Apparently, he didn’t find her ridiculous at all. He smiled at her and moved his lips to her wrist. Pressing another soft kiss there, he looked up at her through his eyelashes—incredibly thick, long eyelashes that could make a woman weep with jealousy. “Here come our drinks.”
“Wh-what?” She blinked and shook her head to clear the hazy fog of desire. “What did you say?”
He raised a brow. “I said our drinks are coming.”
“It’s been long enough for that? That’s not possible.” She turned towards the window. There was dark sky and…clouds. Freaking clouds. Not a city light to be seen. “But that’s not possible.”
“I assure you, it’s quite possible.”
Her jaw dropped. “How did I miss ten minutes like that?”
With a smug grin, he shrugged. “Distraction.”
Oh, God, he was really, really good.
Chapter Three
Cooper looked away from Kayla and took a steadying breath. He had the suspicion she wasn’t the type to kiss strangers on a plane, and yet she was letting him touch her. Kiss her. And he wanted more. So much more.
He hadn’t boarded the plane with the intention of getting her into his bed, but now that he was here, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Her lips were sweeter than any he had ever tasted, and everything she did increased his desire. She gaped out the window in shock, but she might as well have been stripping naked for him. The hard-on he was sporting seemed to think she was, anyway.
This was the most fun he’d had in months. Hell, he didn’t think he even remembered what the word fun meant. Not since he watched his best friend get killed in front of him. And not since he’d been forced to watch the woman Josh left behind fall apart—so much so that Cooper doubted she’d ever be the same again. How could she be?
Which was why he’d never put a woman through that shit.
It was why he would be single until he’d fulfilled his duties.
The flight attendant approached and smiled at him, setting down their drinks. After she left, he took a sip to make sure it was less strong than the previous round. He didn’t want Kayla passing out on him. Satisfied, he placed the
drink back on his tray.
“So, tell me about this boyfriend you made up for the benefit of your family. What does he do?”
“I’m still trying to decide between a doctor and a lawyer.” She let out a huffy breath and looked up at the unlit seatbelt sign. “I’m not the best liar in the world, so I kind of keep putting the planning stage off.”
“So they didn’t grill you about him? It’s weird considering they’ve been jonesing for you to find a man.”
“Of course they grilled me. Or tried to, anyway. I fed them some lame line about wanting them to be surprised by everything about him when they met him and then made sure I had to get off the phone, like, immediately. Besides,” a flush crept into her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to lie. I kind of just blurted out the boyfriend story to get them off my back. It came out before I had time to think about it. And once it was out there…”
“You couldn’t take it back.”
She nodded. “I’ve been dodging questions ever since. I’m sure they suspect the truth but I’m not backing down.”
“So all they know is that you have a boyfriend and he can’t come home with you for your sister’s wedding?”
“Right. But we supposedly spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve together at his family’s house. And, of course, they wanted to speak to him to wish him a Merry Christmas. I’m still not sure how I managed to convince them that he was helping his mother with something.”
He pictured her all alone for the holiday—all for the sake of perpetuating a lie. “Dump him. If he’s too busy to go to your sister’s wedding with you, then he shouldn’t be your boyfriend.”
“I can’t dump him. He’s not real.”
He picked up her cocktail and passed it to her, his fingers brushing across her knuckles when she accepted the drink. He wanted to grab her hand and hold it in his, but held back so he didn’t come on too strong. Touching her felt too damn good. “If I was your boyfriend, then you damn well wouldn’t be sitting here alone on a plane with a stranger like me.”
“He’s not real, remember?” She took a small sip and wrinkled her brow. “Wow. I can taste the cranberry juice in this one.”
Her comment made him laugh. “Is it a long distance relationship? That would explain why your man couldn’t come to the wedding.”
She rolled her eyes. “You might as well call it ‘dead but don’t know it yet’ relationships. They never work.”