by Kadie Scott
Beth sniggered, catching his gaze. “Except getting sprayed by the skunk, in a fight with a jerk, and arrested. Right?”
Dimples flashed and Autry’s body responded with a tightening that was becoming way too familiar around this woman. “I could’ve skipped those bits.” He winked.
The smile they shared snagged and held for a lingering moment, and Autry found he didn’t want to break the moment.
“Told ya,” Dylan muttered beside him.
He dragged his attention to the kid with effort. “Yeah,” he agreed, more to keep Dylan from saying any more.
“Told him what?” Beth asked.
Dylan opened his mouth to answer, but Autry jumped in to beat him to it. “So, is this date number three or four?” he asked, waving a hand between Jason and Beth.
“Number two,” Jason said. “We had to reschedule last week.”
“I thought you said you weren’t on a date?” Juliet asked, casting a perplexed glance between Beth and Jason.
Beth directed a glare at Autry, clearly blaming him for opening his big mouth. “We were on a date but decided that we’d be better as friends.”
“But you did go on a date?” Lexi prodded.
Her face and tone revealed no emotion either way, but Autry got the distinct impression that she was irritated.
“Uh…” Jason glanced between sisters. “Am I missing something, again?”
Beth blew out a frustrated hiss. “My sisters won’t date anyone who I dated first. Family rule since I was thirteen and Mark Warren decided he’d rather go to homecoming with Lexi after he’d already asked me.”
Jason’s eyebrows flew up. “Wait… Let me get this straight. We decide in the middle of our date to be just friends, then you bring me here to, what? Set me up with one of your sisters?”
Everything clicked in place for Autry. He had inadvertently put her right in it with that comment. “Sorry,” he mouthed.
Beth flashed him a scowl before she turned to face Jason, her expression earnest. “It sounds awful when you put it that way, but really it’s a compliment. I happen to think you’re pretty terrific. Just friends with me, but I’d only introduce the good guys to my sisters. If nothing happened, then no worries, you met my family, maybe get to be friends with them, and we move on.”
“Oh, my God, Beth. I can’t believe you did that.” Lexi’s words were loud enough that everyone in the store stopped what they were doing to turn and watch with undisguised interest.
Beth closed her eyes, dropping her head forward. “It wasn’t supposed to be a big deal.”
“Sounds like she was being nice to me.” Autry stepped in, trying to do what he could to fix it from his end.
“You butt out.” Lexi speared him with a glare.
For her part, Beth ignored her sister, but bit her lip, a sure sign she felt badly, and raised her head, waiting for Jason’s reaction with obvious anxiety.
“A compliment, huh?” Jason asked, lips twitching.
Beth’s expression morphed to hopeful. “You don’t hate me?”
“I should be mad. But you liked me enough to introduce me to your sisters—who are both beautiful and obviously accomplished.” He waved a hand around the store where pretty much everyone had stopped what they were doing to listen.
“You should probably know I’m seeing someone,” Juliet mentioned.
“You are?” Beth and Lexi both sounded shocked as they swung to face her.
“Who?” Beth demanded.
Juliet glanced around the room. “I’m not ready to talk about it yet,” she said primly.
Jason cleared his throat. “I hope he’s treating you right, Juliet. You seem very nice. My point is, I’m not sure I can be mad about being set up. Even if the circumstances are a bit… unusual.”
“I can be mad,” Lexi muttered.
Jason sent the eldest Cooper woman an indecipherable look. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Lexi’s scowl dropped as she stared at him, appearing slightly bewildered. She shook it off fast, though, and crossed her arms. “Maybe here is not the best place to discuss this.”
Jason took the hint. “Right.” He put a hand to Beth’s back. “Why don’t I take you home?”
“That’s probably best.” Beth finally seemed to realize that they’d become the center of attention.
As she passed him, Autry snagged her by the wrist and put his lips to her ear. “Sorry, honey,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to make trouble for you.”
She pulled back and wrinkled her nose at him. “I know,” she answered softly. “Trouble seems to find us any time we’re in breathing distance of each other, doesn’t it?”
She allowed Jason to escort her out of the store.
Autry watched her leave, then gave her sisters a nod and took Dylan to get ice cream. All the while wondering why he wasn’t ready to give up her kind of trouble. If anything, watching her walk away with another man only made him want to chase her, claim her, brand her as his.
I am losing my ever-loving mind.
Probably. Because he was starting to get ideas where Beth was concerned. Ideas that involved going over to her house and…
Quit now, while you’re still ahead.
Chapter Eight
“On a scale of one to ten, how mad at me are you?” Beth cringed and waited for Lexi’s answer.
As soon as Jason had dropped her off at home—where she’d apologized profusely yet again for the strangest date in history—she’d sat on her bed cross-legged, like her students, and stared at the phone waiting for the call she knew was coming. Sure enough, as soon as both her sisters closed up shop and went upstairs to the apartment they shared above it, her phone rang.
“Earlier… a twelve,” Lexi said slowly.
Beth grimaced and nodded, not that her sisters could see her. She’d sort of figured that out already, based on Lexi’s initial reaction. “And now?”
“Now I’m at more like a six.”
Yikes. Still that high? “I’m sorry, Lex. I just… He’s a great guy. I figured one of us should snap him up.”
“But not you?” Lexi pointed out. “Why not? What’s he got? Bad breath or something?”
Beth could hardly tell her that the spark Autry Hill lit inside her was overriding her usually logical self. “No. Just… no romantic connection, you know?”
“Excuse me?” Juliet piped in. “Did you get a good look at him?”
“All night. Plus, he’s smart, funny, has manners, is well educated, a nice guy.”
“There’s got to be a catch.” Lexi’s sigh came down the line loud and clear. “I’m still embarrassed as all get out. How am I going to face him next time I run into him?”
Beth couldn’t help her grin. “The way he was looking at you, I don’t think it’s a problem.”
Lexi scoffed. “Of course, it’s a problem. I snapped his head off about the lawyer thing. I ate ice cream in front of him like an addict. And then I wigged out in front of him when I found out the whole thing was a setup.” She paused in her tirade long enough to take a breath. “How did he look at me?” she finally asked.
“Like he wanted to be that ice cream cone,” Juliet said in a dry voice.
“I didn’t see that,” Lexi huffed.
Beth hooted. “That’s because you were too busy pretending not to notice. Besides you’re blind to all men these days. Ever since Randy.”
“Am not,” Lexi insisted.
“Well said,” Juliet teased.
Beth could picture them on the other end of the line making faces at each other. “Either way, trust me, Jason definitely was interested.”
“Yeah. Well… Whatever. I’m still embarrassed,” Lexi grumbled. But Beth could tell from her sister’s tones that she was also a tiny bit mollified. “No more setups. Got it?”
Beth flopped back against her padded headboard. “No more setups. Promise.”
“Speaking of hot looks,” Juliet broke in. “I’m surprised you didn’t melt on the spot, the way Autr
y Hill was watching you, Beth.”
Now it was her turn to balk. At the same time, she fought the way her heart stopped then started back up double-time at the words. “He was not watching me.”
Lexi’s inelegant snort was unmistakable. “I don’t think he liked you being on a date with Jason.”
“I did see a little green in those eyes when he mentioned it,” Juliet chimed in.
“You guys are seeing things. Autry Hill is the local Casanova. Why would he be interested in me?” Despite those kisses. A thought she kept to herself. “I’m so far from his usual type it’s ridiculous. In fact, either of you would be more his norm.”
“And yet,” Lexi murmured in her smuggest voice. “He didn’t spare either of us more than a glance, and only to be polite.”
“Yup,” Juliet agreed. “And the way he watched you leave.” She gave a low whistle. “That boy is smitten if you ask me.”
“No way.” Beth didn’t see it at all. Sure, he’d kissed her. Twice. But one had been to prove a point. The other had been a thank-you of sorts. A melt-her-panties hot thank-you.
That was it.
Deliberately, she forced the memory of him saying he wanted to do even more way back in a dark corner of her mind. He’d told her to forget it, so she was trying to. Besides, she couldn’t dismiss the women he went around with—only the hottest women with curves on display and a bit of a wild streak to match his own. Beth didn’t tick any of those boxes.
“Even if he was, do you seriously think I should take up with Autry Hill?” There, let her sisters argue with that.
“Well…” Juliet let the word hang. “I guess it depends what you want from him.”
“Seriously?”
“If happily ever after is the goal, then I’d say let sleeping dogs lie. But…”
Beth found herself gripping the phone more tightly, waiting for the rest. “But?” she finally prompted.
“If you’re looking for a guy to show you a good time, Autry Hill is definitely the one to do it. It’s been a long time since you’ve had some real fun, Bethie.”
The thought was so sinfully tempting, she had to stomp on the breaks a couple times to get her brain to stop heading down that road. Fun with Autry for the sake of fun sounded so… deliciously sinful. But no way would he go for her, even if she propositioned him.
She couldn’t get around the fact that she would never be his type. “I doubt the offer is on the table. I locked my purse in his truck, got him sprayed by a skunk, and got him arrested. I’m an anomaly at best.”
Both her sisters chuckled.
“You certainly make an impression,” Lexi teased.
Beth breathed a sigh of relief. Lexi didn’t hold grudges long, but Beth hated being on the outs with either of her sisters. “Yeah. A really annoying impression.”
Time to change the subject and get her siblings off this one. “Don’t think we’ve forgotten about a new man in your life Juliet.”
Her sister sighed and Beth could picture her crinkled nose. “I wondered when it would come around to that.”
“Spill it, little sister. Who’s the guy? And how did I not know about it?” Lexi demanded.
“It really isn’t anything, yet,” Juliet waffled.
“Spill,” Beth insisted.
Juliet huffed. “Fine. It’s Luke Tribble.”
“Luke Tribble? The vet?” Beth asked. Juliet was interested in a local?
“Yes, the vet,” Juliet agreed. “But we haven’t gone out yet. He’s just been… flirting.”
“Flirting?” Lexi sounded doubtful, but it was hard to tell since Beth couldn’t see her face.
“Yes, flirting,” Juliet insisted. “In the nicest way possible.”
“Well, I know Holly Hill well.” She worked for Luke and his dad in the practice. “I could set something up through her,” Beth offered.
“No!” Juliet rushed to say. “No setups goes for me, too. I had a firsthand view of your setups tonight, and no thank you.”
“Right?” Lexi chortled.
“Hey,” Beth protested. “If Autry hadn’t come in, no one would’ve been the wiser. It’s all his fault.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she grimaced. She hadn’t meant to bring him up again or introduce that topic back into the conversation.
“Which begs the question,” Lexi said. “Why did Autry show up?”
“I’m hanging up now.”
“No wait—”
Too late. She’d already clicked the off button on her phone. Beth tossed the phone down beside her. What a mess. At least Lexi and Jason had both forgiven her. She categorically refused to think about Autry’s part in all of it.
With a long sigh, she dragged herself up off the bed and went through her nightly ritual of getting into PJs, washing and brushing teeth, and settling in under her comfy feather duvet with student’s homework on her lap to grade. She clicked the TV on. Maybe binge watching would help settle her mind. At the very least, it could drown out her thoughts.
Halfway through an old episode of West Wing, she had to pause the show because she thought she heard a sound. She sat up in bed and listened. Then jumped when a knock sounded at her front door.
A glance at her bedside clock told her midnight had rolled around. Who the heck could possibly think she’d be awake at this hour? Unless Dan Fogelman had come by to bother her. He’d stayed away since the fight, but she’d passed him a few times as one of them was coming or going, and the glares he’d sent her way hadn’t been nice ones. He probably hadn’t appreciated the community service she’d landed him with.
“Please go away,” she whispered, even as she got out of bed and quietly padded to the front door. She peeped out the hole, then jumped back as she recognized the face of the man standing on her front porch.
Her heart took off and her stomach tightened in anticipation because all her sisters’ observations came flooding back, only with more power because Autry Hill was standing outside on her front porch.
Admit it, you’re excited to see him at your door.
The problem was, she was smart enough to know she shouldn’t let herself be excited. So, what did she do now?
With hands shaking from the burst of adrenaline—much to her annoyance—she unlocked the door and swung it open. “Do you have any idea what time it is, Autry Hill?”
He blinked at her greeting, then glanced at the leather-strapped watch on his wrist and grimaced. “Sorry.” He ran a hand through his hair, which already stood up like he’d been doing that a lot. “Mind if I come in?”
With a put-upon sigh that was totally faked, because she didn’t want to be happy to see him here, she swung the door wider and beckoned him inside. He stalked in before turning to face her, mouth open as though he was about to speak. Except he paused, his gaze running down her body, amusement tipping up his lips.
That was when she remembered she was in PJs. The ones Lexi had given her for her birthday as a joke. At least they were basic black, so he couldn’t see anything through the soft but thin material. The shorts were short, and the top had adjustable spaghetti straps, so she was showing more skin than normal, but nothing untoward. The bigger problem, however, was the words on the top. In stark white letters, it spelled out “Naked Underneath.”
Brazening it out, she tipped her chin up and silently dared him to say anything.
*
Autry had to swallow a groan, because Beth’s pajamas were giving him all kinds of ideas. Still, he couldn’t pass up the chance to tease her, despite the fight in her eyes. “I like your top.”
She narrowed her eyes, obviously waiting for the punchline. Except most of what came to mind was dirty, and he wasn’t here to be dirty with Beth. Much as the idea appealed.
“Me too,” he finally settled on.
“You too?”
“I’m naked under my clothes too,” he expanded.
Beth crossed her arms, which only served to pull the material tight over her high, firm breast
s, highlighting the fact that her nipples were beading underneath. From the cold? Or because he was here?
“Can I help you with something?” she demanded.
Right. The reason he’d driven all the way back here after he’d already gone home for the night. Not exactly a short drive, either, and he’d argued with himself the entire way.
So, tell her and leave. “I wanted to apologize for today. I hope your sisters and Jason aren’t too mad.”
Beth’s eyebrows shot up and the frown she gave him was colored all kinds of confused. “You could’ve called,” she pointed out.
A reasonable point, too.
“I was still in town.” Okay, so he was lying through his teeth. “I figured I’d swing by on my way home.”
“Oh.” Was that disappointment in her voice?
“Did I wake you up?” he asked. She didn’t appear like she’d been sleeping, other than the way her face was scrubbed clean.
“No. I was watching West Wing.”
“West Wing,” he parroted, doubtful he’d heard correctly. “The show from like fifteen years ago?”
“Yeah.” Her tone dared him to say anything against the show. “It’s on Netflix. I like it.”
Damn the woman was adorable. “That’s… cool.”
Holy shit. When did I lose my mojo?
He’d never once driven in the middle of the night to apologize to a woman before. This hadn’t ever been difficult with other women. Of course, other women weren’t Beth.
“Anyway…” he waffled. Something he never did either. “I’m sorry.”
Beth looked at him long and hard, and Autry did his best not to shift under her stare like an errant schoolboy.
“It’s okay,” she finally said slowly. She obviously thought he’d lost his ever-loving mind. Autry wasn’t sure she was wrong. “Lexi and Jason aren’t too upset.”
“Good.”
He should leave now. He’d done what he came here for—guilt about landing her in trouble, especially with her sisters. Though, if he were honest, a part of him was way too happy that she and the lawyer hadn’t hit it off.
“Night, Beth.” He forced himself to walk past her to the door.
“Are you attracted to me?”