by Marie Harte
It was just as a handsome newcomer entered that she realized she’d worked through lunch, as had Cam. Too late now.
“Hello. Can I help you?”
“Yes, hello.” His greeting held more than a little interest. Tall, dark, and handsome, the man should have been her type. But lately, if the guy wasn’t a certain someone with warm brown skin, eyes to die for, and a killer smile, she wasn’t interested. “I have a one o’clock with Cam McCauley. I’m Dr. Steven Cooper. And you are?”
“Hope Donnigan,” she murmured. “I know your name.”
“Donnigan?” He brightened. “Any relation to Linda Donnigan? She sold me my house.”
Damn it. “Oh, ah, yes. She’s my mother.” Hope suddenly recalled exactly where she’d heard this man’s name. Linda had wanted to set Hope up with this guy. This handsome, polite doctor who had the money to work with Cam. Her cousin didn’t work with anyone but top-dollar clients.
“Oh, then it’s doubly a pleasure.” He reached for her hand, but instead of shaking it, he pulled it to his mouth and gave it a whisper of a kiss. The gesture touched her, until she remembered he was a product of her mother’s machinations.
Hope gently tugged her hand back. “Let me take you to Cam.”
She buzzed his intercom. “Cam? Dr. Cooper is here to see you.”
“Great. Send him back.”
To Steven, she said, “Follow me.”
“Anywhere,” he murmured.
She flushed and left him with Cam, who saw her and raised a brow in question but said nothing more than a hello to Steven.
Hope lost herself in work once more.
An hour later, Steven walked out with Cam, laughing and planning a follow-up meeting.
“Hope, set Steven up with an appointment two weeks from now, would you?” Cam asked.
“Sure thing. Dr. Cooper—”
“Steven, please.”
“Steven, let’s take a look at the calendar.”
Cam left them, and she and Steven planned his return. “And maybe when I come back next time, I can take you to lunch.” He smiled. “Your mother told me all about you.” His grin widened. “She also told me not to tell you that, because you’re stubborn and not happy with her right now.”
Hope didn’t sugarcoat it. “She’s a busybody.”
He laughed. “Who sold me a wonderful house. Look, I get it. She’s doing what my mother constantly does to me. She’s meddling. How about we go to lunch, talk, and get her and my mom off our cases? Because I have a feeling my mother talked to yours. Apparently being single nowadays is a cardinal sin.”
Hope shook her head. “I know, right? I have to tell you, I’m not in the market for a man right now.”
“What a coincidence. Neither am I.”
He made her laugh.
“I’m kind of seeing someone, and even though it’s not serious, it’s about all I can handle,” she told him.
“I totally understand.”
They chatted a little longer, then Steven had to leave.
“Think about lunch,” he said. “I’m new in town and could use a friend, but no pressure, and I mean that. I’ll stop by early for my next appointment. You can let me know then.”
“Sounds good.” She thought she might just join him for that lunch. He seemed nice and polite. And he was funny too. Her mother, darn it, had been right. Take Linda out of the equation and Steven came across as a winner.
And he was no J.T. Webster. It might be good to get J.T. off the brain for a bit.
“You know what, Steven? Let’s arrange to have lunch. You and me, and we leave our moms out of it.”
He nodded. “I’ll see you then.”
After he’d gone, Hope returned to her reports. Before she knew it, five thirty rolled around.
J.T. came through the door just as Cam was calling it quitting time.
“Yo, Cam. What’s up?” J.T. gave her cousin a wide smile and slapped him on the back. “How’s my second-favorite blond doing? You keeping Vanessa in check?”
“My wife is fine, thank you.” Cam blinked. “Wait. Second favorite?” He shot Hope an amused glance. “Ah, I see.”
“They sure do make them fine around here.”
Cam laughed. “Okay, Romeo. Keep my cousin safe.”
“Will do.” J.T. stopped smiling. “Cam, do me a favor and mention her ‘admirer’ to your brothers, would you?”
Hope frowned. “I’m right here.”
“Oh, I already did. Told them not to tell Dad though, because he and Mom will no doubt blab to Uncle Van and Aunt Linda.” Cam gave Hope an apologetic look. “You know it’s only a matter of time before Landon and Gavin find out too.”
“Cam. You can’t tell them. They’ll suffocate me with ‘protective measures.’ Once a Marine, always a Marine. And Theo’s as bad.”
“No messing around with your safety, Hope.” Cam shook his head. “This whole mess is weird. I’ll keep my eyes open.”
“Me too,” J.T. agreed.
“I’m. Right. Here.” Hope glared at the pair of them.
Cameron kissed her on the cheek. “See you tomorrow, Hope.” Along with J.T., he scurried her out the door, then locked up behind them.
“That’s my job,” she complained.
“Not until we find out who’s behind the flowers.”
“Yeah, what he said,” J.T. had to add.
“You, hush. In fact, I have a bone to pick with you.”
He sighed. “Follow me. I know just the place where you can yell at me all you want.”
Chapter 10
J.T. brought her back to her place. She parked, waited for him to do the same, and preceded him through the building to her door. Once inside, she shut and locked it, then slid off her shoes.
“Okay, buddy. Let’s talk.”
He sighed, not sure he could resist her in her current pissy mood. “Where do you want me?”
Her subconscious glance at her hallway, which led to her bedroom, about killed him. “The couch it is.” He hurried to his favorite place in the apartment and stared at the couch. “Ah, the memories.”
“Stop it.” Hope left him and returned with two bottles of water. She lobbed one at his head, but he caught it.
“What a great host.”
“So what’s the deal with you and Cam playing men who know better than the little woman? I’m the one feeling threatened by flowers and cinnamon buns.” She paused, and he wondered if she heard how odd that sounded. “My point is, I should be taking charge of this.”
“Fine. What do you want to do about it?”
She opened her mouth then closed it, saying nothing.
While she debated how to sound in charge, he studied her, in lust with her business attire. Hope always looked like a million bucks to him. But especially in work wear. Short, curvy, and classy, with her blond hair pulled back in a sexy chignon—he’d looked the style up after seeing her wear it that way once—her skirt formfitting and stylish, her shirt staid but hinting at the curves beneath. The whole package was pretty much his fantasy for being seduced by his hot secretary or boss.
As usual around Hope, his dick took notice, wanting to stand up and salute her. He opened the water and drank to distract himself.
She did the same. Just two pals hanging out together on a Monday evening drinking water. He grinned at the inanity of it.
“What’s so funny?”
“Us.” He shook his head and put the water down on a coaster. Then he spread his arms out on the couch cushions behind him. “Well? I’m waiting.”
“Uh, right. Well, it’s okay for my cousins to know, but not my brothers. They can get really pushy and wrapped up in Marine protective mode. They might both be out of the service, but it’s always there. And with Theo signing up, he’ll be just as bad.”
He
nodded, in agreement with the part about the service always being present in both her older brothers. He’d met them, and they were guys he wouldn’t want to tangle with. Which was why he’d called them both to let them know about her secret admirer situation, a fact Hope would not like. At all.
But at least her brothers had agreed to let him take point, along with Cam, and gently ease Hope into their protection. So when they subtly showed up here and there, she wouldn’t immediately boot them away.
They knew her better than J.T. did. Apparently Hope was still a little too trusting and naive, despite dealing with some pretty scummy exes. She had a big heart and wanted to think the best about people. J.T. knew that much about her too.
She seemed to deflate before him. “You agree with me? Good.”
He watched her grab her cell phone from her purse, then dither over where to sit. When she chose to plant her sexy tush right next to him on the couch, he didn’t know what to say.
“Now you sit right here and wait while I have a discussion with my mother. Then we talk.”
* * *
Hope dialed her mother, who took her sweet time answering.
“Hello? Who is this?”
Hope pinched the bridge of her nose, conscious of J.T.’s scrutiny. “Please, Mom. Caller ID is a well-known fact of life.”
“Oh, is this Hope? My only daughter? The one not talking to me? What a lovely surprise.”
J.T. leaned closer to hear, so she put the call on speaker. “You’re on speaker, Mom, so I can keep my hands free while we talk. Guess who I met today at work?”
“Who?”
“Steven.” She saw J.T.’s eyes narrow and put a finger over her lips to remind him to keep quiet. He frowned but nodded. “What a coincidence that the same man you tried to set me up with at brunch just happened to find Cam and talk investments today.”
“I’m so glad he went. Smart men take care of their money. Smart women too, in case you try labeling me a sexist.” Her mother laughed. “What did you think? He’s handsome and kind. Just your type.”
J.T. didn’t look pleased at all. For that she had her mother to thank. What a tangled mess.
“Yeah, about my type. I’d like to bring him to dinner. Not Steven. My tattoo artist boyfriend.”
Her mother said nothing.
Hope grinned at J.T., who looked more bemused than annoyed with her. “Well? You said you wanted to meet him. Remember?”
“Fine. We’ll have dinner this Friday evening. Six thirty. I hope this one isn’t a vegan. Your father will be making steaks.”
“Great. See you then.” She disconnected and put her phone down on the coffee table, realizing that she was in for it now. No backing out of her fabrication anymore.
“So. Who’s Steven?”
She turned to J.T., sitting so close. “I think the real question is, why did you think you could just take charge back in the office? I have a brain, you know.”
“I know.” The heat in his gaze should have bothered her. Instead, it only added to the sexual tension rising in her. “Believe it or not, I see beyond the curvy, blond bombshell to the savvy woman beneath. You’re not just a pretty face. I get it.”
A compliment, yet the part about knowing she was intelligent meant more.
He studied her. “You know, you and I couldn’t look more different, but we’re a lot alike.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.” He settled into the couch, widening his seat and stretching out his long legs. Dressed in his typical business casual, he wore jeans, boots, and a black tee that clung to his body. Nothing at all wrong about liking the look of a man in his prime, she thought.
J.T. kept talking. “You see, you and me, we get judged on how we look all the time. Most people do, but we get it more. You get people thinking you’re not that bright because you’re blond and beautiful. Most guys take one look at you, and all they can think about is getting you alone and fucking you.”
Blunt but on target. She just wished he wouldn’t have used the word fuck because it put even dirtier thoughts than she’d been having about him in play.
“Then there’s me. Most people look at me, see a big, black dude who looks mean when he’s not smiling.”
“And sexy.”
He gave a half grin. “And sexy. And they think I’m all brawn and no brain. Chicks want a big dick. Guys either want to join my ‘gang’ or push me around to show they’re not afraid of me. Or they are and they avoid me, because obviously a black man in Seattle is only in the city to mug and rape and maul people.”
“Sadly, I think you have that right.”
He raised a brow.
She frowned. “Oh, stop. I meant you’re right that people stereotype us all the time. But I don’t see you that way.”
“I don’t see you that way either.”
“Right.”
“Good.” He sat there, his arms spread wide, his arms and chest begging her to touch.
She couldn’t stop remembering what they’d done before on her couch.
A glance down his body showed he hadn’t forgotten either.
Oh boy. She tried to calm herself, then thought to hell with it. They should probably just get a few things out of the way. “I think we need to stop making a mess of all this. So here’s the deal. You and I are friends, correct?”
No hesitation. “Yeah.”
“We care about our families and don’t want to screw up their lives with entanglements and regrets and you never calling me the next day.”
He smirked. “Yeah, right. More like you seeing me in the street and pretending we never met.”
“Sure, because most women look at you and run the other way.”
“Well, when you put it like that, you’re right. You’d never ignore me. But you wouldn’t be shouting from the rooftops that we slept together.”
She huffed. “Because I do that with all the guys I sleep with. I announce it to everyone. Oh hey, Big Brother Landon. Guess what? This is Greg. He and I had a sixty-nine, and it was gross.”
J.T. cringed. “Okay, bad example.”
“Gavin, meet Rob. He thinks our sexy times should begin with him ordering me around the room in a drill sergeant voice. And he always wants me to salute and call him sir before bending over.”
“Please, stop.”
“Oh, and Theo, I know you’re not yet twenty-one, but did you know Brian thinks having rituals before sex is a turn-on? Wash my hands and feet twice, then put the nightgown on, then take it off and fold it in half four times, place it on the chair, and wow. I’m so in the mood.”
J.T. covered his eyes with one hand. “You’ve made your point.”
“Finally.” She snorted. “Because sadly, I could go on. Anyhow, you and I are friends who find ourselves attracted to each other. There’s no point denying it. I think you’re sexy as hell, and you have a hard-on anytime we’re alone together. Unless you’re always thinking about something else.”
“No. This is embarrassing. I usually have more control over my body. But you mess me up.”
The feeling is mutual, believe me. “There’s nothing wrong with us being honest about it. And we shouldn’t be embarrassed. We just, um, seem to hit it off. Physically.”
He put his arm back along the couch. “I agree with everything you’ve said. So what’s your point?”
“My point is we’re not going to do anything to ruin things. So we had fun the other night. I’m not demanding marriage, and you’re not acting all macho about my mother trying to set me up with another guy.” She dared him to object, saw him swallow, and when he said nothing, continued. “Yes, Steven is a handsome doctor and seemed interested. I’m not. I don’t want a new boyfriend. I’m tired of finding all my Mr. Wrongs.” Tired of always being hurt.
“Okay.” His gaze softened on her. “I get it. I’m tired of al
l my Ms. Wrongs too. You’re not the only one not wanting to go through another breakup. You want the truth? I’m not a commitment kind of guy. My dad went through hell twice. First when my mom died. Then when he married Del’s mom. I lived with that for a long time. I don’t want it. Do I want a wife and kids?” He shrugged, and she had a feeling he was being more honest and open with her right now than he’d been with anyone in a long time. “The idea is nice. Sure. I look at Del with Mike and Colin, see how happy she is, and I think that would be cool, to have something like that. But I’ve dated a lot, and I just don’t see that future in the cards for me.”
She answered with her own truth, because J.T., of all the people she knew, understood. “That’s me. I mean, I watched my older brothers fall in love. And I’ve seen my parents together, happy and successfully married, for my entire life. By the time my mom was my age, she already had a husband and three kids, and a career she was getting off the ground. But me? I’m nowhere near having the perfect family.” She shrugged. “So it’s easier not to date and pretend I’m okay with it. I’m not, not really. But I’m finally happier on my own than being part of a couple. I refuse to rush into anything because I’m almost thirty.”
“Yeah, when is your birthday, again?” he asked.
“August eleventh.”
He nodded. They watched each other with new understanding. “So what now?”
Despite all her talk about keeping some distance, she didn’t want it. Not tonight. “I’m hungry. I say we get something to eat. After.”
He frowned. “After what?”
“After I take charge of our plan to thwart my mother.”
His frown eased, and he chuckled. “You sound like a supervillain.”
“Sure, why not?” She scooted closer and put a hand on his thigh.
J.T. tensed all over. “What are you doing?”
“I’m coordinating with my evil henchman.” She stroked his thigh, amazed at the muscle on the man. Then, because she couldn’t help herself, she put her hand on the bottom of his shirt and dragged it higher. “Wow. You have a total six-pack. No, wait, is that a twelve-pack?” She ran her fingers over his taut abdomen, enthralled with the soft skin overlaying such rigid muscle. Man, she’d kill to have a stomach that flat. And he had the softest brown skin. She wanted to lick him all over.
