Chapter Twelve
The next hour flew by in a haze of introductions and mind-numbing craziness from everyone. Everyone wanted to know how they met. Wanted to know what Cooper did for a living. How long he was staying. Everyone wanted to know…well, everything. Everyone wanted to meet Cooper, and Kayla wanted everyone to meet Cooper.
Sure, she’d been hesitant about this at first, but he was such a great guy that the whole being her “boyfriend” thing came naturally to him. Sometimes even she forgot it was all an act. She wasn’t sure what to make of that, exactly, but, hey, whatever.
It totally worked.
Even now, Cooper was surrounded by her female family members, and they all hung on every word he said. He had them all enamored, and he didn’t even have to try. She couldn’t believe it. His strong baritone voice cut through the space. “…and then the plane landed, and the rest is history.”
“Wait, so you flew with her? That’s how you two met?” her mom asked, her eyes wide. “How did that go?”
Susan leaned in. “And how did your not-even-there-yet relationship survive it?”
“Oh, I found her nervousness charming.” Cooper threw his arm around Kayla’s shoulders and smiled. “She needed a knight in shining armor, and I’ve always had a thing for a damsel in distress. We were the perfect fit.”
Cue eye roll. “Yeah, we really were. Still are, somehow.”
“Because we work,” Cooper said, reaching out and cupping Kayla’s cheek. His warm gaze stared down into hers, stealing her thoughts right out of her head. “So very well.”
Even though she knew he was putting a show on for the women, she still had to catch her breath when he leaned in and kissed her sweetly. He looked at her as if she was the only thing that mattered to him. And it felt real—his lips on hers and the emotion behind them.
Man, he was good.
He had them all on puppet strings, and he was the puppeteer. If she wasn’t careful, she’d be on a string, too. She pulled back, her cheeks burning. Cooper stared down at her, something unspoken and deep in his eyes.
Something she couldn’t read. “Hey,” she whispered.
“Hey,” he said back, his gaze finally clearing. He noticed her family, then gave them a sheepish grin, “Oops. Forgot we had an audience.”
“Keep him,” her mom whispered. She turned her attention to everyone else. “All right. Enough bothering the lovebirds. It’s time for me to go on stage, and then it’ll be you, Kayla. Everyone, to your seats.”
One by one, they all dispersed to their assigned seats and Cooper led her to the table next to her father. Her heart was still racing from the kiss he’d given her earlier, and her legs were a little bit wobbly. This was freaking ridiculous. She wasn’t the type of girl to swoon over her man, and she wasn’t about to start with a fake relationship of all things.
Sinking into her chair, she gulped down her cool water, not stopping until the glass was empty. God knew she needed all the help she could get in cooling the heck off.
“You all right over there?” Cooper asked, a brow up.
“Yeah, sure.” She set down her glass, then pointed to his untouched drink. “You going to drink that?”
Cooper held his cup out to her. “It’s all yours, sweetheart. Thirsty much?”
“God, yes.” Snatching the glass out of his hand, she tipped it back and emptied it without a break. After she was finished, she swiped her hand across her wet lips. “Thank you.”
His eyes on her mouth, he reached out and wiped away a drop she must have missed with his thumb. “You’re very welcome.”
She shivered, his thumb leaving a trail of fire in its wake. So much for cooling off. “Uh, I need to read over my speech one more time.”
“Go ahead.”
She pulled back. “You’re touching me. I can’t.”
“You can’t read while I’m touching you?” he asked, his voice light.
“Nope.” She pulled the paper out of her purse with a trembling hand. “So hands off, mister.”
He held them up in surrender. “Yes, ma’am.”
She shot him one last look, then focused on the words she’d written instead of the man at her side. Somewhere in all the pretending and kisses, her body was forgetting that this was all for show. He didn’t really love her, and she didn’t love him, either. This was all fake.
Fake, fake, fake.
She needed to focus on something that wasn’t pretend.
She lowered her head and checked him out from under her lashes. Thank God he’d packed a suit just in case he had a business meeting. He was so handsome in it…and the fabric grazed his whipcord lean body just right. What she was going to do with him once they got back to the hotel definitely wasn’t fake.
The microphone crackled and Cooper jumped. He glanced over his shoulder then turned back to her. Tugging on his collar, he shifted in his seat and asked, “When do you go on?”
“I’m first, so in a couple of minutes.” She peeked at him over the top of her paper. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Do you need a drink stronger than water before you get up there?” he asked, his voice tight. “A Xanax? Sex? Something to help you relax?”
A laugh bubbled out of her. “Uh, no thanks? I’m fine. I worked on this speech for months because I wanted it to be perfect. Susan deserves perfect.” She shifted closer and squeezed his knee. “You look like you’re about to panic, though. What’s up?”
He averted his eyes. “I just don’t like stages, is all.”
She studied him closely. He wasn’t kidding. He had sweat on his forehead and he looked ready to run for the door, and he wasn’t even going up there. “Sweetie, you’re not going up there. You’ll be okay.”
She had forgotten his fear of public speaking, or being on a stage. The fact that this big, strong man could be scared of something at all, let alone something so trivial, struck her as oddly cute. He seemed so invincible the rest of the time it made her want to hug him and kiss him now that he wasn’t.
If anything, it made him hotter.
He swiped his forearm over his sweaty forehead. “I know. It’s stupid, but I hate those things. And having the spotlight on you is just as bad. Everyone watches you.”
“It won’t come near you, don’t worry. You can stay here. It’ll give you a break from acting as if you love me. You’ve got to be sick of it already.”
“I’m not, though.” He met her eyes. “This isn’t all an act, you know. Well, the love part is, but that’s it. I do like you, and I like being with you. I’m having a lot of fun. If things were different and I wasn’t leaving…” He shrugged. “Well, it doesn’t matter. Because I am.”
Kayla swallowed hard, her heart stuttering and then speeding up. He had to stop saying things like that, or she would want to spend more time with him, too. And that just wasn’t possible. She didn’t want a real relationship any more than he did. He was leaving. And she wanted to live her own life free of meddling family members and husbands trying to tell her what to do.
But then again…
No. No buts.
This was not real.
She shook her head. “Cooper…”
“I know. But when—” He cut himself off and glanced at the stage. Kayla waited, wanting to see what he would finish that sentence off with. Instead he said, “I think they want you to go up now. They’re staring at us.”
“Oh. Right.” Kayla stood. It was probably better he didn’t finish that thought anyway. “Wish me luck.”
He tugged at his collar again. “Knock ‘em dead.”
Kayla made her way to the stage. Her mother stood next to the microphone, smiling at the crowd like some benevolent queen upon her subjects. The spotlight made her mother’s diamond necklace sparkle, blinding everyone who watched.
Kayla closed the distance between them, smoothing her purple skirt as she walked. Her mom gestured her closer. “First on the roster, we have the maid of honor who is none other than my other wonderful daughter, Kayla.”
Polite applause filled the room at the unnecessary introduction. Most of the people knew who she was, after all. Clearing her throat, Kayla stepped up to the microphone. “My little sister might be all grown up, and might be getting married in a few short days, but to me, she’s still the little girl who used to keep me awake every night. She used to make me watch her until she fell asleep, so the monsters wouldn’t come get her. She was sure if I stayed up and watched over her, nothing bad would happen.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve such a vote of confidence from her, but I dutifully stayed awake and did what she asked. Sometimes when she couldn’t fall asleep, we’d just talk. Usually it was a different topic, but at least once a week, before she drifted off to sleep, she would tell me about her wedding day. She would look like a princess, and everyone would cry as she walked down the aisle. Everyone would be watching her, unable to believe she could be so lucky as to catch the man of her dreams. And she was going to marry a man as wonderful as our daddy. ”
Kayla had wanted that, too, at the time. So badly. She broke off, swallowing past the lump in her throat. Pull it together. Don’t buy into this emotional crap.
She looked at Cooper. He nodded at her, smiling, and she felt better. “I think Susan made the right choice in Max because I can tell he loves her very much. Heck, he’s been following her around since second grade. All you have to do is look at him when he thinks no one is watching, and you’ll see it. I’m also quite sure when we all see her walking down the aisle Saturday, there will be tears in our eyes.” She turned to her little sis, who was practically sparkling from happiness. Even the normally reserved Max was grinning ear-to-ear.
Family pressure and fake boyfriend drama aside, she was thrilled for both of them. It’s why she’d concocted this lie in the first place—so the focus wouldn’t be on when Kayla would find someone. Which, unfortunately, was exactly what had happened at Susan’s bridal shower a while back. Now, people would be content that Kayla was happy, and all eyes would be where they belonged.
On her sister.
“I’m so thrilled for you, Susan, and I wish you nothing but happiness in life—but I’m positive you don’t need any help from me anymore. I know you two will be together forever, and he’ll be the one standing guard over you from now on.”
She lifted the glass of champagne her mother handed her, smiling past her unshed tears. “To your happily ever after.”
Susan stood and called out, “And to yours.”
Kayla looked at Cooper…again. He still sat at their table, watching her with a light in his eyes that literally took her breath away. For a second, and only a second, she let herself imagine a future with him.
And it looked good.
But then she shoved the happily-ever-after forever thought away and focused on what she could have.
The sex.
Her happily-ever-after for tonight.
Her mother came over, wiping the tears off her face hurriedly. “Thank you, sweetie.” Her mother hugged her, sniffing loudly. She whispered, “That was perfect. I love you.”
“Thank you,” Kayla whispered back. “Love you, too.”
“If I can pull myself together now…” Her mom turned to the crowd and laughed. Everyone joined in. “Everyone, let’s show our appreciation for Kayla.”
The room full of people clapped, and Kayla saw Cooper stand and clap, too. He made a face at her, something silly and so him. She grinned and rolled her eyes back at him. Then he burst into laughter.
God, he was hot when he did that.
She made her way down the stairs, and he came across the room. In the background, her mom talked about Susan and Max, but Kayla didn’t hear a word. Cooper pulled her into his arms under the guise of a sweet hug for her family’s benefit, but once he lowered his mouth to her ear, he said, “You did great. I promise a huge reward when we get back to the hotel.”
Oh, God, yes please.
As happy as she was for her sister, and as much as she loved her family…
She wanted tonight to be over so she could collect.