CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
“CARE to explain to me what exactly is going on here?” Jeff asked.
No, she really didn’t. Charity made a face and crossed her arms over her chest. Cooper looked like he wanted to tear Harley apart with his teeth, and it was both a little terrifying and a little sexy. Jeff was looking at her like he had indigestion and a healthy dose of disgust for her. Not nearly as promising.
She wasn’t exactly sure what to say. “Well. Funny thing. You remember Ty and Imogen’s wedding?”
“Yes.” If it was possible, his frown actually deepened. “I don’t need to hear about your hookup with Brickman, okay? So if that’s where this is going, just spare me.”
Fabulous. Wonderful. Jeff knew that she had slept with Cooper. Which she hadn’t, of course, but clearly for the last three months, that was precisely what he’d thought. Charity wanted to smack her sister upside the head. “I didn’t hook up with Cooper at the wedding.”
“I saw you leave with him,” Jeff said. “Look, it’s not a big deal. We’re all adults here. I just don’t want details.”
Would she be reaching to think that was because it actually bothered him to think of her with another man? Probably.
Jeff was so goddamn cute, it just wasn’t fair. She’d never thought she was the type to be into the silver fox, but from the first time she’d laid eyes on Jeff, there was something about him that tickled her insides. She felt girly and giddy and stupid around him. But in a good way.
“I’m serious. I did not sleep with Cooper. My sister did.” There it was. Let him freak out accordingly.
“Harley?” His eyebrows shot up. “She wouldn’t do that.”
Excuse me? She had expected disbelief but not because Harley wouldn’t do that. “Oh, but I would? I’m the type who hooks up with a random guy at a wedding? Thanks.” The more she thought about it, the more pissed she got. “You don’t know me. You’ve said half a dozen words to me in two years, so don’t be judging me. And you know what?” At some point her finger had come out. She couldn’t help it. “It’s none of your business who my sister or I sleep with. I could screw Bozo the clown in the back of the circus tent and you are not entitled to an opinion about that.”
Her rant wasn’t having the effect of shaming him like she intended. His frown had evened out and he seemed on the verge of cracking a smile. “Are you finished?”
“Maybe.”
“You’re right. I have no business judging anyone or having any opinion on who you or Harley sleeps with.”
Typical Jeff. So fucking reasonable. He made it nearly impossible to hold on to her anger.
“But I am confused. I am positive that I saw you leave with Cooper. You had on a blue dress with a strapless sweetheart neckline. Harley had on a sweater over her dress.”
He noticed her neckline? She wasn’t sure what that meant, exactly. “This is going to sound very bizarre, but we switched dresses.” Charity dropped her arms and brazened her way through it. “Harley wanted to be seen as sexier for one night. I wanted to be taken seriously for a change. That was me you sat and talked to for half an hour.”
His eyebrows went up and he stared at her. “You switched dresses? Seriously?”
She nodded.
“Do you do that often? Pretend to be each other?”
“No. We haven’t done it since high school. But Harley wanted a crack at Cooper and was afraid to do it as herself.” She glanced over at her sister, who was being held tightly by her boss, their lips locked. “I think he’s forgiving her for the deception.”
“Looks that way.” His jaw was tense and he stared at them before clearing his throat and looking back at her.
“I’m sorry, Jeff. I hope you realize there was nothing malicious about what we did. It was stupid and impulsive, I’ll give you that, but it was not malicious.” Sadly, it shouldn’t matter to him anyway. It wasn’t like he had an emotional investment in either of them.
But then she remembered that he had actually asked her sister out. “Don’t be mad at Harley. Please. She thought that Cooper thought sex with her sucked and she was feeling hurt that he was hurt and was hitting on me, despite the sex sucking, so she figured the right thing to do was say yes to you, a nice guy, instead of being hurt all over again by Cooper, who is her boss, and the guy she slept with.”
When she paused for a breath, Jeff shook his head. “I have no idea what you just said. But I asked Harley out because I thought she was the one I spoke to at the wedding. And I spoke to that woman at the wedding, who was you, because I was secretly hoping that she, Harley, would intrigue me the way you, Charity, have.”
Now she was the one thoroughly confused. “What?” she said, staring at him blankly.
“I’ve been attracted to you for two years.”
“You have?” He was lying. He so had to be lying. He never talked to her. He looked at her like she was a nuisance. Her voice squeaked a little. “No, you haven’t.”
But then he reached out and took her hands in both of his.
Oh, Lord, he was touching her. The first time ever he was touching her and she had no clue what was actually happening. He was the only man who made her feel like a thirteen-year-old at a middle school dance.
“Yes. I have. But I didn’t think it was appropriate given you work for the company. I also didn’t get any particular vibe that you were interested in me. You seem to always have all the young studs sniffing around. I didn’t think you’d be interested in an old guy like me.”
Was he for real? He had been interested in her the whole time she’d worked for Sterling Motors? She wanted to fist-pump. Do a cartwheel. Kiss him.
“I don’t like boys,” she told him. “I like men.” She rocked on her heels a little, bringing her chest closer to his. “I’ve had the most ridiculous crush on you since the first minute I saw you. I like your voice. I like that you’re always so calm and in control. I like that you clearly care about your employees and your family.”
“Well. This changes things a bit, doesn’t it?”
She nodded. She certainly hoped it did.
“So, uh, I’m going to assume that your sister will not be upset if I cancel the plans I made with her.”
“No, she won’t be.” Charity looked down at her hands where Jeff had laced his fingers through hers. He had rough hands, callused with age and a lifetime spent working on cars and doing manual labor. She knew he had completed an Ironman competition a few years back and spent some time at his stripped-down cabin by the lake. It was an intriguing combination, the manly man who was wealthy as sin and as completely comfortable in a suit networking as he was splitting wood.
It was intimidating, she had to admit. She was a confident woman, but Jeff was a whole other league that she wasn’t sure she could compete in. Whereas with another man, she might have, okay, definitely would have taken the lead, with Jeff she didn’t. She wanted him to take that final step forward and seal the deal. “Are you upset?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No. Because clearly she wasn’t who I thought she was.”
“I have slept with random men,” Charity blurted, because she didn’t want him to think she was one, judging her sister, or two, free of a past. “And I don’t feel the need to apologize for it.”
Jeff laughed. “Charity. I wasn’t upset because you had a hookup, I was upset because I felt like I’d missed an opportunity. Your sex life is your own business.” He gave her a wry smile. “I’m almost fifty years old. You can bet I have had a hookup or two in my time.”
“Okay. Good.” Then she realized how ridiculous that sounded and cracked her own grin. “Jeff, what are we doing? I can call you Jeff, right?”
“I certainly don’t want to be Mr. Sterling right now. Yes, call me Jeff.” He lifted her right hand and brushed his lips over the back of her knuckles.
Charity shivered. It was the simplest of touches, but she felt it deep between her thighs. “All right then, Jeff. What are we doing?”
“We’re going to take you safely home. I’m going to give you a slow kiss good night. Then as soon as you will allow me to, I’m taking you out to dinner so we can do this right.”
There was a concept. It was so sexy, the way he was looking at her. The way he waited and asked, “How does that sound to you?”
It sounded divine. “I think I can get behind that plan.”
“Wonderful.” He leaned down and his lips barely touched hers.
It was an erotic tease, just a hint of his taste, his feel. “You don’t care anymore that I work for you?”
“The only thing I care about right now is your eyes and how beautiful they are.”
And excuse her while she collapsed on the floor in a puddle of girly goo.
Best night ever.
* * *
COOPER had called a cab for obvious reasons, and Harley was glad he had. For one thing, he had clearly had more than his fair share of whiskey and was about three drinks past a potential DUI. But it had the added benefit of allowing him to touch her in the cab on the way back to his house.
And for her to touch him.
She kissed him hard almost immediately when they tumbled into the cab, throwing her leg over his in an aggressive move that surprised her. But she rolled with it. Cooper inspired her to be bold, and she was so relieved that he hadn’t kicked her to the curb, she wanted to show him all manner of appreciation. She also desperately needed to see him enjoying her, to eradicate the niggling doubt that he hadn’t been into the sex with her.
“Holy hell,” he said. “You feel so good.” He pulled her up onto his lap, his hands sneaking under her sweater to stroke across her lower back.
It was surreal, to be there with him, as herself, everything out in the open, including her feelings, her crush. Now her genuine feelings of attraction and admiration that she wasn’t even sure how to label. Was a little afraid to label. But she wanted to touch him everywhere, to hold him, in case the moment passed and she woke up.
Harley realized she was staring at him, her fingers tracing his bottom lip when his grip tightened.
“Kiss me, Harley.”
So she did. Gripping the front of his shirt, she reached up and touched her lips to his. She kissed him greedily, leaning against him, legs moving restlessly as she tried to climb higher on him, to give her lips better access. He tasted like beer and sexy male and she wanted to eat him alive.
Yet every time they kissed, it started out rough, wild, desperate, and every time, somewhere in the middle of his tongue taking hers, they shifted from greedy domination to a worshipful tenderness. Maybe hard-core wasn’t in her nature. Or maybe it was something between the two of them.
Maybe it was love.
The thought had her pulling back again, breath shallow, palms flat across his chest. She broke away to breathe, putting a bit of space between them as she panted. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she kissed him again to stop herself. Too soon. It was too soon. Instead, she ran her hand over the length of his erection.
“You sure you want to do that?” he asked. “I offer no guarantees of what will happen if you let the tiger out of his cage.”
She laughed softly, brushing her lips over his chin, enjoying the feel of his beard rough on her lips. “I’m just petting the tiger, not unleashing it. We’re still in a cab.”
“Longest drive of my entire life,” he said. “And if I wasn’t convinced my junk would end up on TMZ I’d say take it out anyway.”
“You drive in a circle for hours every weekend,” she reminded him, comfortable on his lap, amazed that it could feel so natural, so normal to be with Cooper like this. “I think you can wait ten more minutes.”
He gave her a naughty grin, his hand firmly cupping her backside. “I’ve never anticipated a finish like this one.”
Harley shivered, his words causing a tugging sensation deep inside her womb. God, she wanted him so badly. “Me either. Though I can’t say this was how I expected this night to end.”
Cooper bit her bottom lip gently. “This night isn’t going to end until morning. I have a thing or two to say to you but for now I’m going to let my cock do all the talking.”
Shifting restlessly on his lap, she whispered, “Is this the angry sex part you were talking about?”
“Not even close.”
Oh, my. “I don’t think I have any experience with that then. My mind is drawing a blank.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll show you.”
“I don’t usually make men angry.” There was a thick taste of desire in her mouth, the need to touch him further, show him that she cared. “I’m sorry, Cooper.”
“I know. If I didn’t believe you, I wouldn’t be here with you. And for the record, I owe you an apology for kissing your sister on the dance floor tonight. That was pure petty jealousy on my part and a total dick move.”
Hey. Yeah. Good point. Harley felt a little less guilty. “I forgive you. And I think that makes us even.” Which was a stretch, but if you didn’t ask . . .
“Um. I don’t think so.” Cooper murmured in her ear. “But I’ll take the rest out of your ass. Then we’ll be even.”
All right then. It was safe to say that her feelings for Cooper were above and beyond what she had experienced in the past when that actually made her damp with desire.
“We’re home,” he said, glancing out the window.
The cab came to a stop. Cooper’s house was dark, but Harley knew Rosa had spent the night with Mary Jane. She hesitated, wondering how tomorrow morning would work. She didn’t want Cooper to have regrets.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” she whispered. Suddenly she was nervous. This felt so . . . huge. Monumental. She felt vulnerable and exposed as herself.
She liked him more than was wise.
He hadn’t mentioned a relationship again. Was that off the table now that she had lied to him? Was this just about sex?
Not that it mattered. She wasn’t going to stop him either way. She couldn’t. It would be impossible to walk away from him.
His eyes widened. “I swear to God if you blue-ball me right now I will probably die. Do you want that on your conscience?”
“No, of course not. I just want to make sure you’re sure.”
If he couldn’t look at her tomorrow, she would have to leave. She couldn’t stand the idea of being a regret to him.
Loving him, but not knowing how he felt, was damn, damn hard.
So she sat there and waited, knowing that no matter what he said, she would always look back and be glad she had taken the risk, that she had put herself out there.
But if he didn’t say something in the next thirty seconds she was pretty damn sure she was going to go running out of this cab screaming.