Page 27 of The Final Temptation (Men of Honor 3.5)
He gives me a sexy wink that has my heart flipping over in my chest. The sexy bastard. I glance down at the last charm and my head tilts in confusion as I study the ice cream cone, wondering what it could mean. I look over at him for the answer.
“There’s actually a story behind that one,” he says quietly then clears his throat, suddenly seeming nervous. “It’s from the first time I saw you.”
I frown at the charm, and remember the first time we ever met was when he moved in next door to me. “I didn’t have an ice cream that day.”
He watches me for a moment and I wait for him to explain, but what he says next is something I could have never expected. “I was pissed when my parents said we were moving back to my dad’s hometown. I had it good where I lived before—star quarterback of the football team, lots of friends. I didn’t want to come here and start all over. A few days before we moved we were driving through town, my dad was taking us to see the house. It was a really hot day and I had my window down. We came to a stop at a red light when I suddenly heard some girl, yelling up a storm. I looked over to see what the ruckus was about and saw this beautiful blonde firecracker, who didn’t look much younger than me, giving some guy shit for picking on another kid. They were in the parking lot of the ice cream shop and she was waving her pink ice cream cone all over the place. I actually thought she was going to throw it at the guy. When the asshole left and she turned around to help the kid up, the full view I got of her was like a punch to the chest. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever laid eyes on. I hated it when that light turned green. I was tempted to jump out of my parent’s car and run to meet this fiercely pissed off girl who looked like an angel but had the mouth of a sailor. Three days later we moved into the house. As I was carrying boxes I felt someone’s eyes on me. I looked up at the house next door and low and behold, the one girl I couldn’t stop thinking about was staring down at me from her bedroom window. That day I realized that moving to this town wasn’t going to be so bad after all, and it actually turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me.”
I gape at him in complete and utter shock, my vision blurry with unshed tears. I don’t move, I can’t. I am completely frozen in place and I swear my heart literally stopped beating the moment he started his story. I remember that day at the ice cream parlor when Jacob Larson was picking on Timmy Dickerhoff. He was even more mean than usual, and pushed him down to look cool in front of his friend. Little did I know that the guy I would become infatuated with saw me that day, waving my ice cream around like a lunatic.
When I don’t say anything and continue to stare at him, Cooper reaches up and wipes my wet cheek before cupping it in his large hand. “That’s why it killed me to think I made you feel like a bad person after our fight. Like you weren’t good enough for me. That day I saw a girl who could have minded her own business but instead stopped to help someone, and didn’t care what anyone thought.” Without taking his hand from my cheek, he sits up and moves in close, then drops his forehead on mine, his warm gaze penetrating. “The truth is you’re the best person I’ve ever known, Kayla, better than me. And I promise to make sure you always know it.”
My breath hitches with emotion, and since I can’t form any words at the moment I crush my lips to his and kiss him for all I’m worth. My arms wrap tightly around his neck and he lies down, bringing me on top of him. Our mouths create a beautiful passion, my tears mixing in with the sweet taste we make together. I pull back a long moment later when my lungs desperately crave air but only slightly, making sure to keep our lips only a breath away from one another. I stare back into his warm, green eyes and try to think of the right thing to say, but there are no words to describe what I’m feeling. So with a small smile I decide to let him in on my future plans. “I’m going to marry you one day, Cooper McKay, so you better be ready for me.”
He gives me his trademark sexy smile. “I’m never prepared when it comes to you, baby, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
With a giggle I attack his mouth again, but this time he flips me over and takes control. Just the way I like.
What started off being a terrible day turned out to be one of the best nights of my life…
*
I come back to the present and look around at all the girls who are sitting around me, hoping my face isn’t as red as it feels when I think about what Coop did to me later that night. Obviously, I kept this story PG for Ruthie’s sake.
“That is the most beautiful real-life love story I’ve ever heard,” Grace says with a hand over her heart.
I look down and finger the bracelet that is now loaded with charms; including the baseball bat to signify when I beat his truck after thinking he was cheating on me. I still feel like crap over it, but like Grams says desperate times calls for desperate measures. “Well I don’t know about that, but it’s mine and Cooper’s story so it’s perfect to me.”
