Ridley cocked her head to the side. “I can help. Just tell me what to do.”
Alarmed, Phoenix said, “No, you don’t need to—”
At the same time, Maris said, “Seriously? That’d be terrific. Hop on and I’ll show you what to do before I have to get back to the store.”
Ridley got to her feet. “I’d hug you, Phoenix, but, yeah...you’re a mess.”
Phoenix looked down at her dirt-stained shorts, her sweat-stained tank and dirty work boots. “Truth.”
“Will we be able to have dinner together?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem.”
Ridley blew her a kiss. “Then I’ll see you tonight.”
With a sinking feeling, Phoenix watched her sister and Maris ride off on the golf cart, chatting like old friends.
Ridley was wonderful—everything a sister could ask for and more. Caring, supportive, hilarious, always there when needed... She possessed all the very best qualities, but she was not a manual labor-type worker.
Thinking of all the things that could go wrong, Phoenix got back to her own chores. If she could finish early, she could check up on Ridley.
Forty minutes later, she was in her own golf cart looking over the rest of the resort when Cooper flagged her down.
The sight of him quickened her pulse and made her lips curl in an automatic smile. She stopped beside him.
To her surprise, he climbed into the passenger seat. The small cart swayed before settling again.
“There’s a tree down at the edge of the woods, caught up in the branches of other trees but hanging over a play area. I closed that section off for now, but I want to go by the supply shed to get the chainsaw, then we can remove it before it falls and hurts someone.”
“Wow, I’m sorry I didn’t notice it.” She drove the golf cart with the attached trailer toward the maintenance building. “I did a cursory check of the area and started in the places I thought were worse, but I never thought to check the woods.”
“No reason you would.” He relaxed beside her, one arm along the backrest, his face tilted toward her. “You’re a little sunburned.”
Phoenix wrinkled her nose. “I put on sunscreen, but that was a while ago. I thought I was almost done.”
He reached out to tuck back a damp wisp of hair, loose from her ponytail. “We’ll be shaded in the woods, and afterward, you should call it a day.”
“I don’t have that much more to do.” Tomorrow she could get back to her regular routine. Driving straight into the maintenance building, she parked the golf cart and started to step out.
Cooper stopped her with a light touch to her shoulder. When she turned toward him, he slowly smiled.
“What?”
“I don’t know how you do it, but you look really cute with a burned nose and sweaty hair.”
“Right.” She bumped her shoulder to his. “Don’t let the glasses fool you. I’m not that blind.”
Far too serious, he studied her face as his fingers moved from her hair to her cheek.
He looked so intent, she asked, “What?”
“I want to kiss you again.”
Her heart tripped. In case he didn’t realize, she whispered, “I wouldn’t stop you.”
That made him smile again. “It occurs to me that I should explain a few things first.”
Okay, so maybe she needed to get comfortable. Phoenix half turned toward him, crossed her legs and removed the clip-on sunglasses. “Ready.”
“Took some preparation, huh? I promise it won’t be anything too profound.”
During her and Ridley’s talk last night, they’d covered all the pros and cons of her getting involved with Coop, so Phoenix guessed, “Is this about me working for you?”
Surprise showed in his amber eyes. “In a sense.”
“I’m an employee.”
“Yes, but this isn’t a conventional boss/employee situation.”
“You don’t have to convince me.” It was her turn to touch his face. She traced the high angle of his cheekbone down to the firm line of his jaw. Light beard stubble rasped her fingertips, causing a bloom of heat inside her. He was so much a man, carelessly taking his strength for granted. Yet he was considerate, too.
Long-dormant instincts told her that he would never use his strength to hurt her. Until the attack, she hadn’t thought in terms of safety, but she did now, and she knew she was safe with Cooper Cochran.
He turned his face to kiss her palm. “I want you to know that no matter what happens between us, it won’t affect your status as an employee.”
Humor got the best of her. At first, she thought he might want to talk about his wife and how he still loved her. In comparison, this topic wasn’t so bad. “Honestly, I wasn’t that concerned about job security.” She fought off a grin. “Who else would do as good a job as I have?”
“No one. The place looks better than it ever has before.” Chagrined, he rubbed the back of his neck. “None of that came out quite as I meant it to.”
“I understood all the same, and I appreciate the reassurance.”
“Do you?” Before she could reply, he muttered, “Forget I asked.” Then he leaned down and put his mouth to hers in a kiss that managed to be both gentle and hungry.
It was perfect—except it didn’t last long enough.
His forehead to hers, he said, “Let me try this again.”
She thought he meant the kiss. “Yes.”
Instead, he drew a breath. “You’re smart and motivated. You could have a job anywhere. Doesn’t mean you want to start looking right now, not when it seems you’re settling in here.”
Settling in. Yes, she really was, settling into her job, her cabin—and the reality of what had happened.
Things were finally coming together for her again, and he was right, she didn’t want to have to change jobs. As long as they were in agreement...
She looked up at him through her lenses. She should probably explain that she couldn’t get too involved. She was working through a lot and a relationship would only complicate things. But maybe he wasn’t thinking along those lines anyway. After seeing the photo of his wife, she’d sensed that he was still grieving for her.
Most likely, they were both looking for the same thing: distraction, comfort, even companionship.
And sexual satisfaction.
Content with her internal rationalization, Phoenix closed the inch that kept his mouth from hers. His lips were warm and firm, slightly parted. She teased over his top lip, then the bottom, gliding her tongue just inside before taking the bottom lip between her teeth for a gentle tug.
He made a sound like a low, soft growl, but didn’t move or in any way attempt to take over.
Knowing she’d surprised him, she asked, “Anything else?”
His gaze burned. “Everything else.”
Everything else...carnal? She hoped so.
He said, “For now, we better get to that tree—before I convince myself that this is the most appropriate place ever to have sex with you for the first time.”
The idea gave her a shameless grin. If she knew they wouldn’t be caught, she wouldn’t mind at all. Then again, she definitely needed a shower first.
“Amazing.” He glanced at her face while he got the chainsaw and a few other supplies. “I think I read every thought, and that final decision.”
She should have been embarrassed but she only laughed. With Cooper, she felt free in a way she hadn’t even before the attack.
In a way she hadn’t with her fiancé.
That gave her a twinge of shame. She knew David had loved her, maybe loved her still, though she hoped he’d moved on.
“What?” Cooper asked. “You’ve gone too quiet.”
Shaking it off, she emptied the small trailer. “I was just thinking.”
He waited, but when she didn’t confide in him, he let it go. “Before I got sidetracked, I meant to ask if tomorrow afternoon would work for us to go pick out that mower? It’s a little sooner than I had planned, but Daron says he might not be able to keep the old one going. We should both be caught up by then.”
“I’d like that.” It’d only be for a few hours, but by then Ridley would surely have realized she didn’t like stocking towels and cleaning cabins and she’d be at loose ends without much to do.
Then again, knowing her sister, she’d probably find a way to get near Baxter again.
A startling thought...but also entertaining.