The Off Limits Rule: A Romantic Comedy (It Happened in Nashville Book 1)

“Drew,” I call out before I even make it to the kitchen, because I’m just itching for a fight now.

I hear Lucy groan behind me and offer up some prayers of protection as we round the corner.

Quickly taking in my surroundings, I stop in the threshold, and Lucy bumps hard into my back. “OUCH. Brake lights next time.” She puts her hands on the outsides of my biceps and peeks around me like a little baby bear.

The coffee pot is in Drew’s hand, hovering un-poured over his mug, jaw hard and flexing. There’s a moment where we both do nothing but stare at each other, and if my adrenaline wasn’t pumping through me in unhealthy quantities, I’d probably regret my decision. Drew takes me in from head to barefoot toes and the word ANGRY writes itself in a thought bubble above him.

“Drew,” I say, making the first attempt at conversation. “We need to ta—”

“What are you doing in my house right now?” Oh, that is not a happy tone.

“That’s what I want to—”

“And where is your freaking shirt? And your socks. And your shoes.”

He’s not actually worried about my socks and shoes; he’s just wanting to point out that I’m far too naked to be in his home right now with his baby sister holding on to me.

Lucy squeezes my bicep, and it gives me the courage I need. “I spent the night here last night.”

Drew’s nostrils flare, and he swallows dangerously. I want him to set down that mug. I think it’s about to shatter under his white-knuckled grip. “You slept with my sister?”

Thankfully, he turns and sets down the mug and coffee pot—except now his hands are free to strangle me.

“Not in the way you’re suggesting, but I will sleep with your sister in the way you’re suggesting at some point.”

Lucy’s fingers bite into my arm. “Not helpful,” she hisses at me.

“I told you to stay away from her,” Drew says, his voice somehow getting closer even though he’s staying put.

Lucy pushes around me this time. “Okay, enough of your macho talk. I’m my own woman, Drew, and you can’t tell men to stay away from me like you own me.”

“Luce.” My tone is soft and pleading, begging her to let me deal with Drew. Her sharp blue eyes cut to me and melt. She gives me a single nod before I turn my gaze back to my friend.

“What was that?” He has crazy eyes bouncing between me and Lucy, and he wiggles his finger between us. “That little silent communication. What was that? Because to me, that looked an awful lot like two people who have been talking about something for a long time.”

I nod. “That’s exactly what it was. Look, I’m sorry I went behind your back, and I tried as hard as I could to not see her, but—”

“But you did what Cooper does best and did exactly what you wanted.”

“Drew!” Lucy says in a warning.

I point at Drew. “That—why do you say stuff like that about me? Dude, you’ve known me one year. You’ve barely scratched the surface of who I am, and yet, you’re acting like you’ve known me my whole life. Why did you just shut me down when I first approached you about Lucy? We could have talked. I could have told you I went through a really hard breakup before I moved here, had a long-term, serious relationship and wanted her to marry me. I have a whole life I lived before I met you, but for some reason, you’ve been content to just know me in the now and let that be enough.”

Drew isn’t swayed. He folds his arms like a defiant child. I think he’ll stomp a foot next. “I do know you. I lived with you, remember? I saw the parade of women you brought through here—”

“Hardly a parade, okay? Let’s be accurate with our insults.”

“Don’t be funny with me right now. I am not laughing.”

“I’m not trying to be funny, Drew. I’m trying to get you to see that I’m not the guy you have built up in your head. Yeah, I dated around a lot, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t want something more serious.”

Drew scoffs with a scary smile. “Bull. You may think you’ve changed and want something stable, but Lucy doesn’t get to be your test subject. She and Levi deserve the best—not to be your next trial to see if you can be a family man or not.”

Maybe a month ago, I would have believed him. Because here’s the thing about people you admire speaking into your life: sometimes you trust their opinion of yourself more than your own. But just because they say it, doesn’t make it true, and I’m done letting him tell me who I am.

“You’re wrong, and I’m asking you to try to see me differently.”

Drew scrapes his hand across his jaw and shakes his head. I look to Lucy, and she must see the weakness behind my armor, because she smiles and comes to wrap her arm around my middle, burrowing up under my arm. Every touch from her feels like home, and it gives me courage to push forward.

“I love your sister, Drew, and I love your nephew. I know this all comes as a shock because you haven’t been around to see our time together, but—”

“Enough.” Drew holds up a hand and looks between Lucy and me with an expression of disgust that I don’t feel is warranted. “I don’t support this, and I’m pissed that you did this behind my back.”

“Well, I could say the same to you,” Lucy says to Drew, a wobble in her voice that cuts me.

He shakes his head slowly at her. “You’re making a bad choice again.” Lucy sucks in a sharp breath through her nose, and I know she’s trying not to cry. I pull her in closer. “And you…I have nothing left to say to you.” Drew’s feet pound the floor as he storms past us, knocking into my shoulder as he yanks his keys off the counter and leaves the kitchen. A second later, the front door slams behind him, making both my shoulders and Lucy’s jump.

We both stand frozen, staring at the spot where Drew just stood, holding on to each other, speechless. My thumb glides slowly up and down her arm, and her fingers squeeze my hip. I know Drew isn’t right about me. I know he isn’t right about Lucy making a bad choice. And yet…his words burrow under my skin and tell me maybe I’m the one who’s wrong. Maybe he sees some glaring fault in me that I can’t.

Maybe Lucy and Levi would be better without me…

“Well, that didn’t go the way I hoped,” I say, finally breaking the silence and trying to drown out my own insecure thoughts.

“You should have just taken me up on making love.”

“Is that option still on the table?”

Lucy pinches my side, and I squirm, trying to get away from her torture. She turns her face to kiss me square on my chest then peels herself away, going to the coffee pot and pouring us both a cup. “Can you get the pancake mix out of the pantry?” she asks over her shoulder. Her hair is hanging long down her back in loose, beautiful, wild waves, and her t-shirt is askew, showing an extra inch of her collarbone. Maybe it’s just Drew’s voice still ringing in my ears, but I can’t help the feeling that I don’t deserve to be here.

“You still want me to stay for breakfast?”

Lucy pauses and turns around to lean back against the counter, a sweet smile settled over her mouth. “Cooper James, I love you, and nothing my big dummy of a brother says will change that. I know you better than he does, and I want nothing more than for you to stay and eat pancakes with me and Levi this morning. Please don’t go.” She holds out her arms, and I gladly step into them because now I’m a man addicted to Lucy’s touch.

“I don’t want to come between you guys.”

She sighs. “Sometimes confrontation is necessary, and clearly, this one was. I think it’s okay that we’re asking for Drew to see us differently. He’s used to knowing each of us a certain way, and we’ve both changed, grown out of who we used to be, and he’s trying to hold us in a box we don’t fit in anymore. I’m sure it’s going to be uncomfortable for a bit, but he’ll come around.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Apparently, you don’t know Drew very well either. He will. He just has to throw a tantrum first.”

I lean away so I can take Lucy’s face in my hands. “Have I told you I love you?”

She grins. “Are we going to be that annoying couple who says it every five seconds now?”

“Oh yeah. I can see myself becoming very clingy.”

She lets out a groan. “Insufferable. Are you going to call me a hundred times a day?”

I pick her up and set her on the counter so I can kiss that patch of her shoulder that’s peeking out of her shirt. “A hundred and one.”

“Gross. You’re not going to call me babe, are you?” She tilts her neck and taps a finger to it, showing me exactly where she wants me to go next.

I grin and do as I’m told, laying a warm, lingering kiss right above her finger. “Oh yeah, baby.”

“Baby?! Oh, that’s worse. I don’t know if I can allow that.” Her voice is trailing off as I nip at her earlobe.

I feel her shoulders melt as I hover my mouth over her ear and whisper, “I’ll call you anything you want me to, Lucy.”

“Oh goodness.” Her tone has me scooping her up off the counter and carrying her out of the kitchen. She kisses my neck as I carry her to the stairs, her room my destination.

Until…

“PANCAKE DAY!!!” Levi shouts from the top of the stairs.

I pause in my tracks and shut my eyes in a tight, pained squint because I’ve never been more upset to hear those words in my entire life. Lucy laughs and strokes the back of my head then whispers, “Welcome to parenthood.”