Cooper (The Family Simon 6)

And not just for a visit. According to Sara, who’d heard the news from Mindy Delmonte, they were looking to buy a home. Seemed as if Nathan was going to join his father’s small law firm after all, and Christy would be coaching gymnastics at the competitive gym the next town over.

A dull ache pressed into her chest. In another lifetime, it would have been Morgan.

Slowly she got out of the car and headed into the house. She let herself in, hung up her jacket, discarded her boots, and padded down the hall to the kitchen. She opened the fridge to stow her lunch and, well, took a step back. There was actually food in the darn thing. Real food. She took a few moments to reorganize the top shelf so she could fit her lunch inside and then headed for the stairs.

She stepped onto the landing and took exactly two steps forward when her world tipped a little off-center. Cooper Simon stood near the bathroom, his back to her, naked as the day he was born.

Shit. She jerked back and barely managed to grab the railing. Her heart took off like a rocket as her eyes found their way back to Cooper.

He held his cell phone to his ear and obviously had no idea she was there. He nodded to whoever was on the other end, turned sideways, and she squeaked.

Good Lord but she had good reason to squeak. Cooper Simon was beautiful. Like the kind of beautiful that could make someone like Morgan Campbell forget how tired she was and how much her leg ached. Heck, she nearly forgot to keep hold of the railing, and at the last minute tightened her grip, because how embarrassing would it be to fall down the stairs and snap her neck. She could see the headline now: Morgan Campbell Killed by Naked Cooper.

Just out of the shower, his skin glistened, emphasizing the hard lines and planes of his body. He was tall, with broad shoulders, defined muscles—his glutes were amazing—and a tattoo on his side gave him an edge that most women would find irresistible. It snaked up his rib cage, all charcoal and black lines and…

Then something happened that made Morgan wish she could disappear altogether. Cooper turned and faced her, still chatting on the phone, still unaware she was perched at the top of the stairs. His chest was thrust forward, one arm stretched behind his head—which was tipped back—and his gaze was on the ceiling.

Her stomach dropped, like all the way to the basement, and dammit, she should have closed her eyes. Slammed those puppies shut as soon as he turned. But she didn’t. In fact, they were wide open, and all that focus she seemed to have lost throughout the week? It was back. Big-time.

Gorgeous chest.

To-die-for abs.

Flat stomach.

And…

Oh. My.

She confirmed what her brain already knew. Cooper Simon was beautiful. Every single delicious inch of him was so damn—

A throat cleared.

Perfect.

Then a cough.

And big.

Since Morgan’s eyes were the only things that currently worked, they squeezed shut even as a voice in her brain screamed, run! How long did she stand there like an idiot with cheeks burning hot and probably as red as the apples on her kitchen table? Who knew, but it was long enough for Cooper to grab a towel, because when she finally managed to open her eyes, he was grinning at her in a way that made her insides turn to liquid. Cooper was no longer naked. A navy-blue towel sat dangerously low on his hips.

Not that it mattered. She’d seen everything he owned.

They looked across the landing at each other, and the longer the silence grew, the redder her face got. The redder her face got, the deeper his smile became.

“Sorry.” How he could speak through his grin was beyond Morgan. Also? He was so not sorry.

“I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

“I’m not embarrassed.” She was so damn embarrassed, it wasn’t funny. “I just…You had no clothes on, and that, well… That startled me.”

Jesus, Morgan. Stop talking.

“I thought I wouldn’t see you until Monday.”

“Oh, I…” Morgan cleared her throat, confused. “I didn’t know I had Fridays off?”

“Normally, you wouldn’t, but it’s Good Friday, and we chatted about it. Remember?”