I shut the bathroom door anyway. No reason to scar him for life.
The shower was five minutes, tops. When I was done, I chose my outfit to be casual and comfy, but not anything that seemed date-like or flirty. So khaki shorts (another new purchase) and a light blue flowered tank top that matched the highlights in my hair.
Cooper would be here in forty-five minutes. If he arrived on time, which he rarely did. Cooper was almost always early.
I put it into overdrive. I got the ground beef cooked and added it to a pot with the sauce to warm. Then I wrapped the bread in foil and put it in the oven on low to do the same thing. That done, I set the table. Nothing fancy. Just dishes, silverware, napkins and sprinkle cheese. Along with my new salt and pepper shakers, of course.
Lastly, I started a big pot of salted water on medium so that as soon as he showed up, I could crank the heat to high, get it boiling and dump the pasta in.
With all that done, I took a quick second to check that my makeup hadn’t melted off. The house smelled like an Italian dream, I looked good (casual and cute but not like I was trying too hard), my apartment looked good, and I felt relatively confident that tonight wasn’t going to lead to kissing.
Cooper knocked as I left the bathroom. I opened the door. “Hey, you’re early. So, right on time.”
He smiled and handed me a bottle of red wine and a large bouquet of mixed flowers. “I hope I’m not too early. I stood on the sidewalk for five minutes.”
“Thanks for the wine and flowers.” I moved out of the way so he could come in. “But you shouldn’t have stood out there. You should have come up. We’re friends, Coop. No need to be so formal.” Maybe I was stressing that point too much, but it couldn’t hurt.
“I guess. Smells great in here.” He looked around. “And the stuff you bought today really looks good.”
“Thanks.” I put the wine on the counter and looked for something to put the flowers in. I had a vase leftover from some flowers my parents had sent when I’d gotten bumped on the head trying to rescue one of the store’s kidnapped elves.
I pulled that out, filled it with water halfway and stuck the flowers in. They were gorgeous, but I felt a little bad that Cooper had spent money on them and the wine when this dinner was supposed to be about me thanking him.
It was almost like he thought it was a date.
I heard a pop and turned to see Cooper had uncorked the wine.
“Do you have glasses?” he asked. “I think it breathes better if you pour it in advance.”
I hadn’t planned on drinking tonight. I had work in the morning, but beyond that, being under the influence of Cooper was hard enough to deal with. I didn’t need wine making it worse. “Um, not wine glasses exactly, but there are some in the cabinet there.” I pointed. “And really, I can’t have more than one glass. Work tomorrow and all that.”
He nodded. “Me too.”
As he got glasses out, I turned to put the pasta in the water, which was already boiling. “How was your day?”
He laughed. “It was nuts.”
“Oh yeah?” I gave the pasta a stir then faced him. The glasses of wine he’d poured were easily equivalent to twice what would have fit into an actual wine glass. I was going to have to pace myself. “What happened?”
He handed me a glass, then leaned on the counter. “What didn’t happen? We had a vampire stuck in a coffin, which he claims was a bed when he went to sleep. Then a call for a bird stuck on a roof—”
“How can a bird be stuck on a roof when it can fly?”
“When the bird is actually the mascot for Ricky’s Chicken.”
“The guy who stands outside the restaurant in the rooster costume waving the sign that says ‘Cock-a-doodle-delicious?’”
“That’s the guy. Said he had the sudden urge to climb up on the roof, then couldn’t remember why when he got up there. Couldn’t get down, either.” Cooper sipped his wine. “The whole day was like that. Not a serious call in the bunch.”
I gave the pasta another stir. “Did you also respond to Piper Hodges turning blue?”
“No, but we heard about it over dispatch.” He shook his head. “Man, today was crazy. And it’s not even a full moon.”
I took a small sip of my wine. It was good. Fruity and a little sweet. Perfect for summer or winter elves. I debated telling Cooper about Spider, but he was bound to find out before the evening was over. “Yeah, it was pretty weird here too.”
As if on cue, Spider walked out, sat in the middle of the living room and yawned.
“Weird how?” Cooper asked.
I gave him the short version of the story, which I was getting pretty good at. “That fancy box I bought? I put it on the coffee table, but Spider knocked it down. Broke the lid off. Right after that, he started to talk.”
He turned to look at Spider. “Dude. You can talk?”
Spider walked over to Cooper, rubbed on his leg and then meowed.
Cooper looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “I thought you meant like actual talking. Words.”
“He does. He can.” I stared at Spider. “Say something.”
Spider sauntered away to see if anything new had shown up in his food bowl.
I looked at Cooper. “He really can talk. In English.”
The timer dinged, so I pulled the pot off the burner and drained the pasta into the colander waiting in the sink. I gave the strainer a shake, added the pasta to the pot of sauce and stirred it all together.
“Anything I can do to help?” Cooper asked as he walked into the kitchen.
I did a little side step so he could reach the oven. “You can get the garlic bread out of the oven. There are pot holders in the drawer next to the sink.”
He laughed. “I don’t need pot holders.”
“No, I guess you don’t.” Sometimes I forgot what summer elves were capable of.
He opened the oven, letting out a waft of hot air, then reached in and pulled the foil-wrapped loaf out. “Anything else?”
“That’s it.” I left the pasta fork in the pot and carried the pot to the table. I put it on the trivet I’d set out earlier, since my table wasn’t immune to heat, and filled Cooper’s dish first, making sure to give him an extra meaty scoop.
We sat down to eat. The conversation was easy, the food surprisingly tasty, and by the time our bowls were empty, so was my wine glass. I was feeling good. And bad. Because, despite everything I’d promised myself I wouldn’t do with Cooper tonight, I really did want to kiss him.
He was so nice, and such a good guy, and ridiculously hot. Literally and figuratively. Plus, I already knew how much fun kissing him was.
Instead, I got up to clear the table. He grabbed my hand as I reached for his plate. “You’ve done enough work. Let them sit and I’ll take care of them. Later.”
His voice was husky, and by the light in his eyes, I knew he was feeling the same thing I was. That old spark. Whatever chemistry we’d had in college hadn’t really petered out. Not enough to be forgotten, anyway.
“I have dessert,” I said lamely. “Berry tart.”
He stood and, still holding my hand, led me to the couch. “Sounds good. But maybe in a few.”
He sat and patted the cushion beside him. “C’mon, relax for a minute. We can watch a little TV and just chill. I promise I’ll do the dishes in a bit. Only fair since you cooked.”
That was sweet. And generous, since my cooking hadn’t been much more than heating stuff up. I sat and reached for the remote. I settled on a comedy skit show that might be worth a few laughs. That seemed safe.
When I leaned back, he put his arm around me. “Thanks for dinner.”
I glanced at him. His eyes were on the screen. “Thanks for helping me out with the truck this morning.”
“Anytime, Jay. Anything for you.” He looked at me. “You know that.”
My insides did a little flippy-gooey thing. Snowballs. This was not good and really good and I was in trouble. And I wasn’t sure I cared. I
made one more attempt to change the mood we were entering, but all I could do was repeat what I’d said a minute ago. “I have dessert.”
“You’re all the dessert I need.”
Then he leaned in and kissed me, tasting of wine and the sweetness of the tomato sauce. Yes, there was a little garlic in there, but hey, we’d both eaten it. So whatever. It was kissing. And it was good kissing.
Cooper’s mouth was soft and warm, and his heat spiraled through me in lazy swells that looped around my bones like a warm summer breeze. Kissing him made me happy. It reminded me of our time together and how amazing that had been.
There was nothing like a first love. And Cooper was mine. Had been mine. I reluctantly but firmly broke off contact. “I don’t know if we should do this, Coop.”
“Why?” His fingers tangled in the ends of my hair. “Because you like the vampire?”
It wasn’t news that he knew about Greyson. “I do like him.”
“Do you like me too?”
“Yes. But it’s more complicated with us.”
“Because of our past? If anything, that should make it easier. We know each other. Know how well we get along. How good we are together.”
“When we were in college. We’re different people now.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Not that different. Sure, we’ve both matured. You’ve gotten more beautiful. More confident. And a hell of a lot sexier.”
I blushed. How could I not? “I don’t exactly feel more confident right now.”
He smiled. “I just…I just want to know you haven’t counted me out.”
My heart melted a little. “I haven’t. But are you saying you don’t care that I’d be seeing you and Greyson?”
“Do I care? Yes. But you’re allowed to like more than one guy. All that matters is which one of us you choose in the end.” His expression turned sly and cocky, very much the Cooper I knew from college. “Which I know will be me.”
I shook my head. “I know one thing that hasn’t changed about you since college.”
“What’s that?”
“Your ego.”
He laughed.
I got up. “I’m getting us some dessert.” I headed back to the kitchen.
He leaned back, crossing one long leg over the other so that his right ankle rested on his left knee. “If opening the box caused Spider to talk, then we need to find out what was in the box.”
I nodded as I took the tart out of the fridge. “Already working on that. Birdie Caruthers is trying to get me a visit with Francine Gresham. That’s who owns the house. Or did, until it was sold.”
He nodded, then paused. “How do you know Birdie? Wait, let me guess. Greyson.”
I made a little apologetic shrug. “He’s well connected.”
“So am I,” Cooper said. “When are you going to see Francine?”
I sliced the tart and served it onto two plates, the bigger slice for Coop. “I don’t know. Apparently, she’s not big on visitors.”
He was quiet as I came back with the plates and forks, waiting until I’d put them down on the coffee table to say anything else. “What do you think was in the box?”
“No clue. But there was some faint traces of iridescent green powder inside.”
That got me a few more seconds of silence while he leaned over the table and prodded his slice of tart with his fork. “Maybe it was a genie.”
“Juniper said the same thing. But how would I know? It’s not like I’m an expert on genies. Seems farfetched to me, even in this town. Have you ever met one? I haven’t.”
Cooper put his fork down. “I have, actually. And I’d be happy to introduce you to her.”
“Really? She lives here? When?”
“Right now.”
My eyes widened. “For real?”
“Well, I’d have to call her first. See if she’s available. But sure.”
“It’s almost eight thirty.”
“She’s a night owl.” He glanced at his dessert again, but not so fast that I didn’t see something in his eyes.
My gaze narrowed. What Cooper had said about us knowing each other was right on. And I knew that look. “How do you know her?”
“We, uh, we dated. A little.”
I’d pretty much already figured that out. “I see.” I decided to torture him a little. “Just the once, then?”
“Three times, actually. But we didn’t have any chemistry.”
I nodded sagely. “At least you figured that out before you slept together.”
He winced.
I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. “I take it you couldn’t quite grant her wishes, then?”
His eyes narrowed. “Hah hah.”
“You opened the door. I just walked through.” I sliced off the end of my tart triangle and forked it up, ready to pop it into my mouth after my next question. “How did you meet her?”
“She’s sort of a medical professional. I tweaked my shoulder a while back, and one of the guys at the station recommended her to work on it.”
I swallowed my mouthful. “She’s a doctor?”
“Not exactly.” He sighed. “She’s a masseuse.”
“Oh, yeah,” I said. “That’s totally like a medical professional.” I rolled my eyes. “Cooper, whatever you did—whoever you did—when we weren’t together is your business. You don’t have to dance around your past. Or your present.”
He took a bite of his dessert and swallowed it down. “Yeah, I know, but after everything that happened between us, I don’t want anything else to get in the way.”
“Then just be honest. The reason we broke up is because we weren’t completely honest with each other. Sure, Lark started it with her lies, but if there’s any chance for us, we can’t hide stuff from each other.”
He nodded. “You’re right. And I’m sure you’ve dated lots of guys since we were together. And then there’s the vampire.” He rolled his eyes.
I snorted. “Please. You think I dated lots of guys in the North Pole? I’m the Winter Princess. Guys willing to date me were either trying to improve their social status or add a notch to their bed post.” I fiddled with my fork. “But mostly, they were just intimidated by me. Not many brave souls want to date the woman who will one day rule them.”
“I never really thought about that. I suppose that’s why you want to keep seeing me and the vampire. To make up for lost time and all that.”
“That’s part of it.” I looked at him, enjoying how pretty he was. “And the other part is that I’m in no rush to settle down. I want to have some fun. And right now, that means dating around.”
He nodded. “I understand. The vampire might not, though. Just saying not every guy is as easygoing as I am.”
“Greyson’s fine with it.” At least I thought he was. I guess that was a conversation I needed to have. “Nice try, though. Why don’t you call your genie and see if we can swing by her bottle, or whatever she lives in? I’d like to figure out what was in this box.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” He pulled out his phone.
I made a face at him, then twisted and leaned back on the arm of the couch so I could stick my toes under his thigh.
He cradled the phone between his ear and shoulder so he could scoop my feet into his lap. Where he then proceeded to rub them.
Pretty sure my eyes rolled back in my head. Cooper’s hands were big and warm and slightly callused. And the pressure of those hands on my feet was magical. Not sparks in the air magical, but close.
“Hey, Imari, it’s Cooper. How are you?” He smiled in a sort of wistful way. Oh, he’d definitely liked her. “Great. No, my shoulder’s good, thanks. I was wondering if I could bring a friend by to talk to you. I know it’s short notice, but it’s a jinn-related emergency. Or might be. Not sure. That’s why we need your expert opinion.”
His thumbs pressed into the ball of my foot, and I moaned softly, unable to stop myself. His brows lifted, and a look of self-satisfaction came over him. “Half an
hour? That would be great. I owe you. Thanks.”
He hung up, which required him to take his hands off my tootsies. “She said come on over. Unless you don’t want me to stop…”
I didn’t. But my cat could talk. Figuring out what had caused that had to come first. I swung my feet off his lap and onto the floor. “Not that that wasn’t highly enjoyable, but I think I need to get to the bottom of this box business.” I stood. “I’ll put the box in a shopping bag and get my purse.”
He drove, seeing as how he knew where she lived and I didn’t have a car. Turns out, she had an apartment at the Excelsior, the only real condo building in town. It was sleek and modern and not at all like the rest of Nocturne Falls.
I stared up at the building as I got out of the truck, wrapping the long handles of the shopping bag around my hand. “This place doesn’t look like it belongs here.”
“Word is it was built specifically for Julian Ellingham. The penthouse apartment is his. And not surprisingly, most of the other residents are women.”
I laughed. “So he’s a bigger hound dog than you are?”
Coop shot me a look. “You said you didn’t care who I dated.”
“I don’t. I’m just amazed by the sheer volume.”
We walked toward the building as he answered me. “Imari is one person.”
“So is Toly’s granddaughter, and you dated her, which makes two. And she, I might add, tried to kill me.”
“Hey, that had nothing to do with me.”
“No, but if this chick tries to kill me, I may start thinking differently.”
He pulled the lobby door open. “Imari is great, you’ll see.”
We walked in, and Cooper gave our names to the doorman. “We’re here to see Imari Zephara.”
Imari Zephara? That was a name and a half.
The doorman nodded. “Yes, Miss Zephara said you’d be arriving.” He picked up a house phone and pressed a button, then put it to his ear while speaking to us. “I’ve called the elevator for you so you can go on up. I’ll let her know you’re here.”
“Thanks.” Cooper and I headed for the elevators.
I stayed quiet, just observing. The Excelsior felt like money. Chic and sophisticated and private. The elevator doors slid open with a sigh, the stainless steel exterior giving way to a sleek interior paneled in dark wood and brushed chrome. Cooper touched the button for the second floor, and the doors closed. I knew we were moving, but it was hard to tell.
Miss Frost Ices The Imp: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 2) Page 5
