Roots
Quinn huffed to herself on her way down the hall toward Brayden’s room. A shirt, indeed.
A replay of her fumbling those muffins stopped her in the doorway. Ugh. She bumped her forehead against the trim. You have something against shirts? She just had to let that come out of her mouth, didn’t she? Now, he knew she noticed and admired. Double ugh.
She could hear Ava’s write-up already: Mr. Elusive turns Miss Uptight into a puddle on the kitchen floor with nothing but a crooked smile. Quinn shook her head. Stupid water droplets clinging to his perfectly messy hair. Like his commanding presence wasn’t attractive enough.
Straightening, she gave herself an internal Gibbs-smack. So, the guy had charisma. Big deal. So did half the men she rubbed elbows with every day. Just because most women couldn’t stop themselves from stumbling under his charm like it was a spell didn’t mean she had to fuel his fire. She worked for News First, not Seventeen Magazine.
If her own pep talk wouldn’t work, her boss’s nagging voice surely would. Quinn withdrew her cell and opened the messages she’d ignored in the kitchen. First, a text from Ava:
Cruella just let Brad in Advertising go. If I’m next, I’m taking my desk chair with me.
Despite her best friend’s teasing, Quinn’s stomach dropped. That was the third termination this month. If she didn’t do something about their boss’s firing spree soon, she’d be letting down all her coworkers counting on her to take News First Magazine in a new direction.
Her thumb hovered over the voice mail icon. Maybe she’d better listen to it later when she actually had something to report other than rolling muffins and hypnotizing eyes.
Admittedly, she had learned a few new things about Cooper’s future plans, but his past was what she needed to break. Cruella didn’t care that he was up for Top Entrepreneur of the Year. She wanted to know how he’d gotten there in such a short time. She wanted the gritty secrets, the scandals, the reason he’d been hiding out in Lake Gaston for a year.
But what if it wasn’t that simple?
A singing toy went off across the room. Quinn tiptoed over. Brayden lay awake in his crib, seemingly content to play with his jungle blanket. He lowered the corner from his mouth when Quinn leaned over the railing. Sunlight coming through the window lit up an innocent smile, and everything else faded with the shadows.
“Hey, little guy. Have a good nap? Wish I could take one. But time is money,” she said in Cruella’s annoying voice. Wiggling a finger to his belly, she tamped down the pang his cuteness stirred and kept her tone light. “Luckily, you have a while before you have to worry about that. How about we settle for taking a ride?”
Squealing, he flapped his arms and legs in the air as if she’d spoken a secret password into his world.
“Ah, you know that word, huh?”
He clung to her two index fingers to pull himself to his feet and batted Cooper’s same crippling hazel eyes at her. He had to be his son. But then how could he leave him behind to go all the way to Indonesia, of all places?
Maybe he was a loner—along with a host of other nouns Quinn could add—but something didn’t add up with this. She just had to find out what. Well, and then actually get him to agree to let her print it.
She brushed a thumb over Brayden’s soft hand. Was she going about this all wrong? She used to swear she could do whatever it took to be a solid journalist, even go undercover if a lead required it. But being underhanded wasn’t her style. Despite how perfect the nanny cover had sounded yesterday, this whole idea turned her stomach into a maze of nerves now.
At least she had some time to figure it all out. Amazingly, Cruella agreed to let her stay the three weeks. Almost a little too easily. Man, she must really want to see Quinn screw this up. Then again, Quinn could do her job from almost anywhere, so being away from the office for a few weeks wouldn’t cause her to fall behind on her regular responsibilities.
Getting Cooper to open up in that time frame, on the other hand . . . The knot in her gut expanded. Maybe she could talk him into an exchange—her help as a nanny for his cooperation on the feature. She rolled her eyes. Lame. He’d toss her out the second she dropped the big “media” word on him. There had to be another way.
Completely unaware of the thoughts running laps in her mind, Brayden let out another soft squeal that lifted his adorable chubby cheeks.
“Oh, you think you’re cute, too, don’t you? Uh-huh. I see you flashing those dimples no girl could turn down.”
“Cah. Go.” Brayden spouted off a string of gibberish with only a decipherable word here and there.
“See, it’s not that hard to get guys talking. You just gotta mention cars. Add in a little flattery. What do you think? I can be smooth, right?”
Without his smile even twitching, he passed gas.
Quinn cracked a laugh. “Well, I guess that answers that.” After changing his diaper, she shimmied a fresh T-shirt over Brayden’s head and lifted him onto her hip. “Come on, Dimplestiltskin, let’s go show Daddy how it’s done.”
By the front door, Cooper stood in leather flip-flops, low-hanging jeans, and an O’Neal T-shirt, stark white against his tanned skin. Figures he’d look even better with one on. Though, she had to admit, his laid-back style wasn’t the look she’d imagined for a guy with his drive and reputation. Iron Man’s chest plate, on the other hand—
“What?”
She peered up from the hardwoods. “Hmm?”
“Something has you smiling. What are you thinking about?”
She bit her lip as if that’d curb the answer. “Nothing.” With Brayden clinging to one shoulder and his diaper bag on the other, Quinn looked around the modest home.
He studied her. “Something wrong with the house?”
“It’s gorgeous, just not what I anticipated. Honestly, I half expected you to have one of those fancy bidets in the bathroom. Or at least a knockoff of Tony Stark’s secret chamber downstairs.”
His mouth pulled sideways. “Does that make you Pepper?”
She brushed past him to the door. “You wish.”
A trail of deep laughter followed her outside into the already-fuming day.
Quinn finished buckling Brayden into his car seat, twirled her hair into a bun, and threaded a pencil through it. Cooper met her gaze over the hood of his SUV, taking her in with an expression she couldn’t interpret.
Her arms slid to her sides. “What?”
“Nothing,” he said in the same nonchalant tone she’d dished out a minute ago.
In the car, he cranked the A/C while the hint of a grin brought out his dimples.
Quinn pulled a pen out from under her backside and added it to a random collection in the cup holder. “Just say it already.”
He laughed. “You’re quick on your feet.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
Cooper cocked his scruffy jaw while shifting into reverse. “Just not what I anticipated.”
She crammed her seat belt buckle in. “You find that amusing, don’t you?”
“If you only knew.”
Arms crossed, she faced forward and tried to pretend his luxurious leather seats weren’t remotely comfortable lest she boost his ego any more. Cruella seriously better give her more than a promotion after surviving three weeks with this guy.
As they drove, glimpses of the lake filtered through the sideline of trees. Families were already out on the water, creating summer memories.
Quinn blinked away from the window and noted the direction he was headed. Just perfect. “Since when did Littleton get a coffee shop?” How much else had changed since she’d been home?
Cooper glanced across the console. “You’re familiar with the area?”
Way to go, Quinn. “I’ve been here once or twice.” Or a thousand.
At least the chances of her family trekking to a café were next to zero. And the odds of catching her ex away from work this time of day were probably no more than ten percent, maybe less. Heck, for all she knew, Brian had moved away years ago.
Okay, fat chance. The man’s roots were embedded in this town’s soil deeper than an oak tree’s. Inhaling slowly, she fished her oversized sunglasses from her purse and clung to the comfort of Cooper’s tinted windows.
“What’s with the Hollywood disguise?”
“Sorry?”
Cooper gestured to her sunglasses. “You look like you’re hiding from the paparazzi in those things.”
They’d probably be easier to fend off. She straightened the glasses on the bridge of her nose. “You shouldn’t underestimate the effects of UV rays.”
“UV rays,” he said with far too much lilt in this tone. “I see.”
Yeah, more than he should.
“Okay, look.” She twisted in her seat. “There might happen to be some people here who I’d rather not run into. That’s all.”
“It’s not that small of a town.”
Quinn snorted. “You don’t know it like I do.” She flung a hand over her big fat mouth. What was the deal with this guy pulling secrets out of her before she even realized it? It was supposed to be the other way around.
Surprisingly, Cooper didn’t run with it. He jerked the wheel to the right, and Quinn bumped into her door panel. She flung a glance at him. “Should I be driving?”
“Sorry.” He steered his gaze from the car passing them on the left back to the road and exhaled. “Thought I saw something. It’s nothing.”
Clearly, she wasn’t the only paranoid one. She might’ve pressed it if they’d pulled up to a café like she was expecting. Instead, he parked in front of a Piggly Wiggly.
She stared at the grocery store. “Need to go shopping?”
His dimples flexed. “Just for some coffee.”
If she had a steaming cup to dump in his lap right now, she’d be oh so tempted. Leaving a scathing glare for a response, she hopped out of the SUV and backed against the hot door panel while heat waves rose from the asphalt. She should’ve known he was messing with her.
The driver’s door closed, the car still running. “Oh, c’mon. You know as well as I do there’s no Starbucks around here,” Cooper said on his way around the bumper. “I just came here to give you a hard time.”
“And now we’re both without our morning coffee. Congratulations.”
“Only because you’re too stubborn to take my word on the good stuff. And relax, I have an alternative.”
Her arms came uncrossed. “Stubborn?”
“Don’t worry, QT. It’s not a bad thing. Tenacity will take you places.”
The next time tenacity led her to Timbuktu, she’d remind herself to pass. She took off her sunglasses and glared at him. “Wait a second. Did you just call me, cutie?”
“QT.” He splayed his hands out at the obvious connection. “Quinn Thompson.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t call me that.”
“Why, does it unnerve you?” He sauntered closer.
More like those ridiculously captivating eyes did. Forget writing a breakout article. If she patented a way to keep from drowning in those beauties, she’d be rich. Downplaying her reaction, she kept her shoulders as relaxed as his. “I bet you think that’s original.”
He rubbed the whiskers along his jaw while edging another step in. “It’s not?”
“Hate to break it to you, but you might want to brush up on your flirting skills.”
Right in front of her now, Cooper held her gaze while tucking a strand of hair blowing across her forehead behind her ear. “Guess I’ll need to practice a little more.”
Breath. Where was her doggone breath?
“You . . . I . . .” Apparently, her lungs were withholding words too.
Cooper finally released her eyes, withdrew his hand, and squeezed the crook of his neck instead. He looked up from the pavement and nodded to his SUV. “C’mon. We might not have lattes here, but I know something just as good.”
They both got back in the car. But even before their doors shut, an overpowering stench vanquished her appetite for coffee. Or for anything else.
Cooper covered his mouth and nose, his face a scrunched look of repulsion. “What is that?”
Quinn’s pinched lips barely contained her laugh. “Never had to change a dirty diaper before?”
He whipped around to Brayden’s rear-facing car seat. “You did that? Not cool, hoss.”
Brayden kicked the seat, the mirror showing an expression caught between a laugh and a cry.
Cooper rolled down the windows. The second he uncovered his nose, he dry heaved. “Aw, man, I think I’m gonna . . .”
Quinn buried her face in her elbow but laughed so hard, she snorted. “Let’s just hope nothing squished out of the diaper.”
A look of horror seized Cooper’s face. Priceless.
His chest convulsed, gag reflexes in full swing. Quinn took one look at the sweat starting to bead across the top of his forehead, and she couldn’t help it. She tossed her head back and cracked up.
He nudged her in the arm. “I’m glad you’re enjoying this.”
“If you only knew,” she mimicked in his same lilt from earlier.
His eyes roamed over her, and for a minute, she wondered what he was seeing. His usual grin re-emerged. “Congrats on the uptake, QT.” He flung his hand in the air like he was waving a white flag. “Now, can we do something about little Atomic Bomb, here?”
Laughing all over again, Quinn got out and handed Brayden to Cooper so she could spread a changing mat on the floorboard. She turned to find him dangling smack in front of her. Cooper extended Brayden an arm’s length away like he wasn’t sure how to hold him.
Quinn rolled her eyes, laid Brayden down, and slid a clean diaper under his backside. The minute she unfastened the tabs on the dirty diaper, Cooper dashed backward like she’d pulled the pin from a hand grenade.
She shook her head and wiggled a baby wipe over Brayden’s nose. “Men are such wusses, aren’t they? Yes, they are,” she said to his giggling smile as she finished changing him.
“You’re not married.”
Quinn jumped at the sound of Cooper’s voice behind her again. “Excuse me?” Where’d that come from?
He nodded to her left hand. “No wedding ring.”
“Your point?” She shoved the balled-up dirty diaper into his stomach.
He raised a brow, once again pushing her buttons to reveal things she didn’t want him to see. “You’re good with kids.” He shrugged. “Just an observation.”
She got Brayden resituated in his car seat while dodging the now-glaring spot on her finger where an engagement ring once sat. “I have a ton of cousins. Being the oldest meant I learned a lot.” She turned and almost bumped right into him.
His arms might not’ve closed around her, but his gaze seemed to. “Why do I get the feeling it’s more than that?”
She darted her glance away from him and drew on her years of experience rehearsing a lighthearted tone. “’Cause you’re caffeine deprived and going crazy?”
Though the depth in the way he studied her didn’t let her off the hook, he dipped his head anyway. “Then I guess we better get to where I really wanted to take you.”
Adding a stop at a winery would be nice while they were at it.
On the drive, she glanced behind her seat. “He doesn’t say much, does he?” Maybe she should be taking lessons.
“He doesn’t walk yet either. Do you think that’s weird for his age?” The slightest tenor of concern rang in his voice.
“He’s about a year, right? He might be a little behind the curve, but every kid is different. Not to mention lots of outside factors come into play.”
Cooper whipped into the next lane, a clipped huff following. “Yeah, like losing his mom and being dropped off at some stranger’s house.” He’d said it so softly, Quinn might’ve missed the underlying turmoil in his words if she didn’t see it tearing down his face.
Before she could come up with something to say in return, Cooper jabbed on the radio, obviously as quick to curb his feelings as she was.
At least he had the advantage of being somewhere other than in his hometown. A wave of nostalgia broadsided her the moment he pulled up to Wakeboard Willie’s Ice Cream Parlor.
Cooper draped an arm on the wheel and faced her, his playful side back in gear. “You may think my Italian roast isn’t good enough, but I’d like to see you turn down Willie’s coffee ice cream.”
One look at the goofy expression baiting her to the challenge, and all she could do was shake her head. “Fine. But if I eat more than you, I get to ask you a question you can’t evade.”
He scuffed the back of his hand under his chin while sizing her up. “Deal.”
Coffee flavor wasn’t bad, but the taste of sweet victory always blew everything else away.
“I’ll get the orders. You get Dimplestiltskin into his stroller.”
Cooper raised both brows. “Dimplestiltskin?”
She opened her door. “Careful, or I might start calling you that too.”
His dimples caved into his cheeks as if soaking up a compliment. Of course.
“And please tell me how you’ve managed never having to change his diaper before?” She lugged her purse from the floorboard. “What, do you have doting neighbors at your beck and call or something?”
Cooper’s crooked grin stiffened.
“Oh my word, you do.” Why’d she even ask? She climbed out of his SUV and ducked back in. “If you tell me you take him to grocery stores to pick up chicks, you’re gonna have to add vomit to the list of stenches in your car today.”
The slightest flicker of something unreadable creased his face before his practiced smile drove it away. “Now, QT, you gotta give me a little more credit. The beach is much less cliché than grocery stores.”
Rolling her eyes, she shut her door and mumbled, “Men.”
Too bad she couldn’t write a piece about Cooper Anderson, the ladies’ man. It’d probably sell better. Even if there was some big scandal, did anyone really care about why he left Shore Corp two years ago and how he got rich so fast? They’d probably stopped wondering a long time ago.
Halfway up to the line leading to the blue building, her feet froze. People around these parts would never stop wondering what made someone leave. She knew that better than anyone.
Her throat tightened as she looked around the front patio full of tables. She’d been too caught up in Cooper’s games to think about being in her old stomping grounds right now. Maybe she should’ve swallowed her pride and let Cooper pay this time.
With a quick check at the time on her cell, Quinn exhaled. Only the vacation crowd would be getting ice cream at 11:00 a.m. Just in case, she crammed her sunglasses on her face once she reached the back of the line and fixed her attention on another text from Ava.
Cruella’s already pushing me for a cover shot. Make sure to get me something I can work with.
Trying to coerce Cooper into opening up was hard enough. Now she had to talk him into a photo shoot? Piece of cake. Sure.
She seriously needed to up her skills. She peered back at his Audi, where some oiled-up girl in a skimpy tank over her bathing suit was eagerly helping Cooper with the baby stroller. Quinn let out a sardonic laugh. If those were the kind of skills she needed, she was in big trouble.
“Quinn?” someone called from in front of her.
The knot in her gut tanked like lead. She inched around, breath lost.
“Well, I’ll be. Quinn Thompson finally made it home.”
Blood thudded in her ears as she stared at the couple waiting for her paralysis to heal. Her gaze slanted from a girl’s pregnant belly to the man beside her.
“Brian.”