Chapter Twelve

The sound of Emily’s teeth chattering made Cooper get up off the couch and put another log on the fire. “There, that should heat this room up in no time,” he said. They were back at her giant house, sitting on the sofa in the family room, waiting for the fireplace to warm up the large space.

“I thought you said the boiler was more than adequate for heating up this house,” she said, shooting him a teasing look.

“It is, except you actually have to turn on the heat to make it work, and it takes longer than ten minutes to warm a ten-thousand-square-foot inn.”

“Details,” she said over the rim of her wineglass.

He laughed. He hadn’t intended on coming in after he drove her home, but after the night they’d had, he couldn’t just leave her. And if he were really truthful, he didn’t want to leave her. He wanted more. For the first time since Catherine, he wanted everything. He wanted to know her secrets, he wanted to know her past, he wanted to hear her laugh, he wanted to hold her, he wanted to kiss her, he wanted to spend the night with her.

Emily was so different from Catherine. What he felt for her was different, too. Not that he wanted to go through his life comparing women to his deceased wife, but she was the only woman he’d given his heart and soul to. Catherine had been fearless. She’d had an easy self-confidence that had come from an upbringing that was solid and positive. She hadn’t been afraid of anything or of trying anything.

On the outside, at first, that’s what he’d assumed about Emily. She’d been polished…except for their first encounter. But she was poised and knew her way around a business. She was educated and sophisticated, but when he started spending more time with her, some of the layers stripped away to reveal a vulnerable side that left him with the unfamiliar need to watch out for her. “So can I ask you about that contract that I signed?”

Her gaze darted from his to the wine bottle. “Uh, sure. But you really should have asked for clarification before you signed.”

He laughed. “Noted. But I think I would have signed just about anything to go out with you.”

Her shoulders relaxed, and the panic left her eyes. She smiled at him, almost like she was seeing him in a different way, and he wondered at that. At what it was she was so afraid of. “So which points did you want clarification on?”

He thought back to the contract and tried to keep the mood light. “Maybe not the points in detail, but maybe the reason behind the entire list.”

She pulled the plaid blanket tighter around herself, and he fought the urge to pull her onto his lap and lie down with her, to feel her body next to his again. “So, I’ve had people in my past that made me insecure about myself. I decided I was going to start a new life, and anyone who tried to put me down or make me feel inadequate by their standards didn’t deserve to be in my life.”

“Who was he?” he asked in as soft a voice as he could muster. He already knew it was some guy, but he wanted to know more. He wanted to know what he did, wanted to know who she was before she became the woman sitting in front of him.

“We’re breaking so many rules. So many personal stories. If I tell you, that’ll nix the Darth rule, too.”

She was right. He didn’t care about the contract anymore. Hell, he didn’t even care about the lifetime rodent removal he’d agreed to, because he wanted to know more. He couldn’t get enough of Emily. “I won’t let anyone know we’re in breach of contract if you don’t.”

She made a sound that was almost a laugh. Her gaze left his, and she drew her knees up under her chin. “I guess I have to talk, don’t I? You managed, and your…heartbreak is one I can’t even imagine living through,” she whispered, her eyes shining. Maybe that was one of those things he liked most about her—the compassion that appeared without warning, without qualifiers. They were talking about her, and she was still thinking about him and Catherine.

“We all have our own stories, our own pain,” he said. “This isn’t about who had a worse life or who suffered more. My experience doesn’t make yours any less bad.”

She picked up her wineglass again. “It was my family, I guess. There was a very strange family dynamic in my house. My brother is twelve years older than me, and my father was often working and not really involved in the day-to-day at the house. My brother took over as a sort of pseudo-father figure, except he wasn’t a very nice person.”

He tried to hide his surprise, because this hadn’t been what he was expecting. He had thought the guy was an ex, a boyfriend or husband. He’d come from a very normal, stable family, as had Catherine, and he had no idea what it would be like to grow up in a dysfunctional home. “How so?” he asked when she didn’t continue.

She gave a small shrug. “I have a lot of early memories of fearing him. Like he had this uncontrollable temper. I remember once when I was six, I laughed at something he did when a friend was over, and he just went crazy and started kicking me and yelling at me. He had a violent streak that would come on without warning. Or like other things, like destroying my favorite toys in a fit of rage. I remember running to the bathroom to lock myself in because I was afraid he’d hurt me. When you’re little and you’re growing up in a house like that, you don’t really realize there is something wrong until you get older and see how other families function. Because he was so much older, it wasn’t just a brother and sister tormenting or teasing each other. He was twelve years older than me.

“Anyway, as I grew up, I really became close with my father. I’d go into the office with him, and I’d want to know everything about the family business. Those were my favorite days. No one mocked me, no one hurt me.”

She took a long sip of wine and blinked a few times. “When I started going through puberty, my brother would make constant remarks about how fat I was getting, what I should be eating to lose weight, or how ugly I was. This is where the whole baseball story fits in,” she said, choking out a laugh.

He couldn’t even bring himself to fake a smile.

“I really wanted to play baseball. I was a huge fan and watched so many games. I was asking my mother one day if I could play. My brother overheard and said that I should play something like soccer, instead, because it burned more calories than baseball.”

He ran a hand over his jaw, keeping his remarks to himself. “What did your mother say?”

“She never corrected him. I think at some point along the way she became afraid of him—when he didn’t get his way, he would lash out and be verbally abusive. So she just told me that it was for boys, anyway, and I should sign up for piano lessons. I started becoming more and more self-conscious and would try to cover myself up as much as possible. I had a lot of issues with my body and had a very distorted image of who I was. When I look back on pictures, I’m sad for that girl, because I actually wasn’t heavy at all. But in my mind I was obese. I grew up hiding all my accomplishments because whenever something good happened to me, he would lash out even more.”

“Didn’t he ever move out?”

She gave a short laugh. “No. I went away to university hours away just to be free of that house. But the saddest part was that it was him who drove me away. I missed my parents, even my mother, who I saw as someone who didn’t help me fight against him. But I had no choice—I needed to get away to preserve my sanity. He would call me all the time.”

“Why?”

“A way to control me, maybe? He had no friends, no lasting relationships. He had a volatile relationship with our father, and even though he was always arguing with him, he joined the family business. I would have to talk to him on the phone just to try to preserve some peace and not have him lash out at me and create problems with our mother. When I graduated, I started working with my father right away. I worked so hard, and we saw eye to eye on so many things.

“But that, unfortunately, also brought out my brother’s jealous side. My father saw and knew exactly the kind of man my brother was, but confronting him made my mother very upset, so my father always backed off. My father knew I wanted to run the company one day, and I thought…I thought I would. He shut me out, though,” she said, her voice breaking.

He took her hand, and it felt cold and small in his. “I’m sorry,” he said roughly.

She shot him a wobbly smile, but it was the look in her eyes that gutted him. “He gave it all to my brother. Instead, I inherited this place,” she said, spreading her arms wide.

Hell. The betrayal. He got it now; he understood it. “Did you say anything? Could you contest the will?”

She shrugged. “It wasn’t even about the company, in the end. It was that my father betrayed me. He would rather jeopardize everything he’d worked for rather than give it to a woman. My brother said they’d discussed it and they agreed that it was more fitting for a man to have a career that demanding.”

“He’s Darth?”

“Yep.” She gave him a wry smile that made his stomach twist. “Darth.”

“Come here,” he said, tugging her over to him. She came willingly, like he was exactly what she needed. He reclined on the plush sofa, taking her with him, her body against his as he smoothed the hair off her face and stared into her eyes. He wanted more for her. He wanted her to have the childhood his sister had had.

The women in his life brought out a different side of him, a better side, and he was very well aware that they made him a better man. So, holding Emily in his arms, knowing how smart, how hardworking, how compassionate she was, and hearing her treated like that made him angry.

Emily was very different from Catherine. He and Catherine had been like high school sweethearts. Looking back, he saw that they had been practically children. Emily was a woman. She was strong in different ways, and she made him alive and excited. She made him into a different man.

He gently grasped the nape of her neck, threading his fingers through the silky hair, and reached out to kiss her. Slowly. Not like before, not like their first kiss, when he didn’t think he’d ever get enough. This kiss was about her, about letting her know how amazing he thought she was. “I’m so happy you moved here,” he said against her mouth. “And I think, if it doesn’t make me an evil person, that I’m glad I’m the one who taught you how to throw a ball, because I think that was the day I knew I was falling for you.”

She didn’t say anything for a moment, and then she kissed him. She kissed him and clung to him like he was a lifeline. Her fingers were in his hair, and he flung the blanket off her, letting his hands roam down her curvy body. He slid one hand up her leg, loving the warmth of her skin under him.

He knew that there was no going back to the way they were after tonight, and he didn’t care. He didn’t care that it was risky because they worked together and his family was involved. He didn’t care about any of it, because the woman in his arms was worth all the complications. He didn’t want to think of all the reasons they should stop or he should leave. For the first time in five years, he just wanted to feel. He wanted to feel alive again, wanted to feel a woman’s body again—not just any woman. Emily. He wanted it all with her, and that was the scariest thing, because he’d sworn he would never go down that road again.

A pounding on the front door made them both jump. “Oh my gosh, did you hear that?” Emily asked, slowly raising her body away from his, resting her hands on his shoulders.

She appeared flustered and flushed, and he was pretty sure he was going to kill whoever was on the other side of that door, especially if it was one of his brothers. “I should get that, shouldn’t I?”

He ran his hands through his hair as she scrambled to her feet and smoothed out her own hair and straightened out her dress. He sat up, painfully aware he needed a few more seconds before he stood. “Whoever it is, they really should think about calling before showing up at midnight,” he said.

He took her hand, and they made their way to the door. His stomach dropped when Moose’s daughter stood there with a backpack and a black eye.

…

“Can I crash here, or were you lying about helping me?”

Emily felt like she had the wind knocked out of her. Going from lying on top of Cooper a few minutes ago to answering the door to a poor girl who was in rough shape, was too much to process. Adrenaline kicked in a second later and she opened the door wider. “Of course I wasn’t lying. Come in.”

The girl shot Cooper a nervous glance but walked over the threshold and stood in the entryway, her gaze darting around jerkily. “This is impressive, even though it’s old.”

“Thanks. It’s a work in progress, but I think you’ll like it. Do you need some food? Can I get you some ice for your eye?” she asked, leading her down the hallway. Cooper was already walking toward the kitchen, and she was grateful he was here tonight.

“Food would be good. Ice, too, I guess,” she said, still looking around, her eyes wide. Even though she tried to sound tough, Emily could tell she was putting up a front. The girl looked terrified and her voice held a faint tremble.

Cooper had already set a bunch of ice cubes in a tea towel and handed it to her. The girl flinched, and immediately he handed the bundle to Emily. “Here, sit down at the island and put this on your eye. How about a turkey sandwich and a glass of apple juice?”

She thought for a second that the girl was going to make a smart-ass remark about the apple juice being childish, but her chin trembled, and she shrugged but nodded.

“Does your dad know where you are?” Cooper asked gently, standing across the island.

She frowned. “He doesn’t care, and I’m old enough to do what I want.”

“Okay. What’s your name, hun?” Emily asked, trying to keep her tone light as she pulled out some lettuce, sliced turkey, mayo, and cheddar cheese from the fridge. Cooper had already put sliced bread in the toaster.

“Morgan,” she said. “You know, after the captain?”

The bread popped out of the toaster, the only sound echoing in the large space. Emily couldn’t even make light of that comment, and when she looked at Cooper, she could see he was fighting the same urge to yell at someone. “Okay, so, how about you eat up, and I’ll go get your room ready?”

Morgan put down her makeshift ice pack and stared at her with disbelief. “You mean you’re actually letting me stay here?”

Her heart squeezed. “Of course. I said if you needed help, I’d help you. I have lots of rooms and a big old empty house. So, you eat, I’ll go get you set up.”

Morgan’s eyes shifted warily from her to Cooper. “Do the rooms have locks?”

Emily winced. “Not yet, because we’re still renovating, but no one will bother you. It’s just me and—”

“I would never hurt you,” Cooper said, his voice thick with emotion. Emily didn’t turn around to look at him, because she didn’t know what he was saying, why he was implying he was staying here. But she didn’t want to cause any more confusion.

After a minute, Morgan shrugged and picked up her sandwich. “Okay. I’ll stay if you insist.”

Emily shot her a smile, and she and Cooper left the room. They took the back staircase from the kitchen. When they were upstairs and out of earshot, they stared at each other.

“Oh my gosh,” Emily whispered.

Cooper was shaking his head. “I don’t even know what to say or where to start with this.”

“What was I supposed to do?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I would have done the same, too. I don’t blame you, but this is going to get complicated, fast.”

“She is of age. It’s not like it’s illegal for her to leave home,” Emily reasoned out loud.

“I know, but you’re about to involve yourself in a heap of family problems.”

“I can’t deny a person with a black eye a safe home,” she said, getting riled up again.

Cooper nodded grimly. “I know. I wasn’t going to turn her away, either, and somehow she got it in her head that you’re trustworthy.”

She narrowed her eyes. “That doesn’t exactly sound flattering.”

He flashed a smile. “It came out the wrong way. I meant it as a compliment. She must have sensed something in you to make her want to come here over anywhere else.”

Her heart squeezed. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Cooper rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe you don’t have to. Maybe all she needs is someone she can trust, someone who is kind and can offer her a warm bed and food.”

She took a deep breath. “Well, I can do that. I’m going to get bedding for her and some toiletries and towels.”

“Okay, I’ll double-check the en suite and see that everything is up and running.”

A few minutes later, they met back in the bedroom that Morgan would sleep in. Cooper was helping her with the sheets. “This is some luxury bedding,” Cooper said as the bedsheet billowed over the queen-size mattress.

“Part of my hotel collection. I got a great deal on it.”

He gave her a look she couldn’t figure out, and for a second she didn’t think he was going to say anything. “You’re pretty amazing, Em. You’re taking this girl in and giving her five-star hotel treatment.”

She had never been good at taking compliments. She never really received any. Her parents had never been big on praise. Certainly not her mother, because that would have angered her brother. From him, she’d only ever received criticism. She fluffed a pillow. “It’s not a big deal.”

“It’s a big deal.”

“So are you really staying here tonight?” she asked, straightening up.

“I don’t trust Moose. I can’t leave you here, knowing that guy might show up,” he said, taking a step closer to her. She shouldn’t be surprised, because that was the kind of man Cooper was, but she was relieved and…happy that he was staying.

“Do you have a blanket or something I could borrow?”

They glanced over to see Morgan standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. Her face was very pale, and her bruise seemed more pronounced. Emily forced a bright smile. “Here you go. You can sleep here. Fresh sheets, warm blankets. There’s a bathroom right through that door,” she said, pointing to it. “Toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, and all that are in there. Oh, and towels and a bathrobe, too. We’ll give you some privacy. Let me know if you need anything, okay?”

Morgan frowned, but it wasn’t an angry one. She blinked rapidly, and her eyes were watery as her gaze roamed the room. The large windows and window seat already had floor-to-ceiling, pinch-pleat silk curtains, and the hardwood floors gleamed. The crystal chandelier was dim, and the matching crystal bedside lamps cast a comforting glow. The restored mantel had a watercolor landscape hanging above it, painted by a local artist. “You mean this is my room?”

Emily gave her a gentle smile. “I would have turned the fireplace on, but our contractors are really slow at getting the gas line in.”

“Hey,” Cooper said with a short laugh. “That’s only because someone changes her mind a lot, so we’ve been waiting.”

Morgan’s chin was trembling, and her arms were crossed in front of her thin body. “It’s just, uh, it’s okay…thanks.”

Cooper shot Emily a look; she gave him a small nod, and then they left the room, neither of them saying anything as they walked down the stairs. “I think this hallway needs wallpaper, Cooper. Do you guys hang wallpaper?”

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, he kissed her, making her breathless, making her want more.

He pulled back a second later. “You know full well we don’t,” he said, smiling and then kissing her again. “And you’re trying to avoid having a real conversation about the fact that you’re letting that girl stay here.”

“We already discussed it. We both agreed there were no other options.” She realized that he was kissing her as though it was perfectly natural to do so. She wondered if that was what he was like when he was in a relationship. Was he affectionate like that? Would he just reach out and kiss her or hug her?

“Why do I sense you’re contemplating way more than wallpaper or Morgan?”

She placed her hand over her heart. “You don’t know me at all.”

He grinned. “I know you.”

“Yeah? Then what am I thinking?”

“You’re wondering where I’m going to sleep tonight.”

Her heart started hammering and laughter bubbled in her chest, because she had a hunch she was going to love bothering him. “Oh, I know exactly where you’re going to be sleeping. On that lovely couch in the family room.”

He laughed as he put one hand around her waist and tugged her closer. “Is that right?”

“Yup. I’ll see if I can find you a blanket or something.” She ran her hands up his hard chest and gladly moved close to him. She liked this fun side of him and that he seemed to be able to bring out the fun side in her. She wasn’t worried about doing or saying the right thing. She was just being herself. And she liked teasing Cooper.

For a second she was distracted from what they were talking about, and her gaze went over his features. She had never been this casually close to a man before, let alone a man as handsome as Cooper. She resisted the urge to trace his jawline with her fingers or run her hands over his chest and shoulders. He was magnetic and masculine, and she was so out of her comfort zone, in the best possible way.