Dan laughs as I hang up and mutter, “I really do pay him too much.”
Virtually no online identity and yet her brother is on a major football team, her cousin’s a rockstar, her uncle used to be a Senator. I seem to remember something about Jake’s father, her grandfather, being in politics, too. And her cousin Hannah is famous for what happened when she was a child. I may not know about sports but I do watch the news for the stock market and changes in the economy in general, so I catch the big stories. Hers and her father’s was truly memorable.
Staring out at Atlanta’s glittering skyline I imagine her out there, somewhere, and ask aloud, “Emma Cocker, how’d you stay sweet and unjaded surrounded by all those high-profile people? Did they shine while you watched? Or are you content just selling houses? I saw the passion for it in your eyes. Perhaps the spotlight isn’t your thing. Have to admit...I like that.”
CHAPTER 17
EMMA
A fter Mass ends, a stream of people pour outside the church’s iron doors to enjoy donuts and conversation. Aside from the singing and the silent prayers this is my favorite part. Everyone is in a good mood, which always feels nice. Plus it gives me a chance to connect with my cousins, Zoe, Samantha and Lexi. Nate and Hunter always take off right after, to who knows where, but I bet they’ll have to do confession for it.
As the sunlight hits our faces, Zoe takes my hand, green eyes dancing. “You excited you’re about to be an auntie?”
I call over to Samantha as she goes to buy us donuts, “Just the chocolate bar for me.”
“Got it!” she waves, straight blonde hair whipping around as she joins her redheaded sister, Lexi.
Zoe is single-minded about this. “You didn’t answer me! Ethan is the first of all the Cocker cousins to have a child! You’re so lucky you’ll have a niece already. I don’t think my brothers will ever have babies, and if they do, I will steal them.” She grins while I laugh. “But Ethan is going to be a wonderful dad! Charlie will be such a cool mom, too, don’t you think?”
I nod, “Hannah and I are becoming closer to Charlie and she’s such a good woman. So powerful it’s scary, until you get to know her.”
Baby-struck, Zoe stares off wistfully. “And they’re having a little girl! I can’t wait to meet her and hold her and then run off with her!”
Checking my outfit for wrinkles I smile, “My brother might kill you if you tried. He’s obsessed with being a dad.”
“Did you go to Gabriel’s concert?”
On a grimace I admit, “No. I guess you didn’t either?”
“I was designing the most beautiful floral arrangement, and taking pictures of it for my future portfolio. Completely lost track of time. Plus, you know me. Loud music makes me nervous. But I know Elijah wasn’t in town either. Did Hannah go, at least?”
“I’m not sure, to tell you the truth.”
“But you guys are best friends!”
Frowning at the ground I remind her, “She’s got a new best friend now, Zoe.”
My young cousin blinks at me like it’s not possible. “Tobias is her man. You’ll always be her best friend!”
Biting my bottom lip a second I wonder if I should pop the bubble Zoe lives in. She’s so damn optimistic all the time. It’s like talking to a fairy. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Of course I am! Your life doesn’t change when you find the one you love.” Her smile is sweet yet final, as if the problem never existed in the first place.
Samantha and Lexi return with warm donuts that normally make me drool. But the truth is I haven’t been able to eat since I got the call scheduling more time with Tanner.
I should be viewing this as a huge sale and a chance to show Cora what I’m made of. These other feelings are not professional or appropriate in the slightest. Had the sexiest dreams of my life last night. It’s so close to our meeting time now, since I went to twelve o’clock Mass today and it’s only an hour and a half, that my stomach won’t stop fluttering, knowing soon I will be alone with him again.
Pushing a lock of red hair behind her ear, Lexi takes a bite of jelly donut and moans. With white powder stuck to her lip, she asks, “Not hungry, Emma?” Samantha licks her thumb and smudges the sugar off her big sister. Lexi takes another bite of donut, this time leaving more on her face on purpose. “Better?”
Sam laughs, “Oh, yeah, that’s perfect.”
I take advantage of their distraction to bow out of the party and the question regarding my lost appetite. “Have some houses to show this afternoon, so I have to go. Here, take my chocolate bar.” Samantha snatches it, so much like her father, Uncle Jason, while Zoe and Lexi look at me like I’ve lost my mind. “What? It’s just a donut.”
The three of them exclaim at once, “Just a donut?!”
With a shrug I hurry away and check my phone. It’s only one-forty-five. An hour to go. What to do with all that time? But I couldn’t hang out with my younger cousins a second longer. They were a couple of heartbeats away from playing detectives and I don’t have this mystery solved yet, either. I don’t want them digging around my psyche until I know why Tanner is all I can think about.
Okay, now I’m in my car and...
I have nowhere to be for an hour.
Dammit.
Ethan’s mansion is near the one I’m showing today and Charlie will be home on a Sunday, so I could go rub her big ol’ belly. Ask her how she’s hanging in there. Last time we talked she was grouchy as hell.
Or I could see Hannah, instead. I don’t have time for both stops, but they do live next to each other now, so…
I’ll just do that.
Makes sense.
Do de do de do.
Okay, why am I ducking my head and driving by their homes this slowly?
Because…I’m a terrible liar.
Ethan would ambush me if he knew I was headed to a man Dad warned me never to be alone with. This is what they get for being so protective—me sneaking behind their backs.
This is totally their fault.
I’m just going to go to the vacant mansion and hang out there. I can read a book on my phone and pass the time, make it seem like I arrived early so I could be prepared.
Wait, why is his silver Maserati parked out front? We have almost an hour until our scheduled time. What is Tanner doing here?
Parking quickly I jump out of the car and glance inside his. It’s empty so I hurry up the long path and up the steps to find the door cracked open a little. I push on it and am about to call inside but stop myself.
I’m worried he tried to see the house before I got here so he would spend as little time with me as possible.
Struggling to stay calm I briskly walk through the house and listen for footsteps other than my own, but it’s silent, despite hardwood floors. In the kitchen I cast a quick glance out back and stop, heart skipping.
Tanner is seated on a stone bench under a live oak, grey Spanish moss floating in the breeze above. He has one foot up, the other laid comfortably on the grass, and his suit has been replaced with tan slacks and a white button up, sleeves rolled to the middle of his forearms. He’s reading a paperback book and from the looks of it, it’s not the first time he’s disappeared into its pages.
I glance down to check how I look, glad I wore this flowing, spaghetti-strapped, full-length sundress today. I took a chance, but I know coral looks great against my skin and I wanted to be as…professional as possible.
Setting my bag on the counter I walk outside with care so as not to startle him. But that’s very hard to avoid when someone’s lost in a novel and think they’re alone.
“Hello,” I quietly call over.
He jumps and drops the book, hastily picking it up and dusting off the pages as he stammers, “I didn’t hear you arrive.”
“I see that. What are you reading?”
Holding it up he announces, “Outsystem by M.D. Cooper. Ever read it?”
“Sci-fi?”
“Yep,” he stands up and looks
even more handsome as the sun traces his thick waves of salt and pepper hair. “I’m a trekkie. The early stuff, from when my dad was a kid. Star Trek Next Generation, not the really old one.”
Is he trying to make himself seem younger?
“I’m more of a supernatural lover. And romance. I love romance.”
Rolling his eyes in a friendly way, Tanner groans, “Of course you do.”
Grinning I cross my arms, “What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing,” he shrugs, clearly lying.
“You rolled your eyes! I saw you!”
With a lopsided smile he closes his book, dog-earing the page to keep his place. Off my expression he holds his hand up, deep voice warning me. “It’s my book, I’ll bend the pages if I want to bend the pages. God, between you and my sister,” he grumbles, tucking it under his arm.
“You have a sister? What’s her name?”
“You don’t want to hear about my personal life.”
He couldn’t be more wrong.
I shrug in an effort not to scare him off. “Tell me anyway.”
He considers it a moment. “Another time perhaps. Let’s see this house. It looks promising.”
I failed to crack the seal of this enigmatic man, and it’s challenging to hide my disappointment. Turning to head inside I confess, “I figured you’d have explored it already, since you’re so early.”
“I needed your expertise for the inside scoop, Little Emma, so I waited.”
My shoulders bristle at the nickname and our eyes lock. “I’m a full grown woman, Mr. Hamilton.”
Laughter dances behind his stormy eyes. “Whatever you say.”
Annoyed I throw my fists on my hips, “Don’t placate me. I am a full grown woman!”
He cocks an eyebrow. “Are you going to stamp your feet when you say that the third time?”
I stare at him a beat, and crack up, despite my best efforts to stay severe. “I hadn’t planned on it, but I should!”
“Can’t wait to watch your breasts bounce when you do.”
My eyes widen. “Any other client and I’d…” I trail off as he flashes a genuine smile. “Oh,” I mutter. “I already slapped you.”
“You did. Pretty strong hit, too, if I recall. Want to try again?”
My head tips as I wonder aloud, “Did it turn you on when I did that?”
“A little,” he shrugs. “But I’m not into that kind of thing normally.”
“A woman putting you in your place?”
That same free laugh bursts out from him as it did the other day. I don’t think I’d ever tire of the sound. He walks past me to be the first to open the mansion’s back door, holding it for me to enter first. “You’re very refreshing, Emma. I haven’t laughed this much in years.”
Frowning I head inside but stop inches away from him, regarding him with open puzzlement. “You’ve laughed twice, Mr. Hamilton. That’s not a lot.”
His eyes darken as he acknowledges how sad that sounds. “It’s a lot for me.”
I surprise us both by hugging him. He doesn’t respond or hug me back. His arms are tense and L-shaped at our sides like he doesn’t know what to do. I hug him tighter and whisper, “You need to laugh more. Everybody needs laughter.”
I walk into the kitchen, pick up my bag and begin the tour.
CHAPTER 18
T ANNER
Every time Emma waits for me to ask a question about one of the rooms, I give my head a simple shake. Nothing big, just one gesture of no. She doesn’t push, and I suspect she knows how jarred I am by that compassionate embrace downstairs.
She does not call attention to it.
No man wants that.
Everything she says is business-as-usual, and none of the sexy flirtation we shared before is present today.
When it’s over I follow Emma to the door, my book tucked under my arm, hands clasped behind my back, chin dipped in thought as I ask, “Rather than see the other house we have scheduled, how would you like to grab some lunch? Have you eaten?”
Surprise flickers across her whiskey eyes, but a smile warms them instantly. She touches her stomach. “I’m starved. I came here right after church and even skipped donuts.” Her cheeks flush.
Did she skip them because she couldn’t eat, either? My room service sat untouched last night. I had coffee this morning but couldn’t take a bite out of my bagel and I normally have two.
I stare at her cheeks, hoping she never loses the ability to blush.
“I mean, I had the time wrong so I rushed over. But then on the way here…” She trails off, biting her lip.
“Hmmm. Me too. Had the time wrong, and that’s a lie and we both know it.” Her eyes widen. I hold the door for her. “Got that out of your system?” She walks out the door and doesn’t argue or answer. “Thank God,” I tease her, shutting it.
Narrowing an annoyed look at me, her shoulders straighten. “We’re taking my car.”
“What’s wrong with mine?”
“I like the wind in my hair.”
“Then why do you always tie it up?”
Throwing a saucy smile over her shoulder, she starts walking. “Because I like how glamorous it feels to shake it out like this.” Emma bends and flings her long, brown hair back like Rita Hayworth in the old black and white film, Gilda—just as alluring, only in color with sunlight beaming almost as brightly as her smile.
I pause, struck by the sight, as any man would be.
Under my breath I grumble, “Your car it is. But I’m driving.”
“No way!” she balks.
“It’s either we take my rental, or I drive your convertible, or I’m not paying for lunch. Or eating it. Or going anywhere. The man drives.”
Emma’s jaw drops as her feminism takes a front seat to her sense of right and wrong. “The man drives? The man opens the door? I can open my own doors and drive my own car, thank you very much, Mr. Hamilton!”
Chuckling and enjoying this, I meet her at the driver’s side of her Lexus and calmly inform the strong-willed creature, “A man doing those things for you is a sign of respect, not of your incompetence.” Her eyes flash as she inwardly fights me. I cup her chin before I realize what I’m doing, and she stills at my gentle touch. “It makes a man feel good to take care of a woman. Don’t make our dicks go limp. I’ll give you one concession, Emma, since you want to be so independent, walk around and open the passenger side for yourself.” Chuckling I slide behind the wheel and watch her through the rearview as she practically pouts her way around the car. As her hand touches the door I press the auto-open button and she steps back. On the old cars you couldn’t do that, but this thing can drive itself now. Hell, the only thing it can’t do is fly. I hope I live to the day when they can.
The seat belts auto-engage and Emma meets my amused look. “Mr. Hamilton.”
“Tanner.”
“I have something to admit. I almost slapped you again. But you made too much sense.”
“And you liked it.”
“I hated every moment.”
Laughing again—God it feels strange to laugh—I start driving. It’s a few minutes before she points to a cozy house and a mansion just down from it, same side of the street. “That’s where my cousin Hannah lives. And that’s my brother Ethan’s house.” There’s love in her eyes but it flickers and is replaced by fear.
“Duck down, Emma.”
She does. I can’t stop smiling because she looks so young hiding from her family like that. But she’s right. She’s a full-grown woman unlike any I’ve known. Just this little bit of time I’ve spent with her has me smiling more than I have in…ever.
“You’re clear.”
She rises up and pulls back her hair, trying to act like that didn’t happen. But she mumbles, “Sorry about that.”
“I don’t mind. Another thing men like to do is protect women.”
She looks grim. “If you’re saying you’re protecting me, that’s ironic.”
“Very.” We
ride in silence for a while. “I’m not going to fuck you, Emma.”
Her head swings to me and she stares without knowing how to respond. “I’m just showing you houses.”
“Come now,” I chuckle. “I thought we weren’t going to lie to each other anymore. Or at least I wasn’t going to. How ‘bout you join me? Ah ah ah. Don’t do it! You’re about to deny you’re lying, which is a lie again.” Her soft lips clamp shut and she glares out the windshield. “That’s better. I’d prefer angry silence to lying.”
“Fine,” she mutters. “If we’re going to be honest, why not?”
“Why won’t I fuck you?” I cock an eyebrow at her. She instantly mirrors me, but looks far prettier. “I told you before. And now it’s compacted with the simple fact that I like you.”
She challenges me, “What if I tried to seduce you?”
“You couldn’t.”
“Oh yeah?”
“I have too much self control.”
“Hmmm…” She faces forward again, wheels grinding in that stubborn mind of hers. Right now she resembles Jake Cocker more than she ever has.
We have lunch at Meehans in Buckhead, sitting on the patio since the weather is perfect. She has the ahi tuna steak sandwich. I, the farmstead burger, medium rare. We keep the talk impersonal after I answer her question about where I call home. We spend most of the time comfortably discussing which television shows we think are worth streaming. She’s very passionate about this subject while I rarely have time for ‘brain candy’ as she calls it, so I have less to offer, but she doesn’t seem to mind.
I wait and wait and wait for her to make her move. Flash a little cleavage. Giggle and bob her high heel after suggestively crossing her legs. Play with her hair. Smile flirtatiously and too much. But Emma does none of the predictable tricks. In fact, she does nothing differently at all. Which makes me suspicious.
The bill comes and I’m relieved when I hand the server my Amex Platinum card without a fight. As I leave my normal hefty tip, Emma checks her phone and says, “Oh, Tanner, I’m so sorry.”
From underneath my brows while signing my name I ask, “For?”
Emma Cocker (Cocker Brothers Book 11) Page 7
