Only this moment was not about her or Cooper. This moment was about Riley, and Riley bonding with Cooper.
Izzy didn’t want Riley to go back to his mother if and when she was found. She’d force Cooper to see that he was the perfect choice as Riley’s guardian even if she needed to beat that realization into him with his hockey stick.
She just wished he’d quit rubbing her shoulder in slow, sensuous circles, or she might become the first woman to orgasm from shoulder circles. Izzy scooted out of Cooper’s reach. He glared at her, promising she’d pay for this later. She couldn’t wait. She’d pay his price gladly.
Coach Mars leaned forward to speak to Cooper over the boys’ animated conversations about the high school girls two booths away. “So Cooper, have you ever played football?”
Cooper shook his shaggy head of hair. “Never had time. It’s been hockey twenty-four-seven since I was old enough to skate. In fact, my dad swears I was skating before I was walking.”
“You’d have been a good football player,” Bill Mars stated with absolute certainty. Izzy imagined Cooper would be good at anything he set his mind to, including capturing her heart.
Riley stopped making eyes at the girls and turned his head toward Bill and Cooper, watching intently.
“I’ll let Riley be the football player in the family. Hockey is my life.” Cooper winked at Riley and grinned. Riley appeared caught off guard; embarrassed by his uncle’s rare display of affection, Riley ducked his head and concentrated on his pizza. Cooper seemed oblivious as to the effect of his praise.
“Riley’s good, you know,” Bill said.
“I could see that.”
“He’s athletic and smart.”
Cooper nodded, his expression wary, as if he sensed a trap.
“I’ll be moving up to coaching JV next year. I’d like Riley on my team unless varsity steals him away.” Bill moved in for the kill.
A quick glance to Riley revealed that he was holding his breath, as if trying to discern whether or not Cooper would be pissed. Izzy read the hope in his eyes and suspected the teenager must have confessed his woes to his coach.
“Riley’s a good player,” Cooper said smoothly, not committing to anything, not emotionally and not in the way of Riley’s future.
The hope drained from Riley’s face, as if he’d been emotionally bludgeoned by his uncle’s words. Izzy wanted to strangle the insensitive ass, but she couldn’t. At least, not here.
Still, she’d chew his ass tonight. They’d fight, and he’d turn those blue eyes on her and melt her anger. She couldn’t resist him as hard as she tried, but she could hold him off long enough to pummel some sense into his thick skull.
Chapter 15—Right Now
Silence echoed off the walls in Cooper’s big old house as he wandered from room to room.
One minute he’d been eating pizza with Izzy and Riley and the next he’d been driving home alone. His evening plans had involved getting Izzy naked and keeping her occupied all night long. Instead, she was occupied by her business.
Betheni had called with a small emergency at a party the sisters were crashing. Izzy took off to do damage control. Cooper so wanted to check on her and make sure no asshole was hitting on her. Hell, of course, guys were hitting on her. She was fucking gorgeous with a body hot enough to inspire a million wet dreams.
Fine, he’d thought, he still had Riley and maybe they should spend a little uncle-nephew time together.
Then Riley went home with the Mars family, leaving Cooper to go it alone. In the oddest way, he felt betrayed, which didn’t make one damn bit of sense. He liked it when Riley spent the night elsewhere. It allowed Izzy and him to make as much noise as they wanted. Yet tonight, he wasn’t so thrilled. For reasons he couldn’t explain, he’d assumed they’d go home and talk sports. Cooper might not be a football player, but he was a fan of the game. As a guy used to analyzing game film, he had a few tips for Riley. Little things, such as where his eyes went just before the play started, which provided clues to a savvy defender as to the route he’d be running.
Yeah, grudgingly, he admitted he was disappointed and lonely. He liked people, but he’d never minded being alone. He’d always been comfortable with both. Not so much tonight. He tried to watch an adventure movie, but the car chases and bombs only bored him.
Cooper stared around the family room, not sure what to do with himself.
Riley spent a lot of time at his coach’s house, and it was starting to bother Cooper. Maybe because he loved to control every aspect of his life, and he couldn’t control Izzy, so now his attention switched to Riley as a distraction. How come the boys never came to Cooper’s house when Cooper was home, like they did when it was just Izzy here?
Maybe because you’re an indifferent asshole who doesn’t give any indication you’d enjoy having them around?
Even worse, on a few of those occasions when Cooper had been gone, Tanner came to the house. Cooper could just see it now, and he seethed with jealousy over Tanner hanging out at Cooper’s house with Cooper’s nephew and girlfriend.
Girlfriend?
Yeah, girlfriend.
That was exactly how he saw Izzy, and he might as well man-up and admit it. He wondered how she saw him. She’d been informally living in his house for over two weeks, not that he was complaining, not at all. They never talked about dating exclusively. He’d taken their exclusivity as a given, just like he had too many things in his life, but maybe she didn’t see it that way. Cooper sure as hell did. He didn’t want anyone else. When girls threw themselves at him after games, he didn’t feel even a twinge of interest.
Izzy was different, and being with Izzy had never been just physical, not even the first night he met her.