!”
Cooper’s head shot up, concern darkening his handsome features. “Never mind! Stay put, I’ll get it.”
Vivian unhooked the zipper and rolled her eyes. “I can do it, just give me a minute.”
“No need. Just hang out on the ladder. It still feels steady, right?”
She hid a smile, fond exasperation tickling at her. “Yes. The ten-pound bags of mulch you braced it with are holding. Honestly, Cooper, when you said you wanted to oversee the renovations, I didn’t imagine that meant you’d be doing them all yourself!”
“You’ve helped.” He hooked the hammer with his foot and inched it up the roof to where he could grab it. Holding it aloft triumphantly, he wiped a trickle of sweat from his forehead with the back of his wrist. It was another mild winter day on Sanctuary Island, and working on the roof in the afternoon sun made it seem almost hot.
Not that Vivian had been allowed to do much actual work.
“Sure, because standing on a ladder and doing nothing is really helpful,” she grumbled.
“You made me lemonade,” Cooper pointed out. “And brought me lunch.”
“I’m supposed to be learning about home repair and renovation, not how to be a waitress!”
“Learn by watching,” he said firmly, going back to his careful placement of the dark grey stone tiles. “I don’t want you scrambling around up here. You could fall.”
“So can you. But I already know how useless it is to mention that fact.” She sighed. “Useless is basically my middle name.”
“Don’t say that,” Cooper mumbled around the nails he’d stuck in the side of his mouth until he needed them. “You’re not useless. I’m here to help, so just accept it. You don’t have to do this all on your own.”
A wave of warmth swept through her, but right on its heels was the old, familiar clench of guilt. She should be on her own. It’s what she deserved.
Cooper’s eyes narrowed as if her negative thoughts were written on her forehead. He propped himself up on one sweatshirted elbow and pointed the hammer at her. “Stop it. Seriously. I can’t take that guilty face. What do you have to feel so guilty about anyway?”
She could hardly believe he had to ask, but… “Um, disappearing on our wedding day without even leaving a note?”
An odd look came over his face. “You really still feel bad about that.”
Bad didn’t begin to cover it. “It was the worst mistake of my life. And it led to a whole host of other mistakes, terrible choices and stupid decisions, and I feel guilty about all of it. All those people my parents and Gerald defrauded—some of them lost their life savings.”
“Yeah, and you spent your life savings trying to pay them back,” Cooper argued. “Even though you had nothing to do with the crime.”
“I should have known what Gerald was up to. How could I not have realized something was wrong?” She shook her head, hands tightening on the top rung of the ladder until the rough metal tread cut into her palms. “The truth is, everything was wrong back then. I couldn’t pick out that one criminal thread of wrongness from the mess of the rest of my life.”
Cooper’s eyes flashed, and he began the slow, precise process of making his way across the slanted roof toward her. Vivian swallowed, nose and
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