Coop barely suppressed a growl. Knowing she’d been engaged and seeing her with the guy were two very different things.
It helped that, in subtle ways, she’d made it clear that David was only a friend now, and that Coop was...more.
How much more, that was what he’d like to know. He didn’t like that she refused to stay the night at his house. Respecting her meant accepting her decision without argument—but it wasn’t easy. He wanted her close, where he could watch over her.
No matter the logical conclusions and evidence to the contrary, he couldn’t shake the idea that she was in danger. Gut instinct told him that someone had deliberately broken her porch light. And earlier there’d been those mud tracks all over her deck. He wasn’t ready to let Harry off the hook.
And now her ex was here—meaning he’d known where to find her. Coincidence?
Cooper wasn’t willing to chance it.
For that reason, he found several reasons to be in the same area as Phoenix and David. Not right next to them, but close enough.
He made a pretense of paying them no attention. Sugar helped with that by yapping happily at people they passed, chasing leaves and begging for pets. The little dog drew attention everywhere she went. Kids adored her, and she adored them. Women fawned over her, loving the expressiveness of her big brown eyes. Even men paused to scratch her behind her floppy ears.
He was paused near the private docks at the pond, two young women cooing over Sugar, when out of his peripheral vision he saw Phoenix approaching.
Her pale blue eyes were wide and watchful behind her glasses, her fingers tangled together, and David was no longer with her.
Sugar spotted her, too. With a bark, she abandoned the new admirers and ran—ears flopping wildly—to Phoenix, who knelt to accept the greeting.
Coop would have gone to her, as well—Sugar had her leash stretched as far as it would go—but the women had questions about the paddleboats for rent. As he politely answered them, he was aware of Phoenix sitting on the ground and Sugar crawling into her lap.
The pup was shameful in her demands for loving.
Coop wouldn’t mind a little of that attention himself.
Finally, after another five minutes of what amounted mostly to chitchat, Phoenix said, “Cooper?”
Excusing himself from the women, he turned to her. “All done with your visit?”
She stared up at him, Sugar hugged close. “David just left.”
He tried to read her face, to see how upset she might be—or how pleased, but he couldn’t tell if the visit from her ex was a good or a bad thing.
“Can we talk?” she asked.
Since that was what he wanted, he smiled. “Sure.”
She set Sugar back on her feet, then reached for a hand up.
Coop easily hauled her upright. Once she was on her feet, she didn’t let go. In fact, she hugged his arm while urging him forward—away from the maintenance building.
“Where are we going?”
Her fingers teased over his left arm, mostly over his biceps. “Remember I said that I couldn’t take the afternoon off?”
“Yeah.” He’d been relieved that she hadn’t wanted to spend more time with David.
“I’ve changed my mind.” She paused, her brows drawn together as she looked up at him. “Unless you’re busy?”
He’d had some errands to run, but he mentally canceled them without remorse. “Nothing that can’t wait.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
Her slow smile was somehow naughty. “Good. Let’s go to your house.”
The way she said that made his body tense—in all the best ways. “Are we going there to talk?” He had to make sure he was reading this right. So far, Phoenix had been beyond circumspect when it came to their relationship. To her, appearances mattered. He couldn’t just assume, because of a visit from the past, that she’d suddenly changed her outlook on that.
“We can talk,” she said, still hurrying him along. “After.”
“After?”
They started up the hill, and she asked thoughtfully, “Will you think I’m taking special favors just because we’re sexually involved?”
It was about more than the sex, but for once he didn’t focus on the distinction, asking instead, “Special favors?”
Keeping her gaze straight ahead, she nodded. “Skipping work for an afternoon of sex.” She waved her free hand. “I promise I can make it up later. Today was going to be a light day anyway. But I really should be on the clock, right? Not sneaking away—”
How the hell was it sneaking when anyone could see them?
“—to your house, to indulge a craving.”
“A craving?” Damn it, he was starting to sound like a parrot, repeating everything she said. As they reached his house, he scowled. “I’m starting to wonder if I should be insulted.”
She flashed him a glance. “Insulted? Because I want you?”
He unlocked the door and, once Sugar was inside, removed her leash. Then he turned to Phoenix. “Why now?”
Color crept up her neck. “Am I presuming too much?”
“No.” He backed her into the door, then caged her there with his hands flattened at either side of her head. “But you have to admit, the timing seems suspect.”
Confusion filled her gaze. “How so?”
“You get a visit from your ex, and suddenly you want me in the middle of the day.”
Her eyes flared wide. “Oh, my God, you think I want you because of David?” She quickly shook her head. “Wait, I do—but probably not for the reasons you think.”
“Why don’t you explain it to me then?”
Instead, she said, “Maybe this was a bad idea.”
“No.” He bent to nuzzle her throat. “Sex with you, anytime, any day, is never a bad idea.” He lifted his head. “David mentioned your special relationship.”
“So you heard that?” She put a hand to his chest, lightly petting. “Just how long were you eavesdropping?
“Long enough to wonder if you were having a reunion.”
Her lips curled sweetly. “Cooper,” she whispered, her tone chastising. “How could you ever think that?”
He was starting to feel like an ass—an ass who had badly bungled accepting a sweet offer. “What did he want?”
“To tell me he’d moved on, and now that he’s happy, he hopes I’m happy, as well.”
Fuck. So the guy was gracious, too.
Phoenix held his face between her small hands and smiled up at him. “I didn’t want to hurt David again, so I agreed that our relationship was special to me. But the truth is, I didn’t know what special really meant—not until you.”
Coop caught his breath. “Is that so?”
She kissed his chin, then his throat. “I hope I don’t spook you.” Her lips touched the side of his neck. “I promise I’m not trying to push or make more of our relationship than there is.”
Everywhere she touched, his skin burned. “I don’t spook easily.”
“Awesome.” She lightly bit his shoulder. “Then please understand. I carried so much remorse for hurting David that it almost smothered me. Seeing him today, finding out that he’s happy, that we can be friends—only friends—was so liberating. It’s like I can finally take a deep breath, when before I was strangled.”
He hated the idea of her feeling that way, and now he knew he owed David his gratitude. “Then I’m glad he came by.” And that he’d set her free. “Come on.”
Sugar followed them down the hall, but then slipped into the closet to sleep. Cooper quietly closed the door.
“Won’t that scare her?”
He shook his head. “She lets me know when she wants out.”
“All right.” She reached for the hem of his shirt, then had to struggle to get it over his head.
The height difference was enough that Coop bent to help her.
She murmured, “Thank you.” Then lowered to her knees.
Damn. Staring down at the crooked part in her glossy black hair, he felt his body hardening. It took him a second to realize that she’d untied his sneakers and was urging him to lift his feet so she could get them off him.
Wondering what else she had planned, he quickly helped with that. Barefoot now, he braced his legs apart and waited.
After flashing him a smile, Phoenix straightened her glasses...and reached up for the snap to his shorts.