The One Real Thing (Hart's Boardwalk 1)

“No, he would never understand.” I shook my head, wrapping my arms around myself.

Cat huffed and glanced over her shoulder at Sadie and Cooper. Sadie was touching his arm now, tilting her head in her flirty way, giving him her come-hither eyes. “As far as she’s concerned, he’s fair game.”

I got a sudden unwelcome image of him kissing her . . . touching her . . . and it felt like poison sliding down my throat.

“Not now, but at some point”—she turned back around to give me a hard look—“he will be fair game. Have you really thought about that?”

I squeezed my eyes closed. “Cat.”

“Jesus, Jessica, look at how much pain you’re in. Will Cooper knowing the truth about you be any worse than how you already feel?”

My eyes flew open at that, her words reverberating around and around my head.

Will Cooper knowing the truth about you be any worse than how you already feel?

Will Cooper knowing the truth about you be any worse than how you already feel?

WILL COOPER KNOWING THE TRUTH ABOUT YOU BE ANY WORSE THAN HOW YOU ALREADY FEEL?

I flinched away from her, needing space, needing to think. “I have to go.”

This time she didn’t stop me, but as I moved to my car my eyes were drawn to Cooper, despite not wanting to see another woman flirting with him.

As I opened my car door, he seemed to sense me, his head jerking in my direction, those blue, blue eyes focusing in on me.

His whole body tensed.

And then he pushed away from his truck as if he were going to come to me.

Will Cooper knowing the truth about you be any worse than how you already feel?

I didn’t know!

I didn’t know, but I couldn’t figure that out in the ten seconds it would take him to get to me. Fumbling with my car door, I practically threw myself in, started the car, and reversed back so fast my wheels spun.

Before he’d even made it to me I was out of there, the blood whooshing in my ears at the galloping of my heart.

TWENTY-SIX

Cooper

For once Cooper liked the bar better empty.

He cleaned down the bar top, wishing like hell he could afford to just shut the place down for a few days. Of course Ollie could keep running it for him if he decided to take off again, but he knew he couldn’t run from his life.

Or the pain.

Being with Jessica the other night . . . that was like having a stinging cut for days and then suddenly someone slathering cool balm over it.

His head was all fucked up about her.

Part of him felt betrayed by her, angry, furious, resentful. That part wanted her to get the hell out of his town and never come back. But unfortunately there was this bigger part of him that felt like if he could only find out what the hell it was she was hiding, then maybe they could work this shit out. That part of him was responsible for the fear he felt, and Cooper hadn’t felt fear since his mom got diagnosed with cancer.

He feared Jessica packing up from Tremaine’s and leaving Hartwell for good.

When the rumors hit that Jessica and Vaughn were having an affair, he didn’t even entertain it, which was surprising, considering Dana. But he didn’t believe that of Jess. What she was hiding wasn’t an affair. No. He was worried it was much darker than that.

In fact, he was worried that if he did find out, Jessica’s fears would be proven right; that in the end the truth would be too much for him to handle.

Yet the idea of not wanting to be with Jessica for any reason seemed absurd to him. He couldn’t seem to stay away. And so he’d taken what he’d wanted from her . . . and like he’d told her, it wasn’t enough. If anything, the taste of her only made her leaving him burn harder. Yet, he knew he wasn’t above making that mistake again. In fact, he was itching to find her and repeat the other night.

His head was all fucked up.

The knock on his bar door was like a shot of adrenaline through him. The knock reminded him of all the times these past few months that Jessica had come to him before the bar opened.

He braced himself for finding her on the other side of his door.

The disappointment he felt was mixed with a whole lot of anger at the sight of Ian Devlin on his doorstep.

“You do not want to be here right now, believe me,” Cooper warned.

His warning went unheeded as Devlin pushed past him, striding into the bar like he owned the fucking place.

“Bad mood, Cooper?” Devlin shot him a smirk over his shoulder before he perused the bar with his greedy eyes.

Cooper kept the door open. This asshole was leaving. Now. “Worst ever. Which means I’m not in the mood to deal with your shit.”

“You heard about Beckwith selling to some rising star chef from Boston?” Devlin sneered.

He had to admit this part of their conversation lifted his spirits a little. “Didn’t know who he sold it to. Just knew it wasn’t you.”

“And you loved that, didn’t you?”

“Not going to lie, it didn’t suck.”

Devlin narrowed his eyes. “I’m not the one that screwed your wife, son.”

Dick.

Cooper kept his expression blank, not willing to give him a reaction.

“And now another woman has messed with you. I heard the good doctor is shacked up with Vaughn Tremaine.” His eyes glittered with malice as he ran his fingers along the top of Cooper’s bar. “Admittedly that makes more sense. A woman of Jessica Huntington’s caliber . . . Anyone who was smart enough to recognize what she is would know a small-town bartender wouldn’t keep her happy for long.” o;No, he would never understand.” I shook my head, wrapping my arms around myself.

Cat huffed and glanced over her shoulder at Sadie and Cooper. Sadie was touching his arm now, tilting her head in her flirty way, giving him her come-hither eyes. “As far as she’s concerned, he’s fair game.”

I got a sudden unwelcome image of him kissing her . . . touching her . . . and it felt like poison sliding down my throat.

“Not now, but at some point”—she turned back around to give me a hard look—“he will be fair game. Have you really thought about that?”

I squeezed my eyes closed. “Cat.”

“Jesus, Jessica, look at how much pain you’re in. Will Cooper knowing the truth about you be any worse than how you already feel?”

My eyes flew open at that, her words reverberating around and around my head.

Will Cooper knowing the truth about you be any worse than how you already feel?

Will Cooper knowing the truth about you be any worse than how you already feel?

WILL COOPER KNOWING THE TRUTH ABOUT YOU BE ANY WORSE THAN HOW YOU ALREADY FEEL?

I flinched away from her, needing space, needing to think. “I have to go.”

This time she didn’t stop me, but as I moved to my car my eyes were drawn to Cooper, despite not wanting to see another woman flirting with him.

As I opened my car door, he seemed to sense me, his head jerking in my direction, those blue, blue eyes focusing in on me.

His whole body tensed.

And then he pushed away from his truck as if he were going to come to me.

Will Cooper knowing the truth about you be any worse than how you already feel?

I didn’t know!

I didn’t know, but I couldn’t figure that out in the ten seconds it would take him to get to me. Fumbling with my car door, I practically threw myself in, started the car, and reversed back so fast my wheels spun.

Before he’d even made it to me I was out of there, the blood whooshing in my ears at the galloping of my heart.

TWENTY-SIX

Cooper

For once Cooper liked the bar better empty.

He cleaned down the bar top, wishing like hell he could afford to just shut the place down for a few days. Of course Ollie could keep running it for him if he decided to take off again, but he knew he couldn’t run from his life.

Or the pain.

Being with Jessica the other night . . . that was like having a stinging cut for days and then suddenly someone slathering cool balm over it.

His head was all fucked up about her.

Part of him felt betrayed by her, angry, furious, resentful. That part wanted her to get the hell out of his town and never come back. But unfortunately there was this bigger part of him that felt like if he could only find out what the hell it was she was hiding, then maybe they could work this shit out. That part of him was responsible for the fear he felt, and Cooper hadn’t felt fear since his mom got diagnosed with cancer.

He feared Jessica packing up from Tremaine’s and leaving Hartwell for good.

When the rumors hit that Jessica and Vaughn were having an affair, he didn’t even entertain it, which was surprising, considering Dana. But he didn’t believe that of Jess. What she was hiding wasn’t an affair. No. He was worried it was much darker than that.

In fact, he was worried that if he did find out, Jessica’s fears would be proven right; that in the end the truth would be too much for him to handle.

Yet the idea of not wanting to be with Jessica for any reason seemed absurd to him. He couldn’t seem to stay away. And so he’d taken what he’d wanted from her . . . and like he’d told her, it wasn’t enough. If anything, the taste of her only made her leaving him burn harder. Yet, he knew he wasn’t above making that mistake again. In fact, he was itching to find her and repeat the other night.

His head was all fucked up.

The knock on his bar door was like a shot of adrenaline through him. The knock reminded him of all the times these past few months that Jessica had come to him before the bar opened.

He braced himself for finding her on the other side of his door.

The disappointment he felt was mixed with a whole lot of anger at the sight of Ian Devlin on his doorstep.

“You do not want to be here right now, believe me,” Cooper warned.

His warning went unheeded as Devlin pushed past him, striding into the bar like he owned the fucking place.

“Bad mood, Cooper?” Devlin shot him a smirk over his shoulder before he perused the bar with his greedy eyes.

Cooper kept the door open. This asshole was leaving. Now. “Worst ever. Which means I’m not in the mood to deal with your shit.”

“You heard about Beckwith selling to some rising star chef from Boston?” Devlin sneered.

He had to admit this part of their conversation lifted his spirits a little. “Didn’t know who he sold it to. Just knew it wasn’t you.”

“And you loved that, didn’t you?”

“Not going to lie, it didn’t suck.”

Devlin narrowed his eyes. “I’m not the one that screwed your wife, son.”

Dick.

Cooper kept his expression blank, not willing to give him a reaction.

“And now another woman has messed with you. I heard the good doctor is shacked up with Vaughn Tremaine.” His eyes glittered with malice as he ran his fingers along the top of Cooper’s bar. “Admittedly that makes more sense. A woman of Jessica Huntington’s caliber . . . Anyone who was smart enough to recognize what she is would know a small-town bartender wouldn’t keep her happy for long.”