‘That’s hardly an appropriate way to address your supervisor,’ Cooper said, once they’d both hung up. ‘Or a potential research candidate.’
‘How about addressing my friend, who seems to temporarily have lost his mind?’
‘Really? Have you got any evidence to back that statement up?’ Cooper tried to keep his voice calm, even as the blood careened through his veins.
‘Why else would you complete the form? Was this some bizarre way to make me feel better? Or a sick joke? How far were you planning to go along with it? Emma’s already been left standing at the altar once before. The whole point of her taking part in this was to prevent it happening again. I don’t understand why you would do this!’
‘Really?’
‘Well, I know you don’t want to marry my sister!’
‘How do you know?’
‘Why would you?’ Bridget was pink with indignation.
‘Well, if she’s anything like the rest of your family, she’d be an amazing wife!’ Cooper said, sounding strangely angry considering it was one of the nicest things he’d ever said to her.
All Bridget’s bluster deflated in an instant. She sank into the chair, hands covering her face while Cooper waited.
‘I didn’t know you wanted to get married,’ she mumbled through her fingers.
‘I didn’t either. And then I did.’
‘I’d be so happy for you if you had someone.’ She dropped her hands. ‘And, honestly, Cooper, while we’re being nice to each other, I couldn’t choose anyone better to marry my sister.’
Cooper quickly shut down the stab of pain that she’d be happy about it, rather than ripe with jealousy, as if the prospect of him marrying Emma would make her suddenly realise that she was the Donovan sister he should be with.
‘But you couldn’t run away again,’ she said, her voice tight with anxiety.
‘I didn’t run away. I relocated for work.’
‘And you’d have to try really hard at expressing your feelings, and being vulnerable. Are you sure you can do that?’
‘I manage it with you, don’t I?’ Some of his feelings, anyway.
She nodded, thoughtfully. ‘Are you really, really sure?’
‘I think I can make her happy, if she’s up for it.’
‘Emma’s not very good at failing.’
Cooper grinned. ‘Well, that’s sorted, then, because neither am I.’
‘It’d be strange. You being hers, not mine any more.’
He gripped the seat with both hands to stop them ripping the application form out of her hands and shredding it.
‘How the hell am I going to keep this a secret from her?’ She laughed, although at the same time a tear spilled out of one eye and ran down her cheek.
‘We’ll make it a short engagement.’
‘Shall I tell my family? It’ll stop them worrying once Emma tells them that she’s having a blind-date wedding.’
‘Can you wait a week or so first? I have a couple of things I need to do.’
Bridget took a deep breath. ‘This is the maddest day in my family’s mad history. I think I need to go home and stare into space for a few days.’ She got up to leave. ‘Oh! But, hang on! I’d almost forgotten this was Prof’s stupid work project and not just two people deciding to spend the rest of their lives together under the bizarrest circumstances ever. How can you do this if you’re the project supervisor? That’s totally against protocol.’
‘One, this project is outside any protocol. Two, as of this lunchtime I’m no longer working on the compatibility project. From now on, you’re on your own.’
