Page 53 of Enticed

“Oh. My. God!” She bellows in her best Janice fromFriendsimpression and her eyes bug out so wide I’m afraid they might fall out of her head. “Clara…”

Fuck. “Please, Perry…”

“It’s Cooper, isn’t it? He was the last date you went on, granted it was from the auction. But oh gosh, I figured it out! You didn’t bet on him just to save him from Misty Chambers—you bet on him because you like him!”

“God, you’re making it sound like we’re in fifth grade talking about my first crush!”

“Well, this is huge! And by the way you’re acting and the fact that I didn’t know, makes me sure that Liv doesn’t know either, does she?”

“Correct, Captain Obvious,” I say through clenched teeth, pissed that a conversation earlier about me having kids one day has transformed into my secret being discovered.

“Oh, my God! I just… wow.” She lets out a long breath and sits there shaking her head at me.

“Listen, it’s not that big of a deal…”

“Oh, no you don’t,” she points a finger at me. “Thisisa big deal because I know you Clara Anderson, and you are not one to keep secrets about men. The fact that you haven’t said anything tells me with one-hundred percent certainty that this is more than just a fling.”

I stare at one of my best friends as my eyes burn with tears. Damn this woman and her uncanny instinct and ability to read people.

“How did this happen? Did you guys just start fucking? Is Cooper okay with this arrangement? When did this start? I have so many questions!”

“Yeah, you and me both… and I wish I had all the answers for you, Perry. But long story short, it sort of started when I went over to Liv’s parents’ house for dinner back in October.”

“October?!” She shouts.

“Jesus Christ! Will you keep your voice down so people don’t hear or come out here?” I swivel my head in the direction of the house, praying everyone is so preoccupied watching Liv open her gifts, they wouldn’t dare come outside.

Her head bobs up and down while she waits for me to continue. “Cooper wasn’t that scrawny boy from our teenage years anymore. He was a man, and my vagina took notice.” Perry laughs as I roll my eyes. “Then after he saved me when I was attacked, I started seeing him even more differently. He, uh, would pick me up from the bar when I was drinking too much, but he always remained a gentleman, even when I’d come on to him.”

“When were you drinking? And Clara… you were seriously hitting on Cooper all fucked up?”

“Yes, I know it sounds bad, and I’ll tell you all about my drunken fun later, but basically Cooper never acted on my requests, even though the physical desire was mutual. So when I won his date at the auction, we went on our date and he asked me for more afterwards. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of us seeing each other if it was just going to be about sex, so I asked him if he’d keep things between us. He agreed and we’ve kind of been sneaking around.”

“But it’s not casual, is it?”

A deep breath leaves my body as I look out over Kane and Olivia’s property. “I wanted it to be that way, but I think a part of me knew it wouldn’t be. I like him, Perry… a lot.”

“Clara, that’s great. I don’t ever think I’ve heard you utter those words. You’ve always talked about how much you like a guy’s dick, but never the entirety of him,” she jokes, making me laugh. “Does he feel the same way?”

“I don’t know because I’m terrified to ask him… but he’s so sweet. He tries to see me as much as he can, he cooks me dinner sometimes… hell, he was actually in my house the night you girls surprised me.”

“Shut up! Really?” Perry is giggly like a teenage girl.

I chuckle. “Yeah. He made the lasagna we ate and then I threw him in my bedroom. He was hiding in my bathroom. We actually had just finished having sex when you guys rang the doorbell.”

Perry holds a hand up in the air. “Okay, I don’t need all the details. He is Liv’s brother and like a brother to me as well. So what is it then, Clara? This thing between you two?”

I shrug. “I’m not sure, but the more time I spend with him, the stronger I feel about him. And until we know for sure what we want, it has to remain a secret.”

“You know, if Liv finds out from anyone else besides you, she’s going to flip.” She gives me that motherly look of warning.

I attempt to give her my best stern look back—a look I’ve yet to perfect because I don’t have children. “She’s not going to find out yet, becauseyou’renot going to say anything.”

“I’ll keep your secret for now,” she sits back in her chair. “But you need to figure this out soon. No good can come from this if you keep sneaking around.”

“I know. I just have to make sure he’s worth it… there are so many things holding me back, making me afraid to make it real…”

“Do you think he is—worth it, I mean?”

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