“Ooh, that’s impressive,” Debbie said as she gave Cooper a look of interest.

“Not as impressive as Nick being a chopper pilot for the Coast Guard,” Coop quickly said, and Debbie’s eyes went right back to Nick.

His brother didn’t care all that much if she was interested or not. He’d either sleep with the woman or he wouldn’t. And then he would disappear in the morning. Nick was even more of a bachelor than Cooper, and that was saying a lot.

They made it out front, said their good-byes, and Cooper eagerly headed home. Maybe he’d see his elusive housemate. It was sad how much that thought perked him up.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Shooting straight up in bed, Stormy frantically wiped the sleep from her eyes as the pounding of her heart thumped in her chest. It took a moment, but finally she was able to brush the panic away and calm herself.

With surprise, she swiped her fingers against her cheek and found tears. Never before had she had such a vivid nightmare, one that woke her with terror.

Now that she was awake, there would be no use going back to sleep. She’d had a hard time falling asleep the night before, tossing and turning. When she’d heard Cooper walking in the hallway, then pausing at her door, it had made her heart race for an entirely different reason than this nightmare.

Living in this place for the past few weeks hadn’t been good for her health, unless she counted it as a cardio workout because her pulse was racing all the time. That could be great for her since she didn’t work out nearly as much as she needed to.

Taking her time in the shower, Stormy washed away her worries and fears, and then got ready for the day. She didn’t have to work this afternoon, which was great. If it was nice out, she’d take a stroll down by the water and then maybe go and play in Cooper’s garden.

She loved all the flowers he’d planted—or to be more realistic, that his gardener had planted. But she’d contributed a lot to the yard’s maintenance since her arrival, so maybe that would save him some money eventually. Today would be a good day to mow if she could figure out how to get the blasted machine started. She’d never done it before. She hadn’t lived in a place that required mowing.

When she began her descent down the stairs, she heard voices, and it made her pause. Maybe Cooper had company over and wanted privacy. She wasn’t sure what to do. After standing there for several moments, ultimately the smell of coffee pushed her forward.

If he had guests, she’d just get her caffeine and then be on her way. When she stepped into the kitchen, Cooper was sitting at the breakfast bar with two of the three men she’d seen in the pictures all over his house.

Damn! Their pictures hadn’t done them justice at all.

“Come and join us for breakfast, Stormy,” Cooper called, not seeming to mind her interruption. She was shocked by how nice he was being all of a sudden.

They hadn’t spoken two decent words to each other since she’d walked from his bedroom. She didn’t trust the smile he sent her way.

“It’s okay. I’m going to grab coffee and go out back and sit on the deck,” she said. He was probably just being polite anyway.

“That sounds like a great idea. The sun is warm already this morning,” one of the men said. “I’m Maverick, by the way, or Mav. Cooper told me he had a sexy housemate, but his description hasn’t done you proper justice.” The man gave her a smile that she was sure had dropped a few women’s panties a time or two.

“Um . . . thanks,” she said, unsure how else to reply. “I’m Stormy.”

“Oooh, beautiful looks and a sexy name,” the other brother said as he stood and came right into her personal bubble. He smelled good, too, as if his looks weren’t enough to make a woman’s heart stutter. “I’m Nick. We’re Coop’s brothers.”

“I’ve seen your photos on the walls so I sort of figured,” she said.

“I’ll join you on the patio,” Nick said, standing there and waiting for her to pour her coffee.

She was trapped into visiting with the sexy brothers now.

“Can you give my roommate some space?” Cooper grumbled as he pushed Nick aside. “How are you doing this morning?”

She was stopped in her tracks as she got the full power of Cooper’s gaze centered right on her.

“I’m . . . uh . . . I’m good,” she finally managed to stutter and she pulled her gaze from his.

“You seem upset. Are you sure?” he pushed.

“I’m fine, really,” she told him. He didn’t budge. “I had a bad dream and it threw me off,” she admitted.

“What was it about?” he asked, his voice too intimate, his brothers sort of fading away as she stood there with Cooper.

“I can’t even remember,” she said, the visions that had terrified her already beginning to fade. “I was trapped . . .”

“I hate those sort of dreams,” Cooper said. He didn’t seem to be mocking her.

“Yeah, really sucks,” she said with an attempt at a chuckle.

Her coffee was ready, so she held her cup as she began walking toward the back door, the three brothers on her heels. It was quite overwhelming.

“Did you make this quiche?” Nick asked as he sat down in the chair next to hers before scooping a big bite in his mouth.

“Yeah. It was just an easy recipe I learned long ago so I wouldn’t starve,” she told him.