Tease (Tease 1)

Jake laughed. “Don’t I know it.”

After dinner, the kids went to bed and the four of us sat around the fire, drinking. Nic and Jake snuggled together on the sofa while Mia and I occupied the two armchairs. I reached forward and grabbed a handful of chips.

“God, I hope those two sleep in tomorrow,” groaned Nic. She rested her head on Jake’s shoulder.

“Good luck with that,” I chuckled. Nic shot me a look.

“Speaking of sleep, I’m absolutely wrecked,” yawned Nic. She turned to Jake. “Come on. We’re going to bed.”

“If you say so,” Jake said, rolling his eyes. It was easy to see who wore the pants in their relationship.

I turned to Mia. “Do you want another drink?” I asked, gesturing to her empty glass.

“I should probably head to bed too…but why the hell not?”

I took her glass from her outstretched hand and wandered into the kitchen. I poured her wine and grabbed a beer for myself. I walked back into the room and she shivered as I handed the drink to her.

“Cold?” I asked.

She nodded.

I walked over to the closet behind the front door and retrieved a thick blue blanket.

“Thanks.” She smiled. “So, how about this, huh?”

I chuckled. Yep. How about this.

The last thing I’d expected to be doing over the weekend was…well, anything with Mia Westfield. She reached for the remote and turned on the TV. It was blaringly loud. She jumped and frantically pressed the volume button as I laughed.

“It’s not funny,” she blushed. “I’ve probably woken everyone up now.”

“If those kids come out, you’re putting them back to bed,” I joked, still laughing.

Mia made a face. “I wanted to go into pediatric nursing and then I realized I’m hopeless with kids.” She grinned at me. “No joke. I had a clinical at the children’s hospital last year, and I made about ten kids cry. And that was before the end of the first da

y.”

“So what area of nursing are you in?” I asked curiously. I could see her as a nurse. She had that caring, patient side to her down pat. Even as a kid, she’d been the girl who would find injured animals and take them home to nurse them back to health.

“General surgery. So basically I will be caring for people post-surgery.”

“Wow,” I raised my eyebrows and let out a whistle. “You’d need a pretty strong stomach for that.” I just about fainted at the sight of blood. Not to mention the fact that I was a sympathy vomiter.

“You need a strong stomach for any kind of nursing,” she remarked. “But the feeling you get when you know you’ve helped someone? There’s nothing else like it.” Her smile reached her eyes as they sparkled back at me.

My mouth went dry. She spoke with so much emotion when she was passionate about something: a trait I found very attractive.

“Did Nic tell you about Mom?” I asked, changing the subject. Anything to distract myself from how much I wanted to kiss those lips right now. Would she kiss me back? Would I see desire in those eyes? My gaze ran over her low-cut green top, and those tight sexy jeans. What did that body look like underneath those clothes? Was it as sexy as I imagined it to be?

Coop, get a grip. It’s so not going to happen.

“Yeah, she did. I’m sorry to hear that.” Mia’s voice jolted me out of my own head. “Alzheimer’s is a horrible disease. And to have the onset so young is even more tragic. How is she? Nic mentioned you got her into a trial? That’s good,” she said, impressed. “Those things usually aren’t cheap,” she added, raising an eyebrow. “Or easy to get into.”

“It’s not cheap, but how can you put a price on quality of life?” I shrugged. I’d fought hard to get her into that trial.

Mia smiled. “See, that’s why you’re a good guy. You take care of your family, no matter what.”

I shrugged, not seeing the big deal. Anyone in my position would do the same. It was no different from donating a kidney if you were a match. If the trial got Mom a few more years without any further regression, then even for all the money in the world, it would be worth it.