Page 53 of Perfect Scandal
“I’ll be fine. It’s not like I haven’t done it before.”
“What?” I shove the coffee carafe back on the warmer and glare at him. “We have a long-standing rule about that shit.”
Cooper rolls his eyes, which are bloodshot as hell now that I’m really looking at him. “You’re really gonna give me grief about this? At least I showed up.”
“You’re a fucking liability, Cooper. I’m not about to let you hurt yourself or someone else.”
“Fine. I’ll go home. I could use a day off anyway.”
“You’re not going anywhere.” I hold out my hand. “Keys.”
“Fuck that,” he scoffs. “You won’t let me work? Then I’m officially off the clock and not your problem.”
An aggravated chuckle rises in my chest. “Give me your damn keys, or I’ll call Aiden the second you climb behind the wheel.”
“Wow.” He laughs and takes a clumsy step backward. “Sounds like the same ultimatum Tessa gave you a couple weeks ago, doesn’t it? Only difference is you gave in because she’s sucking your dick.”
My blood runs cold for a moment before it rushes in my ears. “I’m gonna pretend you didn’t say that, and I’m gonna suggest you take your ass to the living room and sleep this off.”
“I’ll take him home.” Ben speaks up, glancing back and forth between us like he’s waiting for someone to swing.
“That’d be great,” I mutter, because one more word out of Cooper’s mouth and that someone is likely to be me.
“Fucking bullshit.” Cooper spins toward the front of the house, intentionally knocking into a chair as he storms off with Ben on his heels.
Ben’s truck starts a minute later, and I pinch the bridge of my nose.
For one, I’ve rarely had to pull the foreman card like that, but every time is just as painful. Two, I don’t know if he was talking out of his ass or if he truly knows something about Tessa and me that he shouldn’t know. Regardless, I’m not about to tolerate him disrespecting her like that, and I don’t think Holden and Kaden would either.
But what kind of hypocrite does that make me? I would never talk shit about her, but treating our relationship like it’s a dirty secret is probably even more disrespectful.
Fucking hell. I’ve gotten myself into a mess, haven’t I?
The front door opens again, and Kaden walks in with a scowl. “Where are they going?”
Blowing out a breath, I grab the coffeepot again and finally fill my thermos. “Cooper’s still buzzed from last night. I told him to sleep it off on the couch, but Ben offered to take him home instead.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Afraid not.”
“Good thing the fence was just down and not trampled then. We’ll have enough to do today now that we’re short a guy.”
I nod and pick a blueberry muffin from the basket. “I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“Thanks, man. And if he gives you any shit, let me know.”
“Will do.”
chapter 20
TESSA
Maybe it was an adrenaline crash or even caffeine withdrawals from all the coffee I drank on the drive to Mason Creek last night, but I didn’t roll out of Dean’s bed until almost eleven, and even then, I wished I could stay.
I love Colorado, but there’s something about Montana—or maybe the Magnolia Blue Ranch—that lightens the load on my shoulders every time I visit.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the man I love is here, too. And that his bed, and more specifically, his arms, are quickly becoming my favorite place to be.
