He smiled, enjoying the way she’d just claimed him to her ex.
“I’m glad to hear it. Take care of yourself, Phoenix.”
“Same to you.” As she set the phone aside, Phoenix frowned. “If it wasn’t him, and it wasn’t Harry, then it must have been no more than a stupid prank.”
Coop wasn’t yet ready to rule out either man, but he said, “Let’s hope so,” then lifted her into his lap. Sugar gave them both a look for disrupting her sleep, moved a few feet away and went back to sleep.
Phoenix got comfortable against him, her head on his shoulder, her hand resting against his chest.
“Am I important to you, Phoenix?”
As if surprised by the question, she tipped back to see him, her incredible blue eyes widened behind the lenses of her glasses. “What?”
“You told David that you now had more important people in your life.” Gently, he straightened her glasses for her, then tucked back a wisp of her sleek, inky black hair. “Am I one of those people?”
A little uncertain, she asked, “Do you want to be?”
“Oh, yeah.” He let his finger trail across her cheek, down her jaw to her throat, then to the upper swells of her breasts. “I’ve been working at it, you know.”
She smiled at his teasing. “You don’t have to work for it, and yes, you’re very important to me.” She caught his hand, pressing it to her chest. “I don’t know how it happened so fast when I was trying my best not to get involved. But there you go.”
His grin was slow and satisfied. Naturally, his fingers curved around her, enjoying the fullness of her soft flesh. She hadn’t mentioned love, and that was okay. When he thought of how far they’d come, it didn’t seem fast to him at all, but he’d take what he could get.
God knew that each day, she became more important to him, too. He didn’t want to take it for granted, having her in his house, in his bed.
In his heart.
For now, being important to her seemed like a big enough step.
*
As the weeks went by and nothing else happened, they all accepted that the trouble was behind them, allowing them to move on without worries.
July turned into August with a heat wave that scorched the grass and turned the leaves on the trees brittle. The lake and pool became the most popular hangout—and Phoenix actually broke down to swim.
She felt more daring these days, so on a shopping trip with her sister, she splurged and bought a new modest two-piece. The bottom wasn’t nearly as minuscule, nor the top as skimpy, as the suit Ridley chose, but then her sister always did have more daring—and the body to make it work.
Phoenix’s suit, a pale blue that Ridley said matched her eyes—never mind that Ridley’s eyes were the same color—had a wider top that adequately supported her breasts, and bottoms with a ruffle around the hip bone–level waistband. It was pretty, but she felt silly in it; her belly was pale compared to the light tan on her legs and arms. But seeing Coop’s face when she came out wearing it took care of her reservations.
“Damn,” he growled, slowly rising from his seat. “We’re going swimming?”
“It’s a nice night for it.” She loved how his gaze moved all over her. “That is, if we can use your private dock?”
“Yeah, sure.” He came toward her. “We should make a calendar with you on the cover. We’d be rich in no time.”
Laughing, Phoenix turned to show him the back—then felt his hands on her waist, hands that quickly slipped down to her hips.
Against her ear, he asked, “You sure you want to swim?”
Oh, it was nice to be wanted by Cooper Cochran. “Yes, absolutely.”
His lips played over her neck. “All right. I’ll consider it foreplay.” He gave her bottom a pat before stepping back. “Give me just a minute to change into my trunks. Don’t go out without me, okay?”
Her brows went up. “Why?”
Like a lecherous wolf, he eyed her up and down. “I don’t want you tempting the masses.” After that outrageous comment, he headed for the hall.
Grinning, Phoenix found Sugar’s leash. The second she lifted it, the little dog went nuts, knowing it was a signal that they’d be going outside.
“Cooper is pretty awesome, isn’t he?”
Sugar answered with a quick circle around her feet.
“I know what I look like, and yet he makes me feel like a sex symbol. No one has ever done that before. Not that I’m hung up on body issues or anything.”
Stopping to stare at her, Sugar seemed to be listening.
“But it’s different with Cooper.”
The dog gave a bark of agreement.
Phoenix attached the leash, gave the dog a full stroke down her back, then turned as she heard Cooper reenter. He wore loose black swim shorts, a white T-shirt and he carried two towels with a plastic pouch for his phone and wallet.
Crazy how much she anticipated swimming with him.
After she added her phone to the pouch, he looped one towel around her neck and kissed her soundly on the mouth. “I’m good for an hour, no more.” He coasted the backs of his knuckles over her lower stomach. “Besides, I don’t want you to sunburn.”
“It’s almost 8:00.”
“And still sunny.” He snagged up a few water bottles and a dish for Sugar, and they headed out.
When they reached his dock a few minutes later, she knew he was right. The sun remained a blazing fireball in the cloudless sky. They could hear the laughter and splashing at the beach, but no one intruded beyond the buoys that marked his private area.
Cooper leashed Sugar in the only shady spot with a dish of water, then made a clean dive into the lake.
Phoenix, feeling a little unsure, put her glasses safely with the towels, then waded in off the sandy shoreline. In only a few steps, the tepid water was past her knees, and a few more after that, it lapped at her breasts.
She felt the movement of the water, then saw Cooper rise in front of her. This close, she could see him, and he looked gorgeous with his hair slicked back.
“You’re okay?” he asked, taking her hands and leading her farther out.
“It feels wonderful.”
“Baxter and Daron are looking this way.”
She laughed at his grumbling tone. “I bet it’s not just them.”
“Maris and your sister, too,” he admitted.
“Are they all swimming?”
“Mostly your sister was flaunting, but Baxter just picked her up and, with Daron egging him on, tossed her in.”
“In the lake?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, wow.” Phoenix tried to look serious, but couldn’t repress her grin. “She’ll get even in a diabolical way. She always does.”
“Yup. She’s already talking to a few other guys while ignoring Baxter. But it doesn’t appear he’ll allow that for too long.” Cooper shook his head, then leaned close, his body further warming her in the water. “I’m glad you don’t bring it as hard-core as Ridley.”
Loving the feel of his wet skin, she slipped her hands up and over his wide shoulders. “Meaning?”
“She loves making Baxter jealous, and the poor schmuck falls for it every time.”
“That ‘poor schmuck’ did throw her in.”
“True.” Rough fingers slipped under her chin, tilting up her face. “I like your sister a lot. I especially like how much she loves you. But I’m not a game player.”
Phoenix wrinkled her nose. “Me neither.” She had a hard enough time keeping up with what was real without adding confusing games of one-upmanship to it.
“I know, and I appreciate it. So let’s make a deal. Any misunderstandings will be discussed. I’ll never give you reason to doubt me, and you never give me reason to be jealous.” He didn’t wait for her reply. “And if one of us does get jealous, we’ll talk about it so it doesn’t become an issue.”
“Deal,” she said immediately, but with all the discussion, she wondered if jealousy had been an issue with his wife. Personally, she wasn’t the type for it. She either trusted someone or she didn’t, and if she didn’t trust Cooper, she wouldn’t be with him still.