by Amanda Ashby
“Fair call.” A smile tugged at her mouth and her eyes sparkled.
“Though halfway through renovating it, I started to think the same thing,” he admitted as he glanced over it. When he’d found the old caravan on a nearby farm he’d immediately seen the potential, even if it had taken twice as long as he’d expected to restore it.
“It turned out well,” Pepper said as she studied it.
“Thanks,” Coop said, trying to hide his surprise. Being on civil terms was one thing but getting a compliment from Pepper? Almost unheard of. He scanned her face to see if she was serious, but there was nothing in her blue eyes to suggest otherwise. She returned his gaze, her mouth widening slightly. Coop’s heart thumped in his chest. Christ. The slightest movement turns me on.
“Okay, I should probably call it a night,” Pepper abruptly broke the spell.
“Sure.” Coop took in a deep breath. It was a mistake and the faint smell of vanilla caught in his nose. Yesterday they’d almost had a civilized conversation and tonight they’d managed to work side by side without a single argument. “Or, you could stay for a drink. It’s tradition, you know.”
“Tradition? Since when?”
About five seconds ago.
“Very long standing,” he assured her.
“Fine. One drink.” She nodded as she walked toward caravan. Coop quickly overtook her so that he could lean against the bar and put his white cloth over his arm.
“What can I get you? I have some excellent whites and Rachel’s vineyard has just produced their first red if you’re feeling game.”
“I think I’ll try one of your beers,” she said, looking past him to where several of his bottles were still displayed on the wooden bar.
“Really? You don’t strike me as a beer person,” he said as he leaned over and reached for two of his newest porters. He flicked the lids off using the opener from his pocket and passed one to her.
“Well, perhaps you need to work on your market research,” Pepper retorted as she held the bottle up to her mouth and took a sip, at the same time exposing her neck. Coop clenched his teeth and resisted the urge to trail a finger along her skin. But boy do I want to.
“So it seems,” he said as he covered his reaction by taking a gulp of his own drink.
“This is really good. I like that it’s not too light. Especially for this time of year. And can I taste hazelnuts?” Pepper wrinkled her nose as she moved to the deck chairs he’d set up by the caravan, for anyone wanting to sit out the dancing. She sat down and toyed with the bottle in her hand.
“You have a good palette.” He raised an eyebrow, since most of his customers just liked the effect rather than the actual flavors. “There’s also vanilla beans and chocolate layered in there. A good winter ale.”
“How did you even get started?” she asked, her navy eyes glittering with curiosity.
“Like all good stories, it began when I was a broke student trying to afford beer. But then it turned into something else. I always enjoyed science, technology, and art and brewing is all of those things. I get to take four basic components and turn them into something unique,” he said before catching himself. Boring people with his passion wasn’t normally his style. One man’s hops was another man’s yawnfest. Pepper studied him, her face curious.
“I had no idea there was so much involved in what you do.”
“Ah, the secret life of a brewer. I’m surprised they don’t write songs about us.”
“Too busy writing songs about the people who sample your wares and then do dumb things in the name of love,” Pepper said and Coop choked back his laughter.
“I almost think you made a joke. Though don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me,” he teased.
“Much appreciated,” she deadpanned before looking at him. “Okay, I’m just going to say it because I owe you an apology.”
“Really?” He joined her, his curiosity getting the better of him. “And what would that be for?”
“This truce. I didn’t realize how much my sisters had been affected by our—well, our differences. Bec has sent me so many text messages about it. Honestly, I think she’s used up all the unicorn emoticons in the world.”
“She is fond of unicorns,” he agreed as he shifted in the uncomfortable deck chair. Next to him Pepper took another sip and then turned to him, her mouth dangerously close to his.
His pulse thumped.
Damn, I want to kiss her.
“Thank you, Coop. And not just for that. Emmy only just told me that you haven’t been charging the business for your time or the rental of the caravan, just for the beer and wine itself. I didn’t quite realize how much you’d been helping them out before.”
“If your business does well, mine does.” He shrugged, not wanting to admit that he did it because Emmy and Bec were like sisters to him, and helping them was second nature. Because then Pepper might think she was like a sister to him. And that couldn’t be further from the truth. “It’s no big deal.”
“It is to us,” she said in a soft voice as she leaned back in the chair and looked up to the sky. It was inky black, only broken by the stars. In the distance insects and creatures rustled in the trees and Pepper’s navy eyes glittered as she licked her lips. Like the night was stripping back the mask she normally wore. Letting him see her as she was, not as who she who pretended to be. Desire slammed his chest. He twisted closer to her, his eyes drinking in the softness of her skin combined with the rising pink in her cheeks.
God, I want this.
She tilted her head a fraction. Was it an invitation? He leaned toward her.
“Coop, we shouldn’t,” she croaked, not moving.
“Oh, we really should,” he assured her as his mouth found hers.
Want exploded through him. Her lips were soft against his and she tasted of beer and freshness. Last time they’d kissed, it was over too soon. This time it’s on my terms. Her mouth opened to his as the beer fell from her hand. Coop discarded his own bottle and slid his hands around her back, drawing her closer.
The stars, the night sky, everything faded away.
She ran her hands down his back, turning him on more than it had the right to. He deepened the kiss before planting a trail of kisses down her neck. His fingers slid down the inside of her coat, but before he could tug her shirt from the waistband of her slacks, her cell phone beeped. It was like a siren in the night and they both froze.
Pepper was the first to respond as she pulled away from him and a series of emotions flickered across her face.
“Um, I should check this. It could be urgent.”
“More urgent than this?” Coop tried to get his breathing under control.
She opened her mouth and then shut it again. Obviously lost for words. She stood up, carefully stepping over the beer that had spilled out onto the ground.
“I’m sorry, I’m not sure what came over me, but I should go.”
Coop bit back his disappointment with a shrug. “Sure. But you know, Pepper, kissing me once might have been an accident, but twice…”
“Twice was a mistake. It won’t happen again,” she said in a regal voice.
“You’re the boss,” he said. She turned her back and hurried toward her car.
Okay, so that had happened.
If only I knew what the hell that was.
He took a deep breath before getting back to his feet as he watched Pepper scramble into Emmy’s old pickup and drive away. He spent the next ten minutes hooking the caravan back up to the car and was just finished when Stan wandered over.
“Coop, buddy. How are you? I heard the party went well. Have you seen the Johnstones? They pre-booked me but there’s no sign of them.”
“They went into the main house for a coffee,” Coop said as he recalled seeing the local barber and his wife sway in that direction before Pepper had joined him for a beer. “They were arguing about last year’s bowling tournament. Who knew it would still be controversial.”
“It’s because no
one saw it coming.” Stan gave an earnest nod, obviously recalling how four local hairdressers, all dressed as Dolly Parton took on the five-year champions and won. Without even cutting their long pink nails. “I’d better go and round them up and take them home. Oh, and if you see Pepper, thank her for the advice. It totally worked.”
“Advice?” Coop blinked, recalling his conversation with her yesterday. “I thought she wasn’t licensed to give legal advice in this state?”
“Oh yeah, she did say something about that.” Stan gave a dismissive shrug. “Thing is she had a point. Suing them would’ve been crazy. She told me to use boiled vinegar to get rid of the smell. And it worked. Can you believe it?”
Two days ago, he would’ve said no. But lately it seemed like Pepper was full of surprises. First, she kisses me like she’s on fire, then she tells me I’m lucky she didn’t throw a saltshaker at my head. And now she does a random good deed.
And when I wanted to take her home to bed, she stood up and walked away.
Coop tightened his fists.
Whatever was happening between them, one thing was clear. Pepper might be playing nice with him, but it didn’t mean anything had changed. She was just killing time until she could get on with her real life. If he was smart, he’d do the same. As much as he wanted Pepper, he needed to help his parents and stop Simon’s death from being a weight around their necks. Which meant less thinking about Pepper Watson and the way she drank beer and more thinking about his upcoming meeting with Morgan on Friday night.
Chapter Four
“Is that a new sweater?”
“What’s my sweater got to do with anything?” Pepper pushed aside the spreadsheet she’d been working on and tried to ignore her youngest sister’s probing gaze. Bec’s habit of seeing the one thing a person didn’t want her to see was more than a little annoying. Especially, since Pepper had no intention of anyone ever finding out that she and Coop had kissed two days ago.
And last night.
What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I control myself when he’s around?
“Well, let’s see.” Bec leaned back in her chair and rubbed her belly. Since she was four months pregnant and only had the slightest of bumps, Pepper could only guess it was for dramatic purposes. “You’ve been back for two and a half months—under very mysterious circumstances I might add—and so far you’ve refused to buy any new clothes. Last week I even caught you ironing one of Charlie’s old shirts, which I can only presume means you were going to wear it. Yet, since calling this truce with Coop, you’re suddenly sweater shopping. What gives?”
Pepper flinched. Yes, she’d been careful with her money because with no job, or money from the farm, she had to rely her savings to support her and pay the mortgage on her apartment in Seattle, which was crazy high, even with the sublet in place. People always teased her about being too controlling, but it was because she was all too familiar with not having any control.
To wake up one day and discover your parents were dead and your house and life were no longer your own. To be sent to live on a farm without anyone even asking what you wanted to do. It’s why she’d spent her teenage years working toward a better life.
And I’m close to getting it all back on track, which is why falling for Coop would be bad. With flashing lights.
“Nothing gives.” Pepper wished she hadn’t bothered to go into the small boutique next to the dressmakers after Emmy had finished with her fitting earlier in the day. She’d only done it to look at potential interview suits for when she finally managed to get her foot back into the corporate door. None of which explained why she found herself buying several soft sweaters. One of them was even pale pink.
“Can we get back to Leah Anderson’s wedding?” she said in an attempt to move away from such a dangerous topic. “I spoke to her yesterday and she wants us to arrange the Bachelor and Bachelorette parties, so we need to brainstorm ideas.”
“Too late, it’s all done. We’re doing a picnic under the stars, complete with a band and fireworks. If I do say so myself, it’s going to be amazing.” Bec grinned before looking out the window. “Oh, and speak of the devil, Coop’s here.”
Pepper gulped as he walked in with the easy confidence of someone who belonged. The late fall weather followed him like a halo as he took his jacket off and smiled at them all, allowing her to take in every detail of his smooth jaw and the line of his chest underneath the thick button-up shirt.
“What are you doing here? I thought we were meeting at Blossom Lane Farm to take down the decorations in an hour,” Pepper said, sounding harsher than she meant to. It’s just she needed those sixty extra minutes. To help calm her nerves. To remind herself all the reasons not to look at Coop as anything other than her sister’s friend and fellow godparent. Who just happens to make me act like a schoolgirl when I’m around him.
“I had time on my hands so I went and did it. They’re in the trailer.” He shrugged as he sat down in the chair next to Bec and then raised an appreciative eyebrow in Pepper’s direction. “By the way, nice sweater. What’s the occasion?”
“Seriously, the pair of you are juvenile. I bought a sweater, I didn’t join a cult. It’s not a big deal.” Pepper growled, hoping it would cover her erratic breathing and her clammy palms. It was also proof why she shouldn’t make spontaneous purchases.
“I beg to differ. It’s a very big deal,” Coop said, a lavish smile spreading across his face.
“Ben Cooper. Stop flirting with her. If anything’s going to kill the truce that will be it. You know Pepper doesn’t like that kind of thing,” Bec scolded.
If only.
“Please, I’ll have you know that my flirting abilities are legendary,” Coop retorted just as Emmy walked into the room, holding a watering can filled with flowers. “Tell her, Emmy.”
“No way. Don’t get me involved in anything,” their middle sister protested as she put the watering can down. “But while I’ve got you both, we need to talk about dance classes. In light of what happened at the Larson wedding last week—they didn’t think it was necessary to have lessons and it ended with everyone on the floor paddling to the Hawaii-Five-Oh theme—I’ve booked us in for several sessions. The first is on Friday night so lock down your diaries. You, too. Coop.”
“Friday?” Bec’s face fell. “You’ll have to change it. Coop has his big party that night, which means his twinkle toes will be otherwise engaged.”
“What party?” Emmy looked up with interest and Pepper stiffened. Coop was a born socialite. And while Sunshine wasn’t the biggest town in the world, he’d always managed to find his fair share of parties.
And women.
The fact he was going to a party where he’d no doubt be surrounded by hot girls didn’t improve her mood. He probably had a date that he was going to seduce.
“Some black-tie thing. Coop’s going to expand his business,” Bec announced, her blue eyes beaming with pride. “And his potential investor wants him to go along and meet other members of the board. It’s all very Wall Street.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s nothing like Wall Street,” he said in a light voice as he thrust his hands into his pockets.
“Well, it’s more Wall Street than my doctor’s appointment. And speaking of which, I need to get moving.” Bec bounced to her feet in her regular fashion and walked to the door. “Em, are you still coming with me into town?”
“I sure am.” Emmy gathered up her purse and the to-do list that never left her side. “I’m meeting Christopher to look at cakes.”
“Okay, let me know how the doctor’s appointment goes,” Pepper said and then watched as Coop gave Bec a hug and told her to send Lincoln around to see him sometime because he had a new ale that needed testing. She’d seen her sister and Coop hug a thousand times and up until recently had no opinion at all. But now her mouth went dry and she turned away. Ideally it would be best if she just disappeared until Coop left, but she needed to help him unpack everything from last night’s party
.
See, this is why I normally ignore him. So much safer.
“You okay?” Coop turned back to her as Emmy drove the pickup down the driveway and toward town.
“I’m fine.” Pepper reached for her coat and walked out to the trailer connected to the car. The sooner she unloaded it, the sooner she could put some distance between her and his disturbing presence. “We should get to work.”
“Sure. Or, we could talk about what happened last night.” He raised an eyebrow as a smile hovered around his mouth. He was clearly enjoying himself.
“We definitely shouldn’t,” Pepper assured him. “I don’t want to talk about it. Ever.”
“What? You’re saying you want to pretend it didn’t happen?” Coop said with interest as he lifted the first box out of the trailer.
“Absolutely.” She reached for her own box. It was heavy in her arms, which she found reassuring. Like it was grounding her. Stopping her from doing anything stupid. Like kissing him again.
“Okay, so when it happens again, it will be like the first time, since we’re not allowed to remember last night?” he teased and if Pepper wasn’t holding a box of glasses, she would’ve dropped them and walked away. She had to content herself with glaring at him. He laughed.
“You might find this highly amusing but I don’t.” She gritted her teeth. “What happened last night was a mistake. Can we please stop talking about it?”
“Relax, Pepper. If you’re worried I’m going to seduce you, then stop. I only seduce women who like me.”
Pepper paused as a flash of something crossed his face. Almost like he was hurt. But then it was gone.
“Good. I’m pleased we cleared that up.” she said while desperately searching for something else to say. Anything to get away from this conversation. “Tell me more about this party you’re going to. I didn’t realize you were looking to expand your business,” she said to cover her reaction to him.
“Oh,” he said, the amusement in his eyes fading. “I’ve been in talks with Morgan Breton.”
Morgan Breton?
Pepper’s spine straightened and the kissing was forgotten. Morgan Breton had a well-publicized friendship with one of the named partners of the biggest law firm in the country.