Cooper (The Family Simon 6)

“Was it the wine? Was it just a fluke? Because I know you don’t make a habit of kissing girls like me. Or was it a gut reaction to a movie that was emotionally devastating? Is that it? Do you get off on the pain of others?”

His lips tightened, and his eyes narrowed. His hands, once relaxed, were now clenched at his sides and if Morgan had been paying attention, she would have realized she’d just pissed off Cooper Simon. Big-time.

But she wasn’t paying attention. How could she? The anger inside her pressed hard. It was hot and big and confusing, and it took over.

“Wait.” She yanked on the collar of her sweatshirt, jerking her head to the side. “Is it because of this?” Breathing heavily, she yanked even harder, exposing more skin than anyone had seen since the accident. She watched him closely, but his face gave nothing away.

“Do these scars make you feel sorry for me? Do you wonder what happened? How I got them? Is that it?” She pulled her shirt back up, choking on nothing but air, anger, and a sadness so big, it left room for nothing else.

Slowly, his hands loosened, his gaze never leaving hers. It felt as if he could see right through her. She shivered, surprising because she was so damn hot.

“Yes,” he said, watching her closely.

“What?” Surprised, she blew out a piece of hair that stuck to her cheek and took a step back. “What did you say?”

“Yes. To all of it.”

Stanley whimpered, and her gaze fell to the dog panting at Cooper’s side. She felt sick to her stomach.

“I don’t want to go to dinner with you.” She whispered the words, her eyes blurring. Angrily, she scrubbed at them and turned around, blindly reaching for the door.

“I kissed you because I wanted to. Because the light made your hair shine and your skin glow. Because your smile was soft, and I liked seeing it. It made me wonder what you’d feel like.”

She bit her lip.

“I kissed you because I wanted to, and I wanted to for a lot of reasons. But mostly I kissed you because in that moment, it was all I could think about. Because it felt right. I touched you because I couldn’t help myself.”

She yanked on the doorknob, the ache inside her slicing hard.

“I asked you to dinner because I’ve had a shit week, and I thought it would be nice to know more about you.”

Morgan exhaled a shaky breath. “I don’t want to go to dinner with you.”

“I think you’re scared.” His voice deepened, and she sensed him a few feet behind her.

She blinked rapidly and waited until her heart rate slowed down, and opened the door. A heartbeat passed. Scared? She was more than just scared. Hell, there wasn’t even a word for what she was feeling.

“Good night, Cooper.”

With that, Morgan hurried outside, streaks of red and orange coloring a sky she barely glanced at. She trudged through mud and tufts of green grass, ignoring the quiet fall of dusk, and slid into her car. She pointed it toward town, all the while thinking hard. What was the word she was looking for? What was it that she felt?

It was something she thought about all the way home, though the word never did come to her.

15

Cooper wasn’t exactly sure what made him swing by the Campbell place. Maybe he took a wrong turn without thinking. Maybe he was bored with his own company. Or maybe he was a glutton for punishment. Whichever it was didn’t matter all that much in the end, because at about ten to eight that evening, he found himself in front of Morgan’s home.

He cut the engine, his gaze on the lights shining from the windows of the house, and sat in his truck for a couple of minutes, contemplating what exactly it was he was doing. Because being here on Morgan’s doorstep wasn’t what he’d planned on when he’d headed to town.

Morgan had made it more than clear he made her uncomfortable. He’d crossed a line with her, and she hadn’t liked it.

Not. One. Bit.

He swore and sank deeper into the soft leather seats, hands drumming against the steering wheel. Maybe he should just leave. Head out to this great Italian restaurant on his own, have a nice glass of wine and some pasta. Maybe meet a lady willing to spend a no-strings-attached night of hot sex with him, and call it a day.

Except that wasn’t what he wanted. Well, the sex part he could use, but the other? Some nameless woman he’d never see again? That wasn’t what he wanted, at least not tonight. The thought should have surprised the crap out of him, but for some reason, it didn’t.

For the first time in a long time, he wanted to spend the evening with a woman because he wanted to know her.