“So what now?” I asked him as I walked with an armful of tulips back to the house. I could tell he was in a good mood, happy, and I liked that side of him. I was wary, though, that he would snap again—the night before, he’d been angrier with me than he’d ever been before when he found out that I went into the stables. I had been surprised this morning when he’d no longer been angry, but concerned about me, wanting to ease my mind about what he had seen the night before.

“Now we’re just going to relax,” he said. “It’s been a long few days. What do you think of that?”

“Sounds perfect,” I said to him. “But what does that entail?”

“I want to go swimming,” he said.

“Swimming,” I responded. He nodded.

“There’s something else on the property I haven’t shown you yet. A pond. I think that my sisters are there now.”

“I don’t—I don’t have a bathing suit. I don’t swim.”

“You don’t need one,” I said to her. “They’re probably out there in t-shirts.”

“Oh,” I said, swallowing nervously. “Okay.”

“Hey,” he said, turning to me before we went in the house. “You have nothing to be shy about. Nothing.”

“Why are you saying that?” I asked him. “It’s not going to get you—”

“I don’t expect it to get me anything. I just don’t want you to be nervous,” he said softly. “And I—fucking hell—I’d love to see you soaking wet.”

“Oh,” I blushed, glancing away from him, chewing on my lip. I saw him grin out of the corner of my eye and we started back toward the house. I didn’t allow myself to look at him—still flushed from what he had said. We brought the tulips in to his mother, who thanked us delightedly before we left out the backdoor and started west toward what looked like another wooded area.

“This is a strange property,” I said to him. “Was that field just there for the planting?”

“Yes, the field was open at the time. My great-grandfather cleared the trees there to build those stables.”

I nodded sadly. Every time I thought about the stables, how grand and old they had been, my heart ached knowing that there was nothing I could have done to save the structure itself. The best I could do was get the horses out; I was relieved that I’d managed to free them all before getting trapped inside the stable myself. “I’m sorry about the stables, I—”

“You did nothing wrong,” he said, sighing. “I’m sorry for yelling at you. I just didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“Why?” I asked him curiously. He raised his eyebrow at me, but didn’t answer. We kept walking, and soon I could hear the sound of trickling water in the distance. Again, we passed along a short path that led only a few feet into the trees, revealing a clear blue pond built naturally into stone, a small waterfall pouring down into the pool. Everything was green and lush, beautiful, and on top of the rocks both Abigail and Jane were laying out, sunbathing in their bikinis. For a moment, I felt nervous. I glanced over at Cooper, who gave me a soothing look. I was taken by surprise when his hand found mine, his fingers linking around my own and squeezing them softly. I felt a heat spread within me as I looked at his face, a small smile on his lips as he let go of my hand. Then he pulled his shirt off, baring himself, forcing my eyes to drop instantly to his perfect chest.

“Do you know how to swim?” he asked as I looked him over, his broad shoulders and thick, strong arms.

“Yes—”

“Good,” he said, cutting me off, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me into the pond. The cool water hit my skin and I gasped, flopping around for a moment in the water, getting my bearings.

“Oh, she’s going to kill you, Coop,” Abigail said, looking down at us. Cooper opened his mouth to respond but I didn’t let him, instead diving on him, wrapping my arms around his body and pulling him under. I heard him laugh just before his head broke the surface, and we squirmed for a moment before I let him go. I rose out of the water and he sent a splashing wave at my face. I laughed, splashing back at him.

“Asshole,” I said, paddling in the water. He grinned at me, coming toward me, pulling my body to his and leading me around the pond.

“What are you doing?” I asked him almost breathlessly, his arms around my waist from behind, chest pressed to my back as we floated around.

“I’m showing off,” he said. “What do you think?”

“I’m not impressed,” I said to him teasingly. He laughed, pulling me closer to him, nuzzling the back of my neck.

“Cooper—”

“Just a second,” he said, and I shivered when his lips touched the nape of my neck, brushing along it, leaving a trail of heat in its path. I felt myself melting against him, closing my eyes, letting him kiss my neck softly. Then I pulled away from him with a shy look, flushing and confused as I swam to the edge of the pond. I climbed out, my dress soaking, sticking to my body as I sat at the edge of the pond. Cooper looked up at me with bright eyes, his lips soft-looking and handsome, his gaze warm on mine.

“Girls,” he said, his voice loud enough for his sisters to hear.

“What do you want, Coop?” Abigail grumbled, shielding her face from the sun.

“Get out of here,” Cooper said to them. Abigail sat up, raising her eyebrows.

“What—”

“Go away. I want to talk to Violet.”

“But—”

Cooper shot them a look over his shoulder. “Please.”

Abigail sighed, grumbling again as she and Jane both sat up and started back through the trees, wrapping their towels around their bodies as they went. I sat there breathlessly, staring down at him.

“What do you want?” I asked him, looking into his stunning eyes. I felt warm despite how wet my clothes were, the fact that my soaked hair was dripping down my back.

“I want you to let me kiss you,” he said. I felt myself shiver.

“What?”

“The first time I kissed you, we were both angry. It was wrong. I want to do it again, right now, while I’ve got you smiling.”

“Cooper—”

“Just one kiss,” he said. I was tempted, so tempted as I looked down at him, but I knew it was a bad idea. One more kiss with Cooper like the one we’d had before could ruin everything. It was so good that I knew it meant I was capable of falling for him, and that was absolutely not something I was willing to allow myself to do. Not with a playboy like Cooper. Not with a man I was here to betray.

“I can’t,” I said to him. “I—I don’t want to.”

He smiled.

“You’re just afraid to,” he said. I shook my head, allowing him to pull me back into the water, pulling my body against his. It made me lose my breath, yet still when he leaned in to take my mouth in a kiss, I stopped him. He looked into my eyes, touching my cheek as we kicked our legs in the water to stay afloat.

“No kissing,” I said to him in a trembling voice, though my eyes were on his lips. “We don’t even like each other.”

“How about we start as friends?” he asked. “Start over.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to earn my way up to that kiss,” he said. “One day you’re going to be smiling and pretty, and you’re going to let me do it.”

“Oh,” I breathed. He licked his bottom lip, smiling at me.

“Friends?” he asked.

“Friends,” I said, pulling away from him, unable to remain staying so close. I sent a wave at him then, laughing when he splashed me back, and jumping on his back where I felt safe putting my weight on him in the water. It seemed like there was always a reason for us to touch each other in the water, my skin against his, wrapping around his body or enveloped in his arms. When we were finished, it was nearly noon, hot outside, and both of us were starving. I got up out of the pool.

“Turn around,” I said to him, twirling my finger in a circle.

“What?” he asked.

“I need to take my dress off and squeeze it out. Turn around.”

“Are you sure—”

I shot him a look and he gave me a sly smile, then closed his eyes and turned around. I quickly slipped out of my dress and rung it out as best I could, then put it back on, glad that it was no longer sticking to every inch of my body. His eyes wandered over me before he got out, staring at my face, climbing to his feet.

“What do you think?” he asked softly. “What’s on your mind?”

“Friends,” was all I said. He was standing close to me, his eyes on my lips, seconds away from that kiss we both so desperately wanted. He grinned rather than touch me with his lips, putting his hand forward to shake mine.

“Deal?”

I gave him a small smile, unable to help myself, and took his hand.

“Deal,” I said to him, even though I had a feeling it was a bad idea. Being his friend meant that I couldn’t put off what I was here to do anymore. It gave me an opportunity to get through to him. The more time I spent with him, the less I wanted to do it, yet I knew that I had to—I couldn’t live my life under Patricia at the company. I swallowed my misgivings and forced myself to be in the moment, in his eyes, my hand lingering in his. I let go and turned around, and we headed back toward the house. When we got there, everybody was eating lunch, and after we went upstairs to change we came back down and joined them, sitting outside around the table. The more time we spent in Texas, on the ranch and at the business building, the more I loved it compared to New York. The ranch was quiet and wide-open, every corner beautiful, the tulip field the grandest thing I had ever seen. It had taken my breath away, not quite the way the first kiss with Cooper had, but close. I sat down next to him while we ate, and he occasionally casted me lazy glances and grins.

“So, you two had fun today,” Abigail said, leaning forward. I blushed and looked away from her.

“Shut up, Abby,” Cooper said, though he didn’t sound particularly irritated. “We all had fun today.”

“What’d you do after we left?” Abigail asked.

“Why are you so gross that you want to know that?” Cooper asked. Abigail opened her mouth to retort but I cleared my throat.

“We just hung out,” I said, looking over at Cooper.

“We’re friends now,” said Cooper.

“Friends,” Marie said, her eyes twinkling. “Good. I’m glad that you’re getting along.”

“I’m surprised she doesn’t hate you,” said Jane.

“Why would she hate Uncle Coop?” the little girl, Susie, said. “He’s nice.”

“Of course your uncle is nice, baby,” Jane said.

“To you,” said Abigail. “To everyone else he’s a—”

“Abigail,” Marie snapped. Abigail’s face rose into a smirk.

“I’m just teasing him, ma,” she said.

“She’s projecting,” Cooper said. He glanced over at me.

“We just decided to be friends,” he said to them. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Mhm,” Abigail said. “Friends.”

I blushed again and Cooper folded his napkin into a ball, throwing it at her. She laughed and threw it back.

“Alright, stop it,” Marie said, putting her hands out. She turned to look at me.

“What are you two doing today?”

“I’m going to take a nap,” Cooper said. “She’s free to—”

“I’m not sure,” I said to them, cutting him off, though I wondered what he was going to say. When lunch was over, we went upstairs, him walking behind me on the steps. I could feel his eyes on me, and when I looked back there was a look, something like hunger on his face. I thought again about kissing him, feeling that hunger in the form of his tongue teasing my mouth. I had barely gotten to kiss him before, hadn’t really had a chance to respond before he stopped. I wondered what it would be like to spend a long time doing it, and I considered it for a moment before I took another step away from him.

“Are we going to the business branch later?” I asked him.

“No,” he said. “No, I’m not in the mood for work.”

I swallowed. “Maybe you should get out of the business. Sell your share, go live somewhere you won’t have to do anything but paint.”

His face spread into a grin.

“I’ll think about it,” he said softly. “But only if you do something for me.”

“What’s that?” I asked him, my nerves going into overdrive.

“I get to take you out on a date tonight. You don’t get to talk about work,” he said, gazing at me evenly. “A regular date. And then I get to kiss you. For as long as I want.”

My mouth dropped open slightly, my body flushing.

“You want to—to go on a date with me?”

He nodded. “Tonight. And I will consider selling my share and going on a long vacation.”

“Okay,” I breathed. “But—”

“No buts,” he said.

“We shouldn’t kiss. We’re not going to kiss,” I said, my voice trembling slightly. “Just a date. No kiss. Okay?”

He stared at me for only a moment, a sly smile on his lips. Then he nodded.

“No kiss, then,” he said. “I can deal with that.”

“Okay,” I said, relieved, knowing that if I kissed him again, it would be all over. There would be no resistance from me, no hesitation if he wanted to push it further. I refused to be just another girl in his bed. The attention made me feel beautiful, and yet part of me had a feeling that it was only because I was convenient—literally the only woman who wasn’t family he was usually around other than Mercy, who he seemed to be constantly flirting with. Thinking about that only squared my resolve not to kiss him, but I would go through with the date if it would help me get what I needed from him.

“Go rest up, take a shower, get dressed. I’ll see you before dinner.”

“Where are we going?”

He grinned. “You’ll see. Get lots of rest. I’m keeping you up late.”

I felt myself shiver slightly at his words and I couldn’t suppress my smile.

“See you later,” I said to him, turning around to go to my room. I shut the door behind me and leaned against it, taking a deep breath. My heart was thundering in my chest as I went into the bathroom, looking at myself in the mirror. My face was flushed, cheeks round, hair in damp curls over my forehead. I looked down at my body, the fullness of it, plus-sized in every way. I allowed myself to wonder briefly whether Cooper’s attraction, his desire for me was real or if I was just something to pass the time. I knew I was beautiful—I didn’t get upset when I looked in the mirror, but being rejected was always in the back of my mind, knowing what kind of body men preferred. If his attraction was real, it would be hard to resist, but I knew that I had to. I could flirt with him a little to get him to sell his share but sleeping with him, touching him was completely crossing the line. It was inappropriate, not the kind of girl I was at all.