The Boyfriend Contract

by Victoria James

He took her hand, and it felt cold and small in his. “I’m sorry,” he said roughly.

  She shot him a wobbly smile, but it was the look in her eyes that gutted him. “He gave it all to my brother. Instead, I inherited this place,” she said, spreading her arms wide.

  Hell. The betrayal. He got it now; he understood it. “Did you say anything? Could you contest the will?”

  She shrugged. “It wasn’t even about the company, in the end. It was that my father betrayed me. He would rather jeopardize everything he’d worked for rather than give it to a woman. My brother said they’d discussed it and they agreed that it was more fitting for a man to have a career that demanding.”

  “He’s Darth?”

  “Yep.” She gave him a wry smile that made his stomach twist. “Darth.”

  “Come here,” he said, tugging her over to him. She came willingly, like he was exactly what she needed. He reclined on the plush sofa, taking her with him, her body against his as he smoothed the hair off her face and stared into her eyes. He wanted more for her. He wanted her to have the childhood his sister had had.

  The women in his life brought out a different side of him, a better side, and he was very well aware that they made him a better man. So, holding Emily in his arms, knowing how smart, how hardworking, how compassionate she was, and hearing her treated like that made him angry.

  Emily was very different from Catherine. He and Catherine had been like high school sweethearts. Looking back, he saw that they had been practically children. Emily was a woman. She was strong in different ways, and she made him alive and excited. She made him into a different man.

  He gently grasped the nape of her neck, threading his fingers through the silky hair, and reached out to kiss her. Slowly. Not like before, not like their first kiss, when he didn’t think he’d ever get enough. This kiss was about her, about letting her know how amazing he thought she was. “I’m so happy you moved here,” he said against her mouth. “And I think, if it doesn’t make me an evil person, that I’m glad I’m the one who taught you how to throw a ball, because I think that was the day I knew I was falling for you.”

  She didn’t say anything for a moment, and then she kissed him. She kissed him and clung to him like he was a lifeline. Her fingers were in his hair, and he flung the blanket off her, letting his hands roam down her curvy body. He slid one hand up her leg, loving the warmth of her skin under him.

  He knew that there was no going back to the way they were after tonight, and he didn’t care. He didn’t care that it was risky because they worked together and his family was involved. He didn’t care about any of it, because the woman in his arms was worth all the complications. He didn’t want to think of all the reasons they should stop or he should leave. For the first time in five years, he just wanted to feel. He wanted to feel alive again, wanted to feel a woman’s body again—not just any woman. Emily. He wanted it all with her, and that was the scariest thing, because he’d sworn he would never go down that road again.

  A pounding on the front door made them both jump. “Oh my gosh, did you hear that?” Emily asked, slowly raising her body away from his, resting her hands on his shoulders.

  She appeared flustered and flushed, and he was pretty sure he was going to kill whoever was on the other side of that door, especially if it was one of his brothers. “I should get that, shouldn’t I?”

  He ran his hands through his hair as she scrambled to her feet and smoothed out her own hair and straightened out her dress. He sat up, painfully aware he needed a few more seconds before he stood. “Whoever it is, they really should think about calling before showing up at midnight,” he said.

  He took her hand, and they made their way to the door. His stomach dropped when Moose’s daughter stood there with a backpack and a black eye.

  …

  “Can I crash here, or were you lying about helping me?”

  Emily felt like she had the wind knocked out of her. Going from lying on top of Cooper a few minutes ago to answering the door to a poor girl who was in rough shape, was too much to process. Adrenaline kicked in a second later and she opened the door wider. “Of course I wasn’t lying. Come in.”

  The girl shot Cooper a nervous glance but walked over the threshold and stood in the entryway, her gaze darting around jerkily. “This is impressive, even though it’s old.”

  “Thanks. It’s a work in progress, but I think you’ll like it. Do you need some food? Can I get you some ice for your eye?” she asked, leading her down the hallway. Cooper was already walking toward the kitchen, and she was grateful he was here tonight.

  “Food would be good. Ice, too, I guess,” she said, still looking around, her eyes wide. Even though she tried to sound tough, Emily could tell she was putting up a front. The girl looked terrified and her voice held a faint tremble.

  Cooper had already set a bunch of ice cubes in a tea towel and handed it to her. The girl flinched, and immediately he handed the bundle to Emily. “Here, sit down at the island and put this on your eye. How about a turkey sandwich and a glass of apple juice?”

  She thought for a second that the girl was going to make a smart-ass remark about the apple juice being childish, but her chin trembled, and she shrugged but nodded.

  “Does your dad know where you are?” Cooper asked gently, standing across the island.

  She frowned. “He doesn’t care, and I’m old enough to do what I want.”

  “Okay. What’s your name, hun?” Emily asked, trying to keep her tone light as she pulled out some lettuce, sliced turkey, mayo, and cheddar cheese from the fridge. Cooper had already put sliced bread in the toaster.

  “Morgan,” she said. “You know, after the captain?”

  The bread popped out of the toaster, the only sound echoing in the large space. Emily couldn’t even make light of that comment, and when she looked at Cooper, she could see he was fighting the same urge to yell at someone. “Okay, so, how about you eat up, and I’ll go get your room ready?”

  Morgan put down her makeshift ice pack and stared at her with disbelief. “You mean you’re actually letting me stay here?”

  Her heart squeezed. “Of course. I said if you needed help, I’d help you. I have lots of rooms and a big old empty house. So, you eat, I’ll go get you set up.”

  Morgan’s eyes shifted warily from her to Cooper. “Do the rooms have locks?”

  Emily winced. “Not yet, because we’re still renovating, but no one will bother you. It’s just me and—”

  “I would never hurt you,” Cooper said, his voice thick with emotion. Emily didn’t turn around to look at him, because she didn’t know what he was saying, why he was implying he was staying here. But she didn’t want to cause any more confusion.

  After a minute, Morgan shrugged and picked up her sandwich. “Okay. I’ll stay if you insist.”

  Emily shot her a smile, and she and Cooper left the room. They took the back staircase from the kitchen. When they were upstairs and out of earshot, they stared at each other.

  “Oh my gosh,” Emily whispered.

  Cooper was shaking his head. “I don’t even know what to say or where to start with this.”

  “What was I supposed to do?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. I would have done the same, too. I don’t blame you, but this is going to get complicated, fast.”

  “She is of age. It’s not like it’s illegal for her to leave home,” Emily reasoned out loud.

  “I know, but you’re about to involve yourself in a heap of family problems.”

  “I can’t deny a person with a black eye a safe home,” she said, getting riled up again.

  Cooper nodded grimly. “I know. I wasn’t going to turn her away, either, and somehow she got it in her head that you’re trustworthy.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “That doesn’t exactly sound flattering.”

  He flashed a smile. “It came out the wrong way. I meant it as a compliment. She must have sensed something in you to make her want to c
ome here over anywhere else.”

  Her heart squeezed. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

  Cooper rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe you don’t have to. Maybe all she needs is someone she can trust, someone who is kind and can offer her a warm bed and food.”

  She took a deep breath. “Well, I can do that. I’m going to get bedding for her and some toiletries and towels.”

  “Okay, I’ll double-check the en suite and see that everything is up and running.”

  A few minutes later, they met back in the bedroom that Morgan would sleep in. Cooper was helping her with the sheets. “This is some luxury bedding,” Cooper said as the bedsheet billowed over the queen-size mattress.

  “Part of my hotel collection. I got a great deal on it.”

  He gave her a look she couldn’t figure out, and for a second she didn’t think he was going to say anything. “You’re pretty amazing, Em. You’re taking this girl in and giving her five-star hotel treatment.”

  She had never been good at taking compliments. She never really received any. Her parents had never been big on praise. Certainly not her mother, because that would have angered her brother. From him, she’d only ever received criticism. She fluffed a pillow. “It’s not a big deal.”

  “It’s a big deal.”

  “So are you really staying here tonight?” she asked, straightening up.

  “I don’t trust Moose. I can’t leave you here, knowing that guy might show up,” he said, taking a step closer to her. She shouldn’t be surprised, because that was the kind of man Cooper was, but she was relieved and…happy that he was staying.

  “Do you have a blanket or something I could borrow?”

  They glanced over to see Morgan standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. Her face was very pale, and her bruise seemed more pronounced. Emily forced a bright smile. “Here you go. You can sleep here. Fresh sheets, warm blankets. There’s a bathroom right through that door,” she said, pointing to it. “Toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, and all that are in there. Oh, and towels and a bathrobe, too. We’ll give you some privacy. Let me know if you need anything, okay?”

  Morgan frowned, but it wasn’t an angry one. She blinked rapidly, and her eyes were watery as her gaze roamed the room. The large windows and window seat already had floor-to-ceiling, pinch-pleat silk curtains, and the hardwood floors gleamed. The crystal chandelier was dim, and the matching crystal bedside lamps cast a comforting glow. The restored mantel had a watercolor landscape hanging above it, painted by a local artist. “You mean this is my room?”

  Emily gave her a gentle smile. “I would have turned the fireplace on, but our contractors are really slow at getting the gas line in.”

  “Hey,” Cooper said with a short laugh. “That’s only because someone changes her mind a lot, so we’ve been waiting.”

  Morgan’s chin was trembling, and her arms were crossed in front of her thin body. “It’s just, uh, it’s okay…thanks.”

  Cooper shot Emily a look; she gave him a small nod, and then they left the room, neither of them saying anything as they walked down the stairs. “I think this hallway needs wallpaper, Cooper. Do you guys hang wallpaper?”

  When they reached the bottom of the stairs, he kissed her, making her breathless, making her want more.

  He pulled back a second later. “You know full well we don’t,” he said, smiling and then kissing her again. “And you’re trying to avoid having a real conversation about the fact that you’re letting that girl stay here.”

  “We already discussed it. We both agreed there were no other options.” She realized that he was kissing her as though it was perfectly natural to do so. She wondered if that was what he was like when he was in a relationship. Was he affectionate like that? Would he just reach out and kiss her or hug her?

  “Why do I sense you’re contemplating way more than wallpaper or Morgan?”

  She placed her hand over her heart. “You don’t know me at all.”

  He grinned. “I know you.”

  “Yeah? Then what am I thinking?”

  “You’re wondering where I’m going to sleep tonight.”

  Her heart started hammering and laughter bubbled in her chest, because she had a hunch she was going to love bothering him. “Oh, I know exactly where you’re going to be sleeping. On that lovely couch in the family room.”

  He laughed as he put one hand around her waist and tugged her closer. “Is that right?”

  “Yup. I’ll see if I can find you a blanket or something.” She ran her hands up his hard chest and gladly moved close to him. She liked this fun side of him and that he seemed to be able to bring out the fun side in her. She wasn’t worried about doing or saying the right thing. She was just being herself. And she liked teasing Cooper.

  For a second she was distracted from what they were talking about, and her gaze went over his features. She had never been this casually close to a man before, let alone a man as handsome as Cooper. She resisted the urge to trace his jawline with her fingers or run her hands over his chest and shoulders. He was magnetic and masculine, and she was so out of her comfort zone, in the best possible way.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Morning.”

  Cooper pulled away from Emily and silently cursed his idiot brothers, who were standing in the doorway of the kitchen, barely containing their pleasure at walking in on him and Emily kissing. It was like they were all in high school. Emily’s face was bright red, and she immediately walked over to the coffee pot.

  “Aren’t you early?” he snapped at them when they walked in.

  “Nope,” Brody said with a chuckle.

  “I’m going to go upstairs to check on Morgan,” Emily said, holding a mug of coffee and walking across the kitchen. “Help yourselves to coffee,” she said, not making eye contact with anyone as she left the room.

  “So let’s stop pretending we didn’t just see you inhaling Emily’s face like the Hungry Man’s Special at the Sunshine Diner,” Austin said with a grin once Emily was out of earshot.

  “You have the maturity of a twelve-year-old,” Cooper said, getting a mug and pouring himself a coffee, being sure not to offer any to either one of them. He also hated they were right. He was different. He was like his old self, but different. He couldn’t get enough of Emily. He’d slept here the entire weekend—on the couch, sure, but he’d been here—for late-night wine and cheese, for early morning coffee on the porch…to Morgan gloomily walking around the house like a lost soul.

  The weekend had been almost surreal. Neither of them talked about what was happening, what they were doing, or where this was going, but both of them knew it was something. He wasn’t prepared to analyze what that meant. He didn’t care. Right now, he knew that he was insanely attracted to Emily. He was turned on and charmed. He didn’t do charmed, yet here he was, infatuated by her. A part of him wanted to stop before he couldn’t turn back, before this became an actual relationship. But the other part of him, the one that was winning out, didn’t want to ever go back to the way he was before Emily walked into his world.

  He didn’t want the weekend to end. He hadn’t enjoyed a weekend and dreaded a Monday in over five years. He lived for work, for the distraction, for the physical exhaustion that came with it and enabled him to fall asleep exhausted. He didn’t want it to be Monday morning with his brothers and a whole bunch of tradesmen intruding on their time together.

  Cooper scowled at Brody and Austin then walked out of the room, determined to start the day and get this house done for Emily. He took the stairs two at a time, ready to work on the last bathroom that needed to be finished. Emily was at the top of the stairs, and she tugged on his shirt and dragged him into her room. “Come here,” she whispered.

  “I like where you’re going with this,” he said, leaning down for a kiss.

  She laughed against his mouth. “I need to talk to you about us.”

  He leaned against the door, pulling her with him. “What about us?”
/>   “Well…now that the weekend is over, what happens? Your brothers are here. How do we act? Was this just…”

  “Maybe we should refer to the contract.”

  She playfully punched him in the stomach, and he laughed, pulling her close. He kissed the soft skin beneath her ear, loving the way she fit against him so easily. “I don’t know. All I know is that I’m mad the weekend is over. I’m mad I have to share you with the rest of the world, and I just want to lock that front door and spend the day in bed with you.”

  She sighed against his mouth and kissed him. “That was the best answer ever.”

  The soft knock at the door had them both standing up and pulling away from each other.

  “Hey, Emily, are you in there?” Morgan said. “Can you give me a ride to school?”

  Emily’s eyes widened. “Sure, when do we need to leave?”

  “I dunno. Ten minutes?”

  “Okay, I’ll meet you downstairs.”

  “Okay.”

  Emily clutched his waist, her eyes panicked. “We still don’t have a plan. I need to talk to her seriously. I’m driving her to school…I don’t even know where she goes to school.”

  He kissed her forehead. “There’s only one high school in town.”

  She nodded. “Okay, that’s good. I can do that. She’s going to need help, more than just a roof over her head and food in her stomach.”

  “Just take it a day at a time. Maybe right now all she needs is a safe place to stay. You don’t need to have qualifications to help a friend, and that’s what you’re doing right now. Eventually you’re going to have to come up with a plan, but right now, just give her a roof over her head, a safe place to come home to, and someone she can trust.”

  She took a deep breath. “You’re right. That’s all I can do. Don’t you think it’s weird that Moose hasn’t been by or tried to contact her?”

  “I’ve known Moose for a long time. We went to school together, and he was always trouble. He came from a messed-up family, and it showed. He always had anger management issues and was kicked out of school so many times. It doesn’t surprise me that he isn’t searching for his daughter. He may be happy he doesn’t have to deal with her. Her mom is long gone, and he’s stuck raising her.”