And though I knew it was bitchy and childish and probably even sluttish, I half-grinned and said, “Definitely. Cooper’s the best.” There wasn’t anything suggestive to my voice but Stewart must have taken it that way because she looked up and gave me what could pass for either a nod or a twitch. Before I could stop myself, I asked, “Do you take surf lessons with him?”
Grabbing a Styrofoam coffee cup off the corner of her desk, she downed a long gulp and shook her head. “He and my kid sister dated for a few years. They’re still . . . friends.”
I didn’t like the bright red spots that pranced in front of my vision any more than the way she cleared her throat before saying friends. Pressing my lips flat, I sat back, wanting this meeting to end as quickly as possible. Stewart had known exactly what to say to get to me, and I felt like an idiot for trying to one up her. Now the only thing I’d think about during my lesson with Cooper was whether or not he was sleeping with my probation officer’s sister.
At least that would keep my mind away from the money in my account and what disasters I could blow it on.
The meeting with Stewart lasted another few minutes, and then she set up our next appointment—in a month on, no surprise, my birthday. As she walked me toward the front of the building, she turned to me and said, “I called Dave to verify your community service hours this morning and he said you haven’t checked in yet.”
When I didn’t reply, instead feigning interest in a tattooed guy slurping down water at the fountain outside of the bathroom and sweating profusely, Stewart handed me a business card with an address scribbled on the back.
“I’ve set you up an appointment with him, today at noon.” She shrugged and gave me a little smile. “Just so you can meet him.”
“I’ve got a surf lesson,” I said automatically, and her polite smile faltered a bit.
“I’m sure Cooper will understand. He’s the best, after all.”
Right. The best. With her f**king sister.
But when I gulped in the taste of fresh air a few minutes later, not sparing the probation office another glance as I rushed to the Kia, I didn’t know what Cooper would think. Yesterday during our lesson, he’d been quiet, focused only on work. There had been no flirting, very little touching, and I’d found myself confused and wanting both.
Today, the moment I stepped into the front of his shop and he gave me a dizzying smile from behind the counter where he was going through a surfboard catalogue with a couple around my parents age, I realized I would leave just as frustrated as I’d been yesterday.
“Give me a few,” he mouthed, gesturing his head to the back of the house. I nodded. I walked out to the deck, where I began stripping down to my suit.
I was unbuckling my high, wedged Steve Madden sandals when I heard him come outside. I didn’t immediately acknowledge him, but I could feel the heat from his gaze running from my ankles, and up my bare legs. When I felt it skim past my br**sts, I lifted my chin. If he was ashamed at being caught watching me, he didn’t show it. Instead, I was the one who blushed all over as I folded my sundress into neat creases and sat it on the deck bench.
“I’m impressed, Wills. You’re on time and I didn’t even have to ca—”
I cut him off. “I’ve got to leave early today.”
I expected a smart-ass “would-you-leave-shooting-with-Dickson-early” response, but he slid down on the bench next to me, draping his arm around the wooden handrail, and looked into my eyes. “You’re alright, aren’t you?” There was a genuine concern in his voice that caught me off guard. Nodding, I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, suddenly conscious of his scent—coconut and sunblock.
My voice was husky when I said, “I had my first probation meeting this morning with Officer Stewart.” I paused to let her name sink in for him, but his expression didn’t change and his body stayed relaxed. “I’ve got to go meet my community service boss this afternoon.”
He nodded his head slowly and started to drag his shirt over his head. “What time?”
“Noon.”
He half-laughed, half-groaned, shrugging his shirt back down. I gave him a blank look and he said, “Then why did you have your bodyguard drop you off? It’s 10:45 now.”
Honestly? Because I hadn’t paid the slightest bit of attention to the time. I’d been too rattled by the meeting with Stewart and the money in my account. I reached for my bag where I’d slid it under the bench. “I’ll call Miller and—”
Cooper’s hand closed around my wrist. A shiver raced through me and my fingers tightened. I took one breath—and two more just to be sure of myself—then I met his gaze full on. The way his blue eyes alternated between confusion and want and astonishment made me want to melt into him.
Made me breathless all over again.
His lips parted. “Don’t.”
“Why?” I whispered in a voice that was too heavy and pleading for my own good.
“I’ll take you.”
Our lips were inches from connecting. I glanced away and tried to focus on the vacationers lounged out in beach chairs several feet from his deck, but even then the sound of their radio became fuzzy, the sight of their Corona bottles clinking together became a haze. The only thing that was vivid was Cooper’s face when he tucked his finger under my chin and compelled my gaze back to his, whispering my name in that accent.
“You’ve got work,” I said, but my words were more for myself. He had a rule about clients. I was his client and at the end of the summer, my movie would be shot and I’d have to leave. I couldn’t want him like this if I didn’t want to have my heart ripped out when that time came.