Laughter echoed through the garage, mixing with Cooper’s own chuckle. She knew her friend well. Mel was a pistol and would definitely use “Carter” and “getting a rise” in the same sentence.
He had to admit, sparring was never uneventful with the girls around. Each week, the women took turns holding their before work, baked-goods “coffee break” at their businesses, and whenever it was Rylee’s turn, the girls usually made their way back here to the garage at the back of the ESI building, then lingered a few minutes before leaving for work.
Without fail, something interesting always happened.
“So…Dex?” Rylee grinned at the man standing next to Mac by the workbench. “Have I ever distracted you enough to get you whacked while sparring?”
Cooper bit back a laugh. Hell, yeah. Like Carter with Mel, Dex couldn’t keep his eyes off Rylee’s…assets, which had resulted in numerous sparring bruises the past few weeks. He knew this because he’d dealt a few.
The first SEAL team Cooper had been assigned to had also been Gabe’s. That was when he’d met Rylee. Hell, he’d practically watched the woman grow up over the past decade, and even though she was beautiful, he’d never had any issue treating her like a kid sister.
Abby, on the other hand…
His gaze strayed to the gorgeous woman who was…staring at him? Warmth spread through Cooper’s chest as fast as the color rising in her face. She didn’t glance away like normal. This time she smiled first, and awareness accompanied the warmth surging through his body. Exactly the wrong reaction he should have toward his buddy’s sister.
Not good.
He ripped his attention from her and stuck it back where it belonged. On his military brothers, particularly the one being drilled by his girlfriend.
Dex nodded. “I’ve taken a whack or two.”
More like seven.
Her grin broadened. “Good to know.”
A smile tugged Dex’s lips, while Mac chuckled.
It was great to see the guys so relaxed and at-ease. There had been plenty of times in their active duty past when that hadn’t been the case. He was happy for them. It proved that a relationship—with the correct woman—made a difference.
Too bad he’d never be taking that plunge again.
“Let’s get back to it, Coop,” Carter said, moving in front of him, fists raised. “Unless you’re not done taking a break.”
He snorted. “I cause breaks, I don’t take them. Just ask your ribs.”
Laughter once again echoed through the garage as they got back to sparring. They circled each other, assessing, testing, looking for a way in to maneuver the first strike.
His opponent might be the resident gadget man and IT guy—albeit nerd—but he was far from wimpy. He was Delta strong, and even though he wasn’t a SEAL, Carter had earned Cooper’s respect in the field, as did Dex and Mac. They’d held their own, right alongside him and his SEAL brothers. They’d fought, bled, earned medals, survived missions together, and he considered them his brothers for life. So, accepting Mac’s job offer had been a no-brainer. And it had come at the perfect time.
For several minutes, they danced around each other, both advancing and blocking, neither getting in a clean shot. He managed to grip Carter and wrestled him down to the mat but the slick bugger broke free and rolled away.
“What else you got?” the grinning man taunted, swinging at him once they were back on their feet.
Cooper showed him by sneaking in between the swings to grab him and take him down a second time, then had to twist away as the guy tried to reverse the move.
Spry son-of-a-bitch.
He’d expect that from the guy’s sister. Abby was slender and appeared to be limber.
Damn…not the best thought to have floating in his head as they squared off again. But now that she was there, he couldn’t shake her.
The beauty had owned a salon in the building next door, and he hazarded a guess that a lot of her clients came in hoping to leave looking as good as the owner. It was a waste of their time. Her beauty didn’t come from a bottle or box. It was in her DNA.
Taller than most girls, she was slim, with curves in all the right places. His pulse kicked up a notch as awareness breached his control and spread through his body. It wasn’t just her beauty he found attractive, though, it was the fact the woman didn’t possess a vain bone in her gorgeous body.
Of all her attributes—and she had many—it was her gentle disposition that got to Cooper the most. She didn’t know the definition of mean. Abby was sweet. Unspoiled. A kind-hearted, pure, natural beauty.
Way too good for the likes of him.
Shit.
He should’ve ducked.
That would’ve been the smart move, but since he’d already established he wasn’t smart, he paid the price by catching Carter’s fist with his face. Pain shot through Cooper’s jaw, as the percussion rattled his teeth and skull, and sent him stumbling backward.
Maybe it would knock some damn sense into him.
“Jesus, Coop, I can’t believe you just stood there and took one on the kisser,” Carter said, half smirk, half concern creasing his face.
“Took one on the kisser,” Lex repeated.
Normally Cooper would laugh, but at the moment it would only add to his pain.
“Give us a kiss,” Marilyn added.
Rylee and Mel chuckled, walking over to the cage to stow Lex and Marilyn, but concern darkened Abby’s eyes, while her fingers covered her open mouth.
“Where the hell were you just then, Coop?” Dex asked, stepping close, disbelief raising his brow.
Somewhere he shouldn’t have been.
No one to blame but himself.
“Going over my checklist,” he replied, lying through his sore teeth.
He flexed his jaw and bit back a curse. Damn…what did Carter have under his taped hand? Brass knuckles?
“Hope that doesn’t leave a mark,” Mac said, leaning against the workbench. “I had you slated for Mr. Nakamori’s lobby guard duty tomorrow. You know I can’t place you there if you bruise.”
Shit.
Cooper blew out a breath. “Understood.”
No one wanted to pay for a guard with evidence of his inability to defend himself right on his damn face.
“Here.” Abby approached with an ice pack she’d procured from the nearby freezer. The closer she got…the harder his pulse pounded. “Maybe this will help,” she said, gently placing the pack on his jaw.
He needed that farther south. Much farther. Stat.
The woman’s nearness and unexpected touch acted like steroids to his favorite body part. He was plumping up, and ready for action.
Christ…he was pathetic.
It never used to be this way. Sure, he’d admired her beauty, and yes, she had always stirred something inside him, but he’d never had an issue keeping it under control.
What the hell was his problem?
Had to be something in the Harland County water, because until he’d moved here, Cooper had never experienced these strong reactions to Abby. A little bit of heat, sure…but since arriving in Texas, he’d grown increasingly aware of the woman, to the point of distraction…as the sock to his jaw just confirmed.
Here in Texas, whenever she entered a room, his damn body sprang to life. No amount of SEAL training worked to defuse the situation, either. He’d tried it all and…
“We’ll wait till oh six hundred before determining if you stay here and clean the garage or accompany us to Houston.” Mac pushed off the bench, a slight twitch to his lips. “Morning meeting in fifteen. That should give you and Carter enough time to shower off, so you don’t stink up the conference room.”
“Roger that,” he replied, relieved to have a reason to remove himself from Abby’s soft touch.
Carter nodded to Mac, but instead of heading to the showers, he walked toward Mel. “Care to join me?”
Mel snorted, setting her hand on Carter’s chest. “Sorry, but I’m going to pass. You know I�
�m up for almost anything, but a shower with two guys isn’t one of them. No matter how hunky Cooper is.”
The air in front of Cooper cooled as Abby sucked in a breath. He met her gaze and watched as more color rushed into her face.
God, she was adorable.
And she smelled amazing, like sunshine and fresh flowers. He’d never been this close to her before and couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from her mesmerizing baby blues. They were navy on the outside and lighter toward the center.
She blinked and fumbled with the ice pack before thrusting it to his chest. Damn thing was cold. “Okay, so…I should let you take care of your jaw yourself and get to my shop.” She stepped back and turned to Mel. “You coming?”
The redhead glanced wickedly at Carter. “Apparently not, so I might as well do the same as you and go to work.”
Since Abby had her back to him, and he couldn’t see her reaction other than a shake of her head, he’d bet his house—if he owned one—that she eye-rolled her friend on their way out the back door.
“Eleven minutes left,” Mac reminded.
Shit.
Cooper headed for the locker room/shower area, ice pack pressed to his jaw and a new rule in his head.
Don’t ever get that close to Abby again.
Chapter Two
Once Abby Sharp stepped outside the ESI garage, she found her chest wasn’t nearly as tight as it had been inside the building. Her legs no longer wobbled, either. It was all Cooper James Thompson’s fault. She’d never been that close to the hot guy before. His six foot two inch frame dwarfed her above-average height by a good six inches, making her feel something she didn’t often feel…small. It was refreshing. Cooper was even leaner and broader than she’d realized, which was kind of dumb on her part, since he was a former Navy SEAL. Even his muscles had muscles.
A fluttering in her stomach brought the Jell-O effect back to her knees.
Correction.
The Cooper effect.
The darn man was so male, so alpha, her whole body was aware of his presence whenever he stepped into a room. A tingling would start at the base of her neck then work its way down her body, teasing all her good parts to life, sending heat to her face and a shakiness to her legs.
It was as unnerving as it was hot, and he was the only man to ever have that influence on her, which she’d rightfully dubbed the Cooper effect.
Forcing her legs to move, Abby crossed the alley with her friend, Mel, and together they walked behind the four-storefront strip mall located next to ESI.
Mel Richardson was a petite woman who packed a punch. A straight shooter who told it like it was, whether you wanted to hear it or not. She had beautiful, thick, red hair that Abby had the pleasure of styling into a pixie cut last year. It took the woman from gorgeous to breathtaking, which was exactly what the woman had done to Abby’s brother—stole his breath. Carter adored Mel, and her friend adored him right back. The couple were now engaged and living together in one of the two apartments above ESI.
Cooper used to occupy the other, but had recently moved into the nearby cottage Rylee had vacated in order to move in with Dex.
She halted her train of thought, determined not to allow it to travel down the track that led to Cooper and his cottage, which she could see from her apartment above the Pub across from the street he lived on. He was too distracting and out of her league, and she refused to dwell on the “if onlys” or pity herself for being alone while her friends were all happily involved in committed relationships.
Once in a while she did, though, then reminded herself she didn’t need a man to be happy. And she didn’t because she was happy—ecstatic, even—over owning her own business, doing a job she loved.
But sometimes, when she ate dinner in her apartment by herself because her friends were with their guys and her brother was with his fiancée, Abby felt alone—very alone—and that loneliness magnified when she crawled into her big, vacant bed at night.
Her thoughts usually turned to fantasies then, involving a former Navy SEAL with light eyes and brown, wavy hair she longed to run her fingers through…
Sighing inwardly, she gave herself a mental shake. So much for derailing the Cooper train.
With disgust souring her mouth, she forced her attention on the building next to her. Abby and her friends each owned a shop in the strip mall that had private entrances in the back. The first door led to the graphic arts studio owned by their friend Stefanie, who’d missed their morning coffee break to meet with a client. The second led to Mel’s tattoo parlor. The third door belonged to the latest Harland County transplant, Loni—their chocolate supplier and goddess of all things baked. Her cupcakes were to die for. And the last door was the private entrance to Abby’s beauty salon, Sharp Cuts.
Having originally gone to college for a degree in education because both her parents were teachers, she’d realized it wasn’t for her. Abby’s dream—the thing that drove her—was a desire to help people feel good about themselves. A lot of it stemmed from the bullying she’d received growing up.
Shabby Abby.
Abigail the skinny rail.
In high school she’d learned the hard way that it wasn’t just the overweight who were targeted. In fact, they were her tormentors. She reasoned the girls were lashing out because of the bullying they received, but it had never come from Abby. It just wasn’t in her to say something mean about someone. She was brought up in a kind, loving household, where you complimented, praised, encouraged. When Abby became a target, she honestly had no idea how to handle it, so she kept it to herself, not even telling her best friend Mindy, or the others in her circle of true friends who unfortunately were never around when it had happened.
The thought of having a career in a school made her sort of nauseous and had ultimately led to her switching to business and earning an associate degree before enrolling in beauty school for fifteen months.
No one had the right to make someone feel bad. Putting a person down so they could feel better was awful, and she was determined to devote her life to making people feel good about themselves.
It brought her great joy to show a person his or her potential, whether through a cut, change of hair color, or just a pep talk while that person sat in her chair. Before long, it had garnered her a following at the salons in California where she worked, giving her the experience, knowledge, and means to save up to open her own shop. But it was the death of her best friend a few years later that had pushed her to finally take that plunge.
Mindy had been a survivor of childhood leukemia. Unfortunately, though, when it had returned two years ago, her friend hadn’t survived it a second time. Abby had spent all her free time with her best friend, making sure to cross off as much as possible from Mindy’s bucket list, and even making one of her own at her friend’s insistence. Rylee was the only other person to know of its existence.
Moving out of state and opening her own salon were two of the three things she’d written on her list and had promised Mindy she’d make happen. The third would take a miracle and, no doubt, always remain just an item written on paper.
The first two were doable, though, but put on hold. No way would she have even thought of moving away while her friend fought her illness. But a month after Mindy had passed, Abby’s brother left the military and told her he was moving to Texas to work with his buddies, Mac and Dex. The guys were like brothers to her, and if felt as if her friend was paving the way for her from beyond the grave. Abby jumped at the chance to leave California behind and finally put her dream in motion and make good on that promise.
Pain tightened her chest as it always did whenever she thought about the friend she’d known since the fourth grade. She still couldn’t believe Mindy was gone. A week from now would mark the one year anniversary of her passing, but it felt like it was yesterday. It wasn’t fair. She was way too young.
“Well, that sparring match was certainly interesting,” Mel said, pulling Abby’s mind back to the pr
esent.
She blinked her sadness away and nodded. “Yeah.”
Interesting was one word for it. Hot and disturbing were others.
She’d always harbored a secret thing for Cooper, but the intensity of her reaction to the guy seemed to increase daily. She wished she knew why. She also wished she’d known he was going to be a part of ESI before moving here.
Would she have stayed in California if she had known?
Nah. Her dream and desire to leave the state were more important than her discomfort. She swallowed a snort. Cooper Thompson made her feel many things, but discomfort was definitely not one of them.
By the time they reached the dumpster that sat between the first and second doors, Abby’s calm and sense of balance had returned.
“Good thing Mac put an end to it, though.” Mel snickered. “Because I wouldn’t have been able to pull myself away, otherwise.”
She laughed. “Me too, and I have a pretty full schedule today.” Although, her first appointment wasn’t for another thirty minutes.
“I hear ya.” Mel glanced sideways at her. “How’s the new girl working out?”
Last summer, Abby’s bank account had finally been flush enough to hire a stylist who would also manage the shop. Oliver was a godsend. She knew her shortcomings and dealing with personnel was one of them. Hiring was easy, but firing? Whole nother story. Admittedly, she was too softhearted to deal with that type of issue and had always planned to employ a manager to handle that side of the business.
Since then they’d hired two other stylists, the latest started last month.
“Sophia’s great,” she replied. “She arrives on time. Can wax, do manicures and pedicures, and doesn’t mind cleaning and polishing, or washing the towels when there’s no one in the chair.”
Surprisingly, it was hard to find stylists who understood there were boring, menial tasks to the job, too.
The creaking of a door sounded behind them.
“Mel! Abby!” Stef called out.
They stopped and turned around to find their friend standing by her open door. Stefanie Davis was a strong, smart, beautiful force of nature with brown hair Abby had cut in layers that now bounced when her friend walked. Stef’s aqua-colored eyes were traffic-stopping, and the woman sported an hourglass figure Abby envied.
Cooper (HC Heroes Series Book 5) Page 2