Cooper ignored him. “I’m not calling you anything other than an asshole.”
“You wound me, Coop.” Tanner held his hands to his heart and blinked back imaginary tears. “My brother has nothing but great things to say about you.”
Tanner’s brother played hockey and had a reputation of making the baddest of bad boys look tame. Cooper grunted, obviously not a fan of Tanner’s brother—or Tanner.
Tanner didn’t seem the least bit fazed. “We’ll be working side by side on this project.”
“Fucking wonderful.” Cooper rolled his eyes.
Tanner didn’t even blink. Instead he grinned as if Cooper had given him the biggest compliment ever. “So I hear you’re the biggest stud in the NHL, next to my brother.”
Cooper didn’t respond.
“Well, I’m the biggest stud in the NFL, so we’ll either get along great or kill each other.”
“We’ll kill each other,” Cooper said with absolute certainty.
Betheni threw back her head and laughed. Izzy joined in. She couldn’t help it. Very rarely did Cooper get his comeuppance but the Seattle quarterback appeared to know every button to push to get under Cooper’s thick skin and into his thick skull.
Just like Cooper knew every button to push when it came to Izzy. She glanced away from his intense glare, the heat of it melting her from the inside out. God, she should’ve slept with the man when she’d had the chance, instead of holding out until they got to know each other. At least, she wouldn’t be plagued with fantasies about how he’d feel inside her—instead she’d be plagued by memories of how incredible he’d been.
“Okay, gentlemen.” Izzy extracted herself from Tanner’s faux possessiveness. “We have a few more athletes on their way. I expect everyone to play nice for the greater good. And Ethan’s mother will be here. Trust me, you don’t want to cross her.”
Cooper nodded as if he’d heard that story before.
Tanner shrugged good-naturedly. “Coop and I are old buddies. We go way back.”
“We don’t go back anywhere,” Cooper muttered then slipped into silence as Ethan’s mother entered the room.
Izzy watched as Mrs. Parker handled these huge men as if she were toting an arsenal of guns, only her arsenal was her steely gaze and take-no-prisoners smile, all the while looking like a sweet but classy grandma.
Even Cooper behaved, listening to her intently. Not that Izzy had noticed. Well, maybe a little bit.
Considering the personalities involved, this kickoff party might be Izzy’s biggest challenge yet. She’d be wrangling and placating all these fragile male egos, while battling this insane attraction to a man she’d started a relationship with twice.
And she didn’t plan on three times being a charm.
Cooper clenched his jaw so hard his head hurt. Tanner Wolfe’s cocky attitude and possessiveness toward Izzy boiled his blood.
What an obnoxious prick, and the kid’s on-field performances didn’t come close to matching his off-the-field antics. Cooper had no respect for a guy who didn’t respect the game, even if football wasn’t Coop’s game.
He had even less respect for a guy who so blatantly hustled a woman like Tanner did. It was disgusting. Cooper would never behave like that when it came to a woman. He had more respect for women than that creep.
He put the brakes on that line of thinking. Maybe he had come on strong a time or two or three, but never with a smart woman like Izzy. She’d see right through that bullshit.
He watched her as she made a show of looking everywhere but at him.
That meant something, didn’t it? Meant she cared, right?
Not that it should matter.
She was through. He was through. He didn’t need her, didn’t need a willful woman because he was a controlling man and that combination would be lethal. Better to find a nice, compliant, sweet woman who catered to his every whim in and out of bed.
He brought up a hand to stifle a yawn and received a sharp look from Mrs. Parker.
Jesus. He sat up straighter, and he’d thought his mother could deliver a deadly blow with one glance. She had nothing over Ethan’s mom. He almost felt sorry for the guy.
But not quite.
His gaze slid back to Izzy like iron to a magnet. He couldn’t stop himself. That damn woman starred in every dream he’d had since he met her, every woman he looked at was measured against her, and he couldn’t drive her sensuous lips, gorgeous eyes, and hot body out of his head.
This was crazy—he needed to get over Izzy.
His parents’ relationship worked because his mother was sweet and agreeable and his career soldier dad ruled the house with firmness and love. Yet it was his mom who held the family together during his father’s long absences with her quiet strength, her unwavering loyalty, and her positive attitude, even as she battled through complications caused by Crohn’s disease.
When it came to women, Cooper didn’t trust his instincts, and he’d avoided a relationship since that last fiasco. Only Izzy made him want to stick around and figure her out, but she’d dumped him, too. At least she’d kept their relationship out of the media, proving more to him than the actual time they’d been together ever had.
Izzy was nothing like his mother on the surface, but she possessed that same inner strength. She’d proven loyal to her sisters, sacrificing her own education for theirs, and taking care of them when their flaky parents failed to do so.
Still…
Izzy’s job required her to come in contact with powerful men, men used to getting what they wanted, men who took one look at Izzy and wanted her. Cooper couldn’t deal with his own trust issues, couldn’t tolerate her flirting even if it was part of her job, just flat out couldn’t come to terms with his over-active imagination. He’d been burned one too many times, and he didn’t trust his judgment when it came to women.