The One Real Thing (Hart's Boardwalk 1)

“Jessica,” he gasped, his hips stilling for a second before I felt his release as he came inside me, his hips jerking against my ass in tight shudders.

My brain was still playing catch-up with what had happened and as the desire faded out enough for reality to seep in, despite my languid muscles, I shivered against the table.

Cooper covered my back, his hands moving up my hips to my waist in soothing caresses. “Jess,” he said softly against my ear. “Fuck, Jess.”

I pushed up against him and he pulled back and out of me. With what little energy I had left I pushed up off the table and turned to him. Cooper immediately settled between my legs, his hands squeezing my ass as he lifted me up so I could wrap my legs around him. I circled his shoulders with my arms and held on as we stared at one another.

Cooper looked as shell-shocked as I felt.

“Don’t leave me,” I said, my words barely above a whisper. “I just found you.”

He closed his eyes, like my words hurt him, and then he buried his face in my neck and held on tight.

We stayed like that for what seemed like forever before finally he kissed me softly, sweetly . . . reassuringly.

And then he carried me back to bed.

TWENTY-THREE

Jessica

“So I suggested he move into Ocean View, the room I had while I was on vacation, and he had the audacity to complain about that room, too,” I huffed, still not over meeting the most particular son of a bitch I had ever had the misfortune of meeting. “I’m telling you, I don’t know how Bailey does it. She was so cool and calm, and actually friendly to him.”

Cooper squeezed my hand as we strolled down Dover Street together. This meant he was listening to me ramble on about the latest annoying guest at the inn.

“And then, then he said—right to Bailey’s face—‘The whole décor is far more schmaltzy than it appeared online.’ I mean, what the hell does ‘schmaltzy’ mean? I mean, I know what it means, but how in the hell can décor be sentimental? And what exactly is wrong with sentimental décor? But the final straw was when he called Bailey ‘grating’ and said that he should have booked at Paradise Sands—‘but this place was cheaper and what a hell of a mistake that was.’ I could tell she was going to be all diplomatic about it, but I’d had enough because if he didn’t get out of the inn I was going to strangle him.”

Cooper chuckled, shooting me this look I didn’t quite understand out of the corner of his eyes.

“What?”

“You’ve been hanging out with Cat too much.”

I grinned. “She has a feistiness that this situation called for. I just channeled her.”

“Now I’m worried. What did you do?”

“I kicked him out,” I said, trying not to feel bad as I remembered the look on Bailey’s face. “I told him if he was going to be insulting to the owner he could pick up his bags and get his pompous ass off the property and check into Paradise Sands after all. He said he would. Now Bailey is mad at me.”

“Jess . . .” He grinned, shaking his head at me. “It’s nice you stuck up for Bailey, but I can understand why she’s pissed at you. You kicked out a guest. As far as I know she’s never, not once in her whole career, kicked out a guest.”

The guilt I was feeling increased. “But surely this was a situation that called for it, wasn’t it?”

He shrugged. “I would have kicked him out of my bar, but that’s different.”

“I never thought Bailey would be the kind of person who would take crap from anyone.”

“She works in hospitality. It comes with the job. Why do you think she has such a low tolerance for bullshit in her personal life? She’s storing it up.”

I laughed, cuddling closer to him. “Do you want to hear the best bit? The bit Bailey doesn’t know.”

His eyes smiled at me so I took that as a yes.

“She has Vaughn’s direct number. Apparently they exchanged numbers for business purposes—”

“We did that, too. Most of us on the boardwalk did it.”

“Oh.” And there I’d been hoping they’d exchanged numbers for a different reason. Still . . . it didn’t take away from what Vaughn had done. I grinned again, thinking about it. “Well, in my adrenaline rush of anger at the guest and admittedly wanting to be annoyed at Vaughn because I could tell the comparison to his hotel had hurt Bailey, I called him. Vaughn. I told him everything and that he could expect the pompous ass on his doorstep any minute and he was welcome to the idiot, with his nonschmaltzy décor and overpriced hotel.”

“Jesus, Jess,” Cooper muttered.

“I know, it wasn’t fair. His hotel is not overpriced. But that’s not the part that’s important. Vaughn got all growly and wolfy on the phone.”

“I don’t even know what that means.”

“Never mind. Anyway he asked me to repeat what the guy had said to Bailey and when I did he got all quiet and intense.”

“You could feel that on the phone?”

I shoved him playfully for making fun. “Yes. Anyway, he asked for the guy’s name. You know why?”

He rolled his eyes but played along. “Why?”

“Because he was going to refuse him a room.”

That got Cooper. I saw the question in his eyes.

“Really,” I said. I squeezed his hand. “He likes her, Coop.” o;Jessica,” he gasped, his hips stilling for a second before I felt his release as he came inside me, his hips jerking against my ass in tight shudders.

My brain was still playing catch-up with what had happened and as the desire faded out enough for reality to seep in, despite my languid muscles, I shivered against the table.

Cooper covered my back, his hands moving up my hips to my waist in soothing caresses. “Jess,” he said softly against my ear. “Fuck, Jess.”

I pushed up against him and he pulled back and out of me. With what little energy I had left I pushed up off the table and turned to him. Cooper immediately settled between my legs, his hands squeezing my ass as he lifted me up so I could wrap my legs around him. I circled his shoulders with my arms and held on as we stared at one another.

Cooper looked as shell-shocked as I felt.

“Don’t leave me,” I said, my words barely above a whisper. “I just found you.”

He closed his eyes, like my words hurt him, and then he buried his face in my neck and held on tight.

We stayed like that for what seemed like forever before finally he kissed me softly, sweetly . . . reassuringly.

And then he carried me back to bed.

TWENTY-THREE

Jessica

“So I suggested he move into Ocean View, the room I had while I was on vacation, and he had the audacity to complain about that room, too,” I huffed, still not over meeting the most particular son of a bitch I had ever had the misfortune of meeting. “I’m telling you, I don’t know how Bailey does it. She was so cool and calm, and actually friendly to him.”

Cooper squeezed my hand as we strolled down Dover Street together. This meant he was listening to me ramble on about the latest annoying guest at the inn.

“And then, then he said—right to Bailey’s face—‘The whole décor is far more schmaltzy than it appeared online.’ I mean, what the hell does ‘schmaltzy’ mean? I mean, I know what it means, but how in the hell can décor be sentimental? And what exactly is wrong with sentimental décor? But the final straw was when he called Bailey ‘grating’ and said that he should have booked at Paradise Sands—‘but this place was cheaper and what a hell of a mistake that was.’ I could tell she was going to be all diplomatic about it, but I’d had enough because if he didn’t get out of the inn I was going to strangle him.”

Cooper chuckled, shooting me this look I didn’t quite understand out of the corner of his eyes.

“What?”

“You’ve been hanging out with Cat too much.”

I grinned. “She has a feistiness that this situation called for. I just channeled her.”

“Now I’m worried. What did you do?”

“I kicked him out,” I said, trying not to feel bad as I remembered the look on Bailey’s face. “I told him if he was going to be insulting to the owner he could pick up his bags and get his pompous ass off the property and check into Paradise Sands after all. He said he would. Now Bailey is mad at me.”

“Jess . . .” He grinned, shaking his head at me. “It’s nice you stuck up for Bailey, but I can understand why she’s pissed at you. You kicked out a guest. As far as I know she’s never, not once in her whole career, kicked out a guest.”

The guilt I was feeling increased. “But surely this was a situation that called for it, wasn’t it?”

He shrugged. “I would have kicked him out of my bar, but that’s different.”

“I never thought Bailey would be the kind of person who would take crap from anyone.”

“She works in hospitality. It comes with the job. Why do you think she has such a low tolerance for bullshit in her personal life? She’s storing it up.”

I laughed, cuddling closer to him. “Do you want to hear the best bit? The bit Bailey doesn’t know.”

His eyes smiled at me so I took that as a yes.

“She has Vaughn’s direct number. Apparently they exchanged numbers for business purposes—”

“We did that, too. Most of us on the boardwalk did it.”

“Oh.” And there I’d been hoping they’d exchanged numbers for a different reason. Still . . . it didn’t take away from what Vaughn had done. I grinned again, thinking about it. “Well, in my adrenaline rush of anger at the guest and admittedly wanting to be annoyed at Vaughn because I could tell the comparison to his hotel had hurt Bailey, I called him. Vaughn. I told him everything and that he could expect the pompous ass on his doorstep any minute and he was welcome to the idiot, with his nonschmaltzy décor and overpriced hotel.”

“Jesus, Jess,” Cooper muttered.

“I know, it wasn’t fair. His hotel is not overpriced. But that’s not the part that’s important. Vaughn got all growly and wolfy on the phone.”

“I don’t even know what that means.”

“Never mind. Anyway he asked me to repeat what the guy had said to Bailey and when I did he got all quiet and intense.”

“You could feel that on the phone?”

I shoved him playfully for making fun. “Yes. Anyway, he asked for the guy’s name. You know why?”

He rolled his eyes but played along. “Why?”

“Because he was going to refuse him a room.”

That got Cooper. I saw the question in his eyes.

“Really,” I said. I squeezed his hand. “He likes her, Coop.”