She wanted to be evicted, though, didn’t she? It was better than her reminding him that he was right to think he knew her. That they had slept together and he was only now remembering it.

Stormy wasn’t too thrilled to have to remind a man he’d bedded her.

“I was just really cold and thought I would look for a coat,” she called out when he said nothing to her last statement.

“You had to shut the door to find a coat—in the dark?” he asked.

“The wind must have blown it closed behind me,” Stormy said quickly, impressed with her quick thinking.

“Well, if you need it, there’s a light in there hanging from the ceiling,” Cooper told her. “I’m going to be a gentleman and give you a break,” he said before pausing. “Then we will finish what we started.”

Her heart thundered at those words. What did he mean by finish what we started? Was he talking about the discussion or the kiss? Oh, she wouldn’t mind finishing the kiss. She really wouldn’t mind that.

If she had the ability to kick her own ass, she would, because she couldn’t sleep with Cooper Armstrong again. At twenty years old, she could write the night off as youthful idiocy, but now at twenty-six, it would just be plain irresponsible.

Stormy was more than grateful to hear his steps retreating. Slowly, she turned the closet doorknob and opened it. After stepping outside, she looked back in and saw how ridiculously small the closet was. There would be no need for her to step inside for a coat—not unless she was hiding.

She was grateful he hadn’t called her on her foolishness.

Taking her time, she climbed the stairs and locked herself in her room. It was the best place for her to be after her childish behavior. Lying down on her bed, she closed her eyes.

She’d call Sherman and let him know that she needed to get out of the agreement. Sherman’s best intentions were not worth this level of humiliation. No, she’d be out of here in a few days max, she assured herself, because being housemates with Cooper would never work—not without her spilling her guts to him or ripping off his clothes. Either situation would be pretty dang disastrous.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The gym was hot and muggy, and the boxing ring already had a layer of sweat from previous bouts, but that didn’t stop Cooper and Maverick from circling each other with grins on their lips and sparks in their eyes.

“Are you sure you’re up for this, boy? You’ve seemed a little off lately,” Maverick taunted him.

“Don’t you worry about it, little brother. I can still kick your ass,” Cooper told him, his feet dancing as he moved in closer.

“I’m not the one who should be worried.”

Before Maverick could mock him more, Cooper threw a left jab and cracked his brother in the jaw, then quickly followed up with a right hook.

“Damn, I guess you have your game back,” Maverick said, shaking his head as he bounced back to regain his balance.

“I told you,” Cooper warned, feeling much better now that he was sparring with his brother and getting out some of his extra adrenaline.

They went a few rounds, both of them getting in some lucky shots before Cooper’s mind wandered to his new housemate again. She’d managed to avoid him for two days straight.

He was going to have a conversation with her if it was the last thing he did. Something was scraping at his brain and until he figured it out, he wasn’t going to stop obsessing about it.

Suddenly the breath whooshed from Cooper as Maverick landed a hard thrust into his stomach, then quickly followed up with a double shot to the head, effectively knocking Cooper on his ass.

Maverick danced back and laughed.

“Damn, you really are off your game. You should have countered that, old man.”

“It’s just this freaking woman who’s living with me. I can’t figure her out,” Cooper said in frustration as he slowly got back to his feet, his ears ringing slightly.

“Okay, this isn’t any fun at all. Let’s go sit in the sauna and you can cry about your woes,” Maverick said as he climbed down from the ring.

“Hey! I want payback,” Cooper called to him.

“It isn’t happening today. I’ll give you a week and then we’ll go another round,” Maverick said as he pulled off his gloves and began undoing his tape.

“Fine.” Cooper followed Maverick and the two of them quickly changed and went to the sauna.

The heat seemed extra suffocating today, though. Pretty much how his life was at the moment.

Luckily no one was in there with them. Cooper leaned back, a picture of Stormy rising up through the steam to appear in thin air and mock him.

“Tell me about the girl, ’cause I have to know. I haven’t seen you this obsessed since that one-night stand you had six years ago,” Maverick told him.

And then the air left his lungs as the room became even more suffocating.

“Hey! You okay? You aren’t having a heart attack on me, are you?” Maverick asked as he stood up and came closer.

“I need out of here.” Cooper lunged for the door with Maverick close on his heels.

“What in the hell is going on?” Maverick insisted as Cooper leaned against the wall.

It took a few moments for Cooper to speak, and then he looked up at his brother wondering how much he should share. That really wasn’t a question. They shared everything, so of course he would talk.

“Stormy is the girl from six years ago,” Cooper finally said.