Erica Lucke Dean - To Katie with Love (23 page)

Izzy returned and set three frothing mugs down in front of us.

“Irish coffee?” I asked.

“Yes. Now, drink up,” he said as he brought his mug to his lips.

Mom and I both followed suit, sipping the hot coffee carefully.

“How unusual,” Mom said, licking cream from her lips. “I’ve never had one of these before. It has an odd flavor.”

There was something familiar about the taste, but admittedly, I wasn’t a coffee connoisseur. By the time I’d finished mine, I felt much more relaxed. My mother had excused herself to “powder her nose,” and it was nice to be alone with Cooper, if only for a few minutes.

“You’ve had a rough day,” Cooper said. “Don’t feel like we have to stay if you’re tired.”

“Mmm-hmm.” I leaned into him. “It’s just easier to keep her entertained.”

“Do you like the music?”

I smiled. “I do.”

“Would you like to dance?” He stood up and held out his hand.

“Oh, I don’t know.”

“Please?” He brought his face close to mine and whispered his plea straight to my heart. I couldn’t say no.

I let him lead me to the makeshift dance floor. When I turned, I saw my mother watching from our table in the back. In a way, she looked happy. Maybe I was wrong about her. Maybe she was glad I’d finally found someone.

His arms wound around my back, and I put mine around his neck. We fit against each other like puzzle pieces as we swayed to the music. I’d stepped into a fairytale and wished I could stay like that forever. There was no space for worry when he held me in his arms. He let his forehead rest against mine, and I closed my eyes as his breath washed over me. Peppermint and whiskey.

Whiskey?
I didn’t remember him drinking any whiskey. In a strange way, it smelled kind of nice. In fact, I liked it enough to kiss him right there on the dance floor. It was a gentle, quiet kiss, just my lips moving carefully with his. But it let loose the butterflies and made my knees go weak. After an exquisite, but far too brief few minutes, he put his hands on either side of my face and pulled away. He gazed deep into my eyes until we both smiled.

“Time to go back to the table?” I murmured.

He nodded. I knew it was taking all of his concentration to control his body’s responses.

“That was a bit intimate for a public place,” my mother said, licking a bit of cream from her lips.

I shrugged. “Sorry.” I felt the heat flooding into my face, but there was little I could do about it. “Can I get another coffee?” I asked Cooper.

“Sure.” He waved Izzy over to take the order.

She was back in a flash with three more Irish coffees, and after ten minutes, those mugs were empty too.

I was feeling a little giddy, and unfortunately, I recognized the symptoms a little too late. When Mom started giggling like a schoolgirl, I knew it wasn’t just me.

“Um… Cooper?” I whispered, trying not to let my mother hear.

“Hmm?”

“What’s in an Irish coffee?”

“Well, coffee, of course. And heavy cream. And whiskey.”

“Whiskey? A little or a lot?”

“Maybe a little. Unless you order it on the strong side.”

I nodded.
Right—unless you order it on the strong side
. That was wonderful. I had drunk two already, and I was feeling the effects. If my mother’s mood was any indication, so was she. One more and she would be out for the night.

“Can we get three more?” Mom shouted to the petite waitress.

Cooper raised his eyebrows and looked at me.

I felt my lips curl up in a grin. “Whatever you do,
don’t
tell my mother.”

BREAKFAST

I
cracked open one eye and immediately closed it again. The room was too bright. And my head was not happy at all. In fact, it was pretty much screaming obscenities at me. Despite the pounding behind my eyes, I smiled. It was worth it.

I was sure my mother wouldn’t feel the same way. Her headache wouldn’t have the same lovely edge to it mine did.

I peeked over at Cooper. He breathed slowly and deeply, with his face buried in a pillow. I wasn’t surprised he was still sleeping. Last night had worn him out. And not just from carrying Mom up the stairs.

After tucking her into bed, we spent several hours testing the theory she was really, truly passed out. The woman was no better at holding her liquor than I was, but I was getting better. I passed out too, not from all the drinking, but out of sheer exhaustion and ecstasy.

I tried my eyes again, opening them to slits to let them adjust to the white light coming in through the windows. I had no idea what time it was. The clock was missing, and the bedding was scattered across the nightstands, except the one pillow holding Cooper’s head.

I’d used Cooper as a pillow. The blankets were half off the bed, and one of the lamps was tipped over, hanging over the edge of the table. Basically, the room was wrecked.

I eased from the bed, careful not to disturb him, and tiptoed into the bathroom. I welcomed the warmth from the heated floor as I padded across the marble to the shower. The water became hot almost immediately, and I stepped into the spray, letting the water flow over my tender skin.

I felt at home in his house. So much so it was almost worrisome. The ghost of our conversation the night before came back to me, and I desperately tried to push it away. I didn’t want to think about the possibility I was nothing more than a temporary distraction for him. If my mother hadn’t visited, I would never have mentioned the idea of marriage. Then he wouldn’t have reacted the way he did, and I’d have no reason to be concerned. But that wasn’t how it happened. It was a snowball effect.

My mother
was
here. And I
did
mention marriage. And he most
definitely
had an uncomfortable reaction to the word. Forget worrying about assassins, mysterious deposits, and men with guns… I was suddenly worried about commitment.

I felt guilty about my icy thoughts, so I let the hot water melt them away and instead concentrated on last night. The sex had been more intense than usual—almost possessive. The way he touched me… kissed me. How could I possibly doubt he loved me?

A cool blast of air hit me as Cooper stepped into the shower. Immediately, his arms wrapped around me, pulling me against him. He kissed me carefully, as if he were reading my thoughts. “You always sneak off without me,” he said with an uneasy smile.

“You always look so peaceful when you sleep.”

He grabbed the shampoo from the corner and squeezed some into his hands. He worked the lather into his hair before taking my hands and bringing them up to take over. His face brightened as he began to wash my hair for me. He started to hum a familiar song, the one I’d sung on my birthday.

“My mother’s still here,” I reminded him.

He grimaced. “So she is.”

“She’ll be hungry, and she doesn’t cook,” I warned. He never said anything, but I was sure he was tired of having her as a houseguest.

“I would never be a bad enough host to let someone go hungry,” he said, sliding his shampoo-covered hands down my body. “I think it’s extremely important to satisfy one’s hunger at all times, don’t you?”

His hands had found their way to my weak spot, and all I could do was nod.

“I’m glad you agree. Where was I?”

“You were taking me to the bed to finish what you started.”

He growled a response and rinsed his hair. Then he rinsed mine before carrying me, soaking wet, from the shower to the bed.

He tossed me down and pinned me under his hard frame. “I was so afraid I would lose you yesterday.” He pressed his lips against mine in a desperate, hungry kiss, then pulled back to stare into my eyes. “I would have killed him with my bare hands if he’d hurt you,” he said through gritted teeth.

My breath caught in my throat.

“I don’t know if I can ever let you out of my sight again.” His lips curved up in a smile. “Especially when you’re all wet and slippery like this.”

A second shower later, we were finally getting dressed.

I slicked my hair behind my ears with a glop of gel and pulled on my last clean outfit— form-fitting jeans and a clingy black sweater. “I’ve run out of clothes,” I announced. “I need to do laundry… or go shopping.” I started to apply my makeup.

“Hmm, no clothes, huh?” he said from the doorway where he watched me, and the lopsided grin I loved spread across his face.

“Yes, well, they do expect me to wear clothes at work. Preferably clean ones.”

“Right, work.” He sounded like a spoiled five-year-old as he came up behind me and tugged at the hem of my shirt. “I’m glad they gave you today off.”

“Me too.”

We’d definitely earned it. It wasn’t every day we got held hostage.

I tried to keep my hand steady as I put on my mascara, but it was difficult when he started to kiss the back of my neck. “So do you want to go shopping again?” I asked.

“Can we leave your mother behind?”

“Probably not. She would snoop through everything you own,” I teased. Or I hoped he thought I was teasing. I was actually telling the truth. I would have been afraid she had been snooping in the night, but I was fairly sure she had been in no condition to be up. Plus, the alarm would have been triggered. I almost laughed at the thought.

He stopped kissing my neck and snapped his head up. “Why would she snoop?”

“You don’t have much experience with women, do you?” I asked, turning around to face him.

His eyes went wide. “You wouldn’t snoop, would you?”

I did my best not to lie. “Now, why would I need to snoop? You don’t hide anything from me, do you?” I tried to turn back, but he caught my chin, lifting my face to his and looked at me with an unreadable expression.

“I’d love to take you and your mother shopping,” he finally said, then gave me a quick kiss and left the room.

I stood there for a minute until I heard a knock on the bedroom door.

“Katherine Grace James.” My mother bristled when I opened the door. “What was in that coffee last night?” Her voice was scratchy, and although she had applied her usual layer of makeup, she had dark circles beneath her eyes.

“What do you mean, Mom? Was there something wrong with your coffee?”

She scoffed at me. “Don’t play dumb with me, young lady. I was your age once, and trust me, I wrote the book on playing dumb. There was something other than coffee in my coffee last night, and you very well know it.”

I struggled to keep my expression completely neutral. “That must be why I have a headache this morning.” I tried to keep my voice flat, but it was really difficult. I wanted to laugh so badly. “Besides, you’re the one who kept ordering more.”

She glowered at me for a long minute. “It’s past ten o’clock. What are we doing for breakfast?”

The coffee conversation was closed. I knew it would be reopened at a later time. I would have to warn Cooper. “Breakfast should be done in a bit. I’m going to check on it right now. Should I come get you when it’s ready?”

“That’s fine.” She went back to her room and closed the door.

I broke out in a wide smile and would have skipped down the stairs if I wasn’t sure I’d fall. Instead, I held the rail and hurried down them, then skipped into the kitchen, where Cooper was stirring something in a large red ceramic bowl.

“You look happy. Is your mother enjoying herself?”

“Nope. She’s madder than a hornet and extremely hung over. She’s accused us of slipping something into her coffee last night.”

He looked confused. “And that makes you happy?”

“You have no idea.” I leaned over the bowl and peered inside.

“Then I wish I had,” he muttered.

“What?”

“Never mind… just thinking out loud.” He gestured with his spatula. “I’m making crepes.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Why would I be kidding?”

“You have
seriously
been holding out on me.”

He just smiled and went back to stirring. I spied a bowl of juicy cut fruit and picked out a strawberry.

“Put that down,” he snapped. “That’s for the crepes.”

I dropped the berry. “Sorry.” I leaned against the granite counter to watch. “Where did you learn to make crepes?” I asked as he poured the batter onto a hot skillet.

“Le Cordon Bleu, of course.”

My mouth fell open, and he reached over and lifted my chin to close it.

“I’m kidding.” He smirked. “My mother used to make them for Sunday brunch. Well, she probably still does, but I’m not there for it.”

I caught a flash of sadness in his eyes. It was evident how much he missed his family. I had no idea how anyone who valued family so much could be opposed to marriage.

“Why don’t you invite your family for a visit?” I used my cheery voice and spread a wide smile across my face. “I’d love to meet them.” But as soon as I said it, I regretted it. Meeting his family meant we were getting serious. And although I thought we had already gone past that point, I was afraid I was crossing that scary line again.
The line that leads directly to the altar.

He either chose to overlook the deeper meaning, or he didn’t catch it. He ignored my comment and slid the first crepe onto a white porcelain plate. “Ah hah! C’est magnifique!”

A few minutes later, I went up to the guest room to get Mom for breakfast. When we came down, the table was set with the expensive china and sterling flatware. I expected her to comment on the finery, but she seemed too distracted to notice. She picked at her food, saying more than once how good the crepes were, but as far as I could tell, she hadn’t taken a bite of anything other than the fruit.

There was definitely something different about her. She wasn’t fawning over Cooper the way she had the day before. I felt a pang of guilt, realizing she seemed uncomfortable around him. I supposed I should’ve expected as much after the Irish coffee incident, but it somehow surprised me just the same.

Cooper made a fresh pot of coffee, and I poured her a cup. She picked it up and brought it all the way to her lips but froze before taking a sip. She stared at the cup then placed it back on the table untouched.

“It’s exactly the way you like it, Mom.”

She frowned at me and stole glances at Cooper.

“It’s quite fresh. The beans were just ground this morning,” Cooper added.

She raised her eyebrows and eyed the cup suspiciously.

“Mom, there’s nothing wrong with your coffee. Please try it.”

“Hmph.” She went back to picking at her food, glaring at the cup every few minutes as if it was going to get up and do something. Eventually, she dipped her pinky finger into the hot coffee and then put it in her mouth.

I pressed my lips into a hard line, trying not to laugh, and glanced at Cooper. He watched Mom with a perplexed expression as if he wanted to say something, but didn’t know what.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it out, frowning at the display. “I’m sorry. I need to take this.” His features darkened further. “Will you please excuse me?” He got up from the table and made a hasty exit.

“Does he often take secretive calls?” Mom whispered, staring after Cooper.

“Don’t be so nosy,” I replied.

“That’s my job, Katherine. If you aren’t going to look out for yourself, who will?”

“Mom, please?” I tried to dismiss her words as nonsense, but I knew she wouldn’t drop it.

“How serious are you about him?”

I wanted to be angry, but I was confused. “I thought you liked him.”

“I do… or rather
did
. He’s extremely handsome, but…”

My stomach twisted almost painfully. “But?”

“He seems to have a lot of secrets. It’s not natural for a man to refuse to talk about his livelihood. I don’t like that at all.”

I didn’t like his secrets either. But I wasn’t going to tell her about my insecurities. I picked up Cooper’s plate and took it to the sink. “I thought we might go shopping this afternoon. I know you love to shop, and I could use a few new things.” I smiled at her, hoping she would lighten up a little.

“That sounds nice.” She smiled back, but I could see she was still distracted.

“Do you need a few minutes to get ready?” I asked, watching her expression go from distracted to unnerved. “Is something wrong? Did you tell Daddy you were in a hostage situation?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You father would’ve had a heart attack.” She leaned forward. “Is Cooper still around the corner?”

I could feel the little furrow forming between my brows. “No, I think he went upstairs. Why?”

“Oh, thank God,” my mother said, dropping her fork onto her plate with a loud clank. “I thought I’d never get you alone.”

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

“There’s something very wrong going on in this house.”

My heart dropped into my stomach. “What do you mean?”

“Well, the minute I woke up this morning and discovered my drinks had been spiked last night, I realized I couldn’t trust Cooper.” She held up her hand when I started to protest. “Hear me out, please. No honorable man would ever slip something into a lady’s drink like that. As I said, I felt I could no longer trust him, and if I couldn’t trust him, it goes without saying
you
shouldn’t trust him.”