Page 29 of Enticed

“Great! Tired, but doing alright…”

“You did such a great job gaining exposure for the event yesterday and you must have been busy since we didn’t see you,” she pats my shoulder before I sit down on a chair at the counter.

“Yeah, it was crazy chaos, but I was happy to help,” I smile politely, stuffing a cucumber with ranch in my mouth so I can’t say anything more.

“Oh, but she still found time to bid on and win Cooper’s date,” Olivia spills the beans and I instantly freeze in my seat.

“Oh, yes. I know,” her mom replies. “And I think it’s wonderful,” Stacy glances over her shoulder and winks at me while Olivia’s back is turned.

Huh? Didn’t anticipate that reaction from Momma Walsh.

I finish chewing my food and then respond. “Well, I couldn’t bear the thought of Misty eating him alive. And the money went to a great cause, plus it was a tax write-off, so I think everyone wins,” I explain, using my standard three pieces of justification I’ve perfected over the last twenty-four hours.

“Won’t it be weird though, Clara? I mean, it’s Cooper,” Olivia’s face is scrunched in disgust at the thought of me and Cooper going on a date—as if I needed more of a reason to put off trying to explain my debacle to her.

“It shouldn’t be too bad. I mean, it’s not like we’re strangers. And yes, I know your brother can be annoying and an ass,” Olivia snickers at me, “But it was the least I could do to save him from Misty after he savedmeand everything,” I shrug, but I can see Olivia’s face soften at that revelation.

“You’re right. And I’m sure as hell glad it was him that was there that night, Clara. Even though you drive me crazy sometimes, I couldn’t imagine my life without you,” she wraps her arms around my neck and kisses my temple, making tears well in my eyes. “I know I don’t tell you enough, but I love you and I’m so glad you weren’t hurt or worse that night…”

I swallow and nod when she releases me. “Me too, Liv.” Guilt and fear hit me hard as I realize she doesn’t know the entire truth—everything that almost happenedandhow I feel about her brother.

“Me too, Clara,” Stacy embraces me now as the three of us fight off our emotions.

These people are my family and it feels good to have somewhere to belong. My parents flew back after the attack and spent a few days here to make sure I was okay, but then they were right back in Florida and carried on with their lives. They never fawned over me like the Walsh’s did—and even though it was annoying at times—Olivia, Cooper, and her parents made me feel cared for and loved.

“All the women are crying in here, guys… are you sure we need to come inside?” Cooper says over his shoulder as Dan and Kane trail him into the house. The garage is usually the safe haven for the men during these dinners—sitting around an ice chest full of beer and a TV with some sports game playing while the women converse and slave away in the kitchen.

“Shut up, Cooper! We were having a moment,” Olivia smacks him upside the head, her signature move with him lately.

“When are you not having a moment, Liv?” He chides in her ear, dodging the punch she threw his way this time before she nearly connected with his face.

“I can’t control my hormones, you idiot. I’m pregnant and we were just talking about the night Clara was attacked and it made me cry. So shut your face, Cooper.” She tears up again as Kane strides up to her and pulls her into his arms.

“Rein it in, Walsh. She may be your sister, but she’s my fiancé and I’m not above roughing you up a bit for making her mad,” Kane glares at his future brother-in-law.

Cooper instantly straightens his spine and the demeanor on his face changes from playful to serious in a second. “Fuck, I’m sorry, Liv. I thought we were just playing…”

“Not everything is a joke, Cooper. Good luck spending an afternoon with this tool, Clara,” she juts her thumb over her shoulder at Cooper just as his eyes find mine.

“Don’t worry, I know how to put him in his place,” I joke, which grants me some collective murmurs of agreement from everyone else. The corner of Cooper’s mouth tips up in a smirk that makes my heart thrash wildly in my chest as everyone moves around us—but our eyes stay locked on each other.

“Yeah, I’m more worried for Cooper,” Olivia’s dad, Dan, chuckles as he kisses Stacy on the lips and offers to help with whatever he can.

With everyone’s assistance, dinner is served on the table and we stuff our mouths with Stacy’s cooking. Anything this woman makes is mouthwatering, and her chicken piccata is no exception.

“I’m so full,” I finally mumble before taking another bite of my biscuit.

“Then stop eating,” Cooper says to me from across the table.

Yes, that’s right. I had to look at him the entire time while I ate, hoping no one saw the intense stares we gave each other.Okay, I didn’t have to look at him the entire time, but come on… how could I not?

Cooper is wearing a black fitted shirt and khaki shorts with his hair under a hat again. His toned arms and chest are hidden beneath that fabric, but the outlines of those muscles are still visible enough to make me wet. I’ve never been so thankful in my life that women don’t get erections, because I would have been eating my dinner with the biggest, raging hard on of my life.

Every time he licked his fork clean or closed his lips around a bite of food, I felt my stomach tighten and my vagina did Kegels. He’d shoot me a wink when no one was looking and all I could do was roll my eyes and shake my head in feigned annoyance—when in reality, I wanted to jump across the table and mount him.

“I can’t, it’s just too good,” I close my eyes and moan—long and drawn out—popping one eye open long enough to see the hard stare on Cooper’s face pointed right at me. I see the tick in his jaw before he blinks and focuses back on his food.

Looks like I won that round.

---