Cooper
While everyone’s shooting the breeze in the great room, waiting for dinner to be announced, I wave Liam and Mack over to the bar. “Take over for me, will ya?” I say. “I need to talk to Shane.”
I head for Shane’s office, where I’m guessing he’s in a pow-wow with Jake, making plans for how they’re going to handle the fact that Roger Stevens skipped out on bail. I rap once on Shane’s office door, then open it and walk in. Shane’s leaning against his desk, and Jake’s standing by the window looking out over the congested street traffic.
Roger Stevens is my fucking problem, and I’ll be the one to solve it. I look Shane in the eye, expecting to see censure, but there’s no blame or resentment in his steady gaze. Just the determination to do whatever it takes to keep this family safe. I take a breath. “I’m sorry—”
“Stop right there,” he says, lifting a hand to cut me off. “None of this is your fault.”
“Bullshit. If Stevens comes to Chicago, it’s because of me, so hell yes, this is my fault.”
Shane shakes his head, dismissing my attempt to shoulder the blame. “No. You did the right thing by going to Sweetwater to try to settle that mess. The fact that Stevens skipped bail is not your fault. What we need to focus on now is how we secure this building. If Stevens is headed this way, we need to stop him from getting inside.”
Before he can hurt Sam, or indirectly Beth. He doesn’t come out and say that, but that’s exactly what we’re all thinking.
Jake speaks up from across the room. “I’ll set up perimeter security around the building twenty-four-seven. He won’t even make it to the lobby doors, I guarantee it.”
Shane nods to Jake. “Do it. I don’t want this fucker stepping foot inside my building.” Then, to me, he says, “If I get wind that he’s here in Chicago, I’ll have to move Beth to Kenilworth. I’d rather not do that if I can help it, because I don’t want to upset her. But if Stevens makes it this far, I’m not taking any chances.”
I nod. I can certainly understand why Shane wants Beth moved somewhere safe, and frankly, I want Sam to go with her. The difficulty will be in convincing him to go. He hates it when I coddle him—I get that—but he doesn’t realize how irrational I can be when it comes to his safety. The thought of him getting hurt—especially because of me—makes me break out in a cold sweat.
Jake’s on his phone, sending text messages as he heads out. “I’m on it.”
Shane turns his attention to me. “I’ve doubled security in the downstairs lobby and added security outside the entrances. I’ve also posted extra security on the penthouse elevator, both in the lobby and in the parking garage. That’s about as far as I can go without completely freaking Beth out.”
I nod, regretting that any of this is necessary. Regardless of what Shane says, I can’t help feeling responsible.
“I want Beth to work from home until this is resolved. And one of us—you or I—has to be here at all times. If Stevens does manage to get inside this building, you and I are the last lines of defense. If that fucker steps one foot on this floor, I’ll blow his head off myself.”
I laugh, but the sound is bitter. “Get in line, Shane.”
* * *
After coming up with a work schedule and putting a plan in place to keep the penthouse secured, Shane and I return to the party and do our best to be sociable. Heaven help Roger Stevens if he bursts into this penthouse tonight. Easily, six of us are packing heat, and that includes Tyler Jamison, who wouldn’t hesitate a second to put an end to any threat that could possibly reach his sister. But Tyler, and even Shane, would have to stand in line behind me. I’d give anything to drill a few slugs into Stevens’s head and end him right now.
As usual, most everyone is congregating around the bar, talking and laughing, with plenty of good-natured ribbing. Ingrid and Bridget are chatting on the sofa in front of the fire…most likely obsessing over the arrival of what will be the first grandchild for each of them.
Shane heads straight for Beth, who’s currently being entertained by Calum telling stories about his kids when they were little. Shane walks up behind her and slips his arms around her burgeoning waist, linking his fingers over her baby bump. He leans down and kisses the side of her head. “What lies is my dad telling you now? Don’t believe a word he says. I was a perfect child.”
“Ha!” Calum scoffs. “Don’t listen to him, lassie. He was a troublemaker from day one, just like your little guy will be too, if he’s anything like his old man.”
I shake my head, smiling and so damn thankful for this family. “I think you might be right there, Calum,” I say.
“Oh, you’d better believe I’m right!” Calum grins at Beth. “If you don’t believe me, young lady, go ask his ma. You know she’d never lie to you.”
“Dinner’s ready! Come to the table,” Gabrielle says as she walks out of the kitchen.
The long dining table is already set, and a few extra places have been added to accommodate this big crowd. I’m looking forward to the day when we have to add a highchair as well. The one thing this family needs more of is kids underfoot. I have a suspicion that we’ll be adding some of those over the next few years with all these new couples forming. I fully expect that Jonah will eventually manage to sweet-talk Lia into marrying him. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Molly and Jamie tie the knot before too long—they are two halves of the same soul. Yeah, this family needs a new generation of troublemakers.
Shane sits at one end of the table, with Beth to his right, and Gabrielle next to Beth. I sit at the other end with Sam. The table fills up quickly as the caterers begin carrying in platters of delicious Italian cuisine, courtesy of Rinaldo’s five-star restaurant, including several entrees to choose from, and a variety of side dishes, salads, and bread.
Sam smiles at me, looking relaxed and happy to be home and among friends and family again. I reach over the table for his hand, giving it a squeeze. The dazzling smile he gives me in return is like a one-two punch to my gut, making me dizzy with desire. I can’t wait to christen our shared bed tonight. I will ring every drop of pleasure I can out of his body, until he’s rendered boneless and satiated.
The caterers are courteous and efficient as they bring refills and pour glasses of expensive red wine, and bubbling grape juice for our expectant mother.
Once everyone is settled and has started eating, Shane stands, raising his glass of wine.
“I’d like to make a toast,” he says, his gaze singling out Sam at the opposite end of the table. He looks at Sam for a long moment, long enough that everyone grows quiet. I can see the tension in Shane’s body, his expression equally tight. He swallows hard. “I’d like to make a toast to Sam Harrison, in honor of the brave and selfless act that saved the life of not just my wife, but also our unborn son.” Shane pauses a moment, taking a deep breath as his words sink in. “We’re glad you’re home with us, Sam. It just wasn’t the same around here without you.”
Beth smiles first at Shane, and then at Sam, not bothering to hide the tears forming in her eyes.
Shane starts to speak again, then stops to take a breath and clear his throat. He’s obviously shaken. “I’m eternally indebted to you, Sam,” he says. “There’s no way I’ll ever be able to repay you.”
Shane glances at Beth, who nods at him, smiling tearfully. “As you all know, Beth and I are expecting a son this summer. We’ve decided to name him Lucas Samuel, in honor of his guardian angel, Samuel Harrison.”
The sighs and gasps in the room are audible. Sam reaches blindly for my hand, squeezing it hard. Tension radiates through him, and his hand is shaking. He looks from Shane to Beth to me, his brown eyes glittering too. Hell, I don’t think there’s a dry eye in the room right now, including mine.
For once, Sam is speechless as he scans the eyes on him. Giving him my undivided attention, I swallow my anxiety and raise our clasped hands to my mouth and kiss the back of his hand. If I’m going to be his boyfriend, now’s as good a time as any to show him I can do it. The look on his face is priceless.
Someone starts clapping, and soon everyone has joined in. I hear a few hoots and hollers, at least some of which I know are coming from Lia.
Sam blushes, but his eyes are locked on me. “Jesus, Cooper,” he says, stunned by my actions.
“What?” I say, shrugging it off like it’s no big deal that I just kissed my boyfriend’s hand in front of a room full of people. That’s what he wanted from me, right? To act like a boyfriend. And that’s what I’m doing.
“Get a room, will ya?” Lia says, shaking her head.
* * *
Dinner proceeds with plenty of great food and lots of conversation. As usual, there’s a lot of joking and ribbing at the table. Lia and Sam, in particular, can’t help taunting each other—they’re worse than children. I sit back and enjoy watching everyone.
It’s nice to see Gabrielle Hunter again. She doesn’t often get to visit us because of her busy schedule at Rinaldo’s. As a sous chef, she works her butt off, hoping to be promoted one day to chef. Peter Capelli would be a fool not to promote her.
Jamie and Molly are for the most part wrapped up in each other, leaning close and talking. Jamie has his hand on the back of Molly’s neck, gently massaging it. He says something to her and she smiles at him, then kisses him.
Erin is telling a story about something that happened at Clancy’s, and I notice how Mack hangs on her every word. He tries to act aloof and unaffected by her, but he’s not fooling anyone. I feel for him. Shane has warned him more than once to keep his distance from Erin. She’s what—a sheltered, twenty-two-year-old virgin, and he’s thirty-five years old, former military, who’s been around the block more than a time or two. Shane’s made it perfectly clear that Mack will have to deal with him if he hurts Erin.
Erin, on the other hand, is completely oblivious to Shane’s threatening glances at Mack. She’s hanging on Mack’s every word and gazing at him with blatant puppy-dog longing. Poor Mack, he’d have to be a monk to remain indifferent to her.
Of course, I have no business judging Mack for the age difference between him and Erin. I have no room to talk—Sam’s practically half my age. I’m the true letch, setting my sights on a much younger man. But hey, the heart wants what it wants, right? Age doesn’t really factor into that. As long as everyone involved is a consenting adult….
Speaking of my much younger man, I’m keeping my eye on him as he smiles and chats with everyone at the table. He’s clearly a social butterfly, at ease with everyone, while I’m more comfortable silently observing.
I notice that he’s hardly touched any of his food tonight. He’s had two glasses of red wine, not to mention the bottle of beer he drank before we were seated at the dining table, but not much food other than a few bites of his salad.
I lean toward him. “Aren’t you hungry?”
He gives me a knowing glance, and I smile at him. I know exactly what’s on his mind. He’s anticipating the fact that I’m going to be fucking the daylights out of him in a few hours. “Got butterflies?”
Sam shrugs, but he can’t manage to hide the flush creeping into his cheeks. He looks at me, pretending to be shocked. “Who are you, and what have you done with Cooper?”
Once everyone is done with their meals, the caterers come by with a dessert cart laden with every sugary concoction imaginable. Sam eyes a bowl of chocolate mousse topped with whipped cream and chocolate curls, but ends up passing on it. Damn, he is nervous. He’s passing up chocolate?
As the evening wears on, he grows more and more quiet, and I start to get the feeling this is more than just bedtime jitters. I lean toward him, close enough to whisper, “What’s wrong?”
He shakes his head, not even bothering to make eye contact with me. Damn. Something is bothering him.
* * *
Dinner is followed by more drinking and lots of laughter and conversation. Sam crashes on one of the sofas with the girls, but he still seems kind of quiet to me. The guys are mostly hanging out at the bar. A lot of these folks live in the building, and the others came by Uber rides and will leave the same way, so finding designated drivers really isn’t an issue.
As the clock approaches midnight, folks begin to head home. It’s a Friday night, so most of them can sleep in tomorrow. Beth certainly will. She’s half asleep on the sofa right now, leaning against Shane, who has his arms around her and his hands clasped over her belly. Sam seems pretty subdued still, which doesn’t reassure me.
When it’s just the four of us left, Shane lifts Beth into his arms. “Time for bed, young lady.” Then he looks at me. “You’ll arm the security system?”
“Yes. Go to bed.”
“Goodnight, guys,” Beth says, making no protest when Shane carries her out of the room and down the hallway that leads to their suite.
I walk up to the back of the sofa and reach over to massage Sam’s shoulders. “How about you? Shall I pick you up and carry you to bed, too?”
He laughs. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Don’t tempt me.” I lean over the back of the sofa and kiss the side of Sam’s neck, making him shiver. “Why don’t you go get ready for bed while I lock up?”
“All right.” Sam rises from the sofa and walks around to meet me. He slides his hands up my arms, squeezing my biceps. Then he leans closer and kisses me gently. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being my boyfriend tonight.”
I smile at him, feeling a pang of guilt, as if he’s giving me way too much credit. All I did was touch him a few times and hold his hand and kiss the back of it. “I didn’t do all that much.”
“You did plenty. It made a difference.”
I pull him into my arms so he can feel my erection. I’ve been biding my time all evening, pacing myself, and now it’s our time. Now I can have him all to myself.
I thread my fingers in his upswept hair, holding him fast. “I can’t wait to get you into our bed.” I plant another kiss on his lips and reach around to swat him on his ass. “Now, go get ready.”