Erica Lucke Dean - To Katie with Love (25 page)

“I love you, Cooper,” I whispered against his neck.

“And I’m a very lucky man to have you love me.”

But he didn’t say he loved me back.

MARGARITAS AND SENORITAS

M
y cell vibrated, and I checked the caller ID.
Silvia
.

“Margaritas, señorita?” she asked with a Spanish accent.

I peered up at Cooper. “Is everyone still going?”

“Well, of course everyone is going,” she replied. “We’re not about to let a little hostage situation spoil our Friday night. If we’re lucky, we’ll get free drinks, since we were on TV. The world loves celebrities.”

“Well, all righty then. Mom’s still here. Is that going to be a problem?”

She laughed. “Nah, bring the old bitch. A few margaritas ought to do her good.”

“Oooo-kay,” I said, drawing out the word. “So we’ll see you at seven?”

“Make it eight. Phil wants to sing tonight, and they don’t start karaoke until eight thirty.”

“Gotcha. Eight. Sounds like a plan.”

At eight o’clock on the dot, I hugged Silvia a little tighter than I had intended.

She furrowed her brow. “Whoa there, sweetie. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” So much for swearing off lying.

She looked at Cooper and something entirely wordless passed between them.

His thumb rubbed circles in my shoulder. “Katie’s had a rough day.”

And if there was ever an understatement…
that
was it.

“Well, we’ll fix that right up,” Silvia promised, pouring a frozen green concoction into a salt rimmed glass for me.

I grimaced. “Oh, no. You know I don’t do margaritas.”

“Tonight you do,” she insisted.

Cooper slid into the large corner booth and tugged on my hand until I scooched in beside him. Silvia climbed in after me, sandwiching me between the two of them, thankfully, protecting me on both sides from my mother, who sat across from us.

I sucked a mouthful through the straw and swallowed, shivering from the cold.

“Be careful with those. They’re deceptively strong,” Cooper warned as he filled his glass.

Phil strode across the room a minute later. “James! I’m so glad you’re still alive.” He slid into the other side of the booth to sit next to Mom and immediately waved for the waitress. “I’ll have a pitcher of whatever you have on draft.” Phil then turned back to me. “No inappropriately sexy outfits tonight?” He laughed, checking out my fairly staid choice of clothes.

Silvia sighed. “We’re all lucky to be alive.”

“Some are luckier than others, I dare say.” Mom raised her eyebrows at Cooper.

“I guess you can never really be sure you know someone,” Silvia added, and although I knew she was referring to Dean, I glanced at Cooper.

Cooper bristled beside me at the mention of our ordeal, and I actually found some comfort in his
discomfort
. In some backward way, it made me feel like he still cared. I knew I shouldn’t need constant proof, but I was a little desperate, especially with my mother’s words still swirling around in my muddled brain.

June plopped into the booth. “Hi, everyone!”

“Hi!” we all chimed in unison.

“Katie, you look like shit,” Vicky said with a playful edge as she slid into the booth as well.

“She looks beautiful as usual,” Cooper corrected with a frown, tucking a stray hair behind my ear.

Vicky rolled her eyes at him and poured herself a margarita. We had reached capacity in the corner booth, but a man I didn’t quite recognize managed to squeeze in next to Vicky anyway.

“Has everyone met my husband?” Vicky said with what I could only interpret as a blush.

“No, I haven’t. I’m Cooper Maxwell. It’s nice to meet you.” Cooper stood as much as he could in the tight space and shook the man’s hand.

“Jim Dixon. Nice to meet you, Cooper.”

Vicky’s comment about me being his first-round draft pick flashed back to me, and my stomach twisted uncomfortably. I had only met her husband once. He looked younger dressed in jeans and a polo.

“Jim wouldn’t let Vicky out without an escort tonight,” Silvia said with a giggle. “He seems to think her flirting might be on the dangerous side these days.”

We all paused for an awkward moment, then the laughter spread through the table. Even my mother laughed, though she probably didn’t get the joke.

“Who’s singing tonight?” Phil asked, waving the song list above his head. The waitress had brought his beer, and he drank it straight from the pitcher like a giant mug.

“Katie will,” Cooper volunteered with a grin.

I didn’t mind. I liked that he wanted me to sing. I told Phil what song I wanted, and he wrote it on a slip of paper then jogged over to the DJ to put in our requests.

“Hey, Katie.” June leaned across the table so I could hear her over the noise. “Do you have the next book in the
Immoral Blood
series you let me borrow? I want to catch up before the movie comes out.”  

“You mean the ‘
Immortal’ Blood
series? Sure. I’ll bring the rest on Monday. I’ve already read them all. You can keep them if you want,” I said, and everyone at the table—even Cooper—looked at me with mild shock.

“Giving up books, Katie?” Silvia smirked. “I’ll believe
that
when I see it.”

I giggled. “Who has time to read?”

I barely caught the glance she gave Cooper, but when I turned to look at him, he was sucking in his cheeks to hide the smile on his face.

“But, no. I’m not giving up
reading.
I’m just not going to let reading keep me from living anymore. Besides, it’s time for a few
new
books, don’t you think?”

Silvia flashed a smug smile as she clinked her glass against mine. It was just like old times. Old times being a week ago. And I relaxed for the first time all day. Despite my aversion to margaritas, the drinks weren’t bad either. I was working on my second one when the DJ called my name.

I made my way to the stage with excitement instead of fear and belted out my favorite song with enthusiasm. Cooper stood up next to the booth, cheering wildly.

I’m having so much fun!
I, Katie James, boring banker and romance novel fanatic, was finally having fun. Hanging out with the gang, cuddling up with my boyfriend… no one—myself included—would have believed it if there hadn’t been witnesses.

My mom kept to her word and didn’t drink a single drop of alcohol. She was definitely
not
having fun, which made mine that much sweeter. It was time I did things without worrying about how it would affect her. I was officially smoothing out the crimp she’d put in my weekend.

After I’d belted out the lyrics to Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me,” I swooped off the stage and ran straight into Cooper’s waiting arms. He spun me around and kissed me before sliding us back into the booth.

Silvia smiled at me. “You’re getting good at this. It’s hard to believe you had to be dragged up there just a few weeks ago.”

“Are you talking about the singing or the kissing?” Vicky tossed in.

“Both,” they said at the same time, and everyone laughed.

Unfortunately, Cooper’s iPhone rang at that very moment, and after checking the caller ID, he looked at me and said, “I’m sorry. I need to take this.” We all scooted to let him out of the booth as he answered the call. “Vivian? Hang on. It’s really loud in here. I can’t hear you.”

I watched him walk through the bar to the back door, and he disappeared outside. My stomach plummeted as all the hummingbirds that fluttered around in there took a synchronized nose-dive.
Vivian
.

Of course, my mother chose that exact moment to rejoin the conversation. “Who is that woman? He’s been talking to her all day.”

“I’m fairly certain that’s none of your business,” I snapped.

She flashed that know-it-all smirk of hers. “I see. So you have no idea then.”

I exhaled sharply and turned away from her to watch Phil on stage singing about someone’s lyin’ eyes. I shivered, and not just because he wasn’t keeping up with the melody of the Eagles’ song he’d chosen.

My mother announced, “I’m very concerned about all these secrets he’s keeping from you, Katherine. It’s dangerous to be so deeply involved with someone you barely know.”

Silvia chimed in. “She may have only met him a year ago, but
I’ve
known him a lot longer than that.”

I spun around to face her. “How long have you—”

“Several years. Before you started with the bank, he was
my
client.”

“Oh.” There was nothing secretive or unusual about that fact. Obviously, someone had been his banker before I got there. I’d just never bothered to think about it.

“Well, I find his behavior very suspicious,” my mother muttered.

“I’m not surprised
you
would,” Silvia said.

Mom’s mouth fell open. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

Silvia gave a dismissive wave. “Nothing at all.”

Mom excused herself to go to the restroom, and Silvia took the opportunity to pounce on me before Cooper came back to the table.

“You listen to me, Katie James.” She wagged a finger mere inches from my nose. “You have been telling me
forever
about how your mother gets into your business and how much you can’t stand it. From what I understand, she’s interfered in almost every aspect of your life, which is why you moved so far away from her to begin with. So do not—I repeat, do
not
—allow her to get between you and Cooper. I can see the wheels turning in that pretty little head of yours as you toss around the seeds of doubt she’s planted, and I am not pleased by what I’m seeing.”

“He’s keeping secrets, Silvia. What am I supposed to think?”

“We
all
have secrets.” She stared into her drink, then back at me. “Just promise me you’ll let your heart steer you from here on out, not your mother’s mean-spirited implications.”

I was still mulling that over when Cooper came back inside a few minutes later. He stopped beside the bar and motioned for me with his index finger. I looked at Silvia for moral support. She gave me a steely look I took to be a warning, and I slid out of the booth.

“Hey.” I flicked the straw wrapper I was playing with toward an empty table.

He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Hey,” he said with just a hint of the smile I needed to see.

I pulled my eyebrows together and felt the little crease he’d warned me about. “What’s wrong?”

“I missed you.” He bent down to place a careful kiss on the little O formed by my surprised lips.

“You weren’t gone that long.”

He sighed. “It’s always too long if I’m away from you.”

His melancholy mood worried me. “Cooper, you’re scaring me a little. Is something wrong?”

He pulled one hand from his pocket and shoved it into his hair, making it stick up on one side. I would have laughed, but the look on his face was pained.

“I have to go out of town,” he said.

Relief spread through me. I could handle a day or two away from him. “Oh, good. I was afraid you were going to say something horrible.” As soon as I said it, I got a bad feeling in my stomach. “Oh, wait. It’s nothing with your family, is it? Is everyone okay?”

He shook his head, giving me a faint smile. “It’s nothing like that. Everything’s fine, really. It’s just work-related.”

“Oh, um… New York again?”

“California.” He grimaced. “I need to take care of a few contracts.”

“Oh. When do you have to leave?”

“I
should
leave tomorrow, but I told them it would have to wait until Sunday. So Sunday morning. That should give me enough time to prepare for my meeting Monday.”

“And when will you be back?”

He tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear, and my skin tingled where he touched me.

“I’m hoping I’ll be home by Tuesday night. It’s still a little up in the air.” He bent down and rested his forehead against mine so he could whisper, “I’d love to take you with me. But I can’t. Not this time.”

“That’s okay. I understand.” The hummingbirds in my stomach woke up when he said he’d love to take me with him. I didn’t care so much that I couldn’t go. It was good just knowing he wanted me to. “At least we still have Saturday.”

“Well…” He shifted his weight, pulling his face back from mine slightly. “Actually, I’m going to have to work on a few things. I’ll be home, but I won’t be much fun to be around.”

“I see.” I forced a smile. “Do we need to leave now?”

“I don’t see why we should. I’ll just have to get started bright and early tomorrow.”

My head bobbed a few times. It wouldn’t matter if we stayed or left—my night was ruined. I tried not to think of it that way. I didn’t want to be unfair, but I was disappointed.

“Well, let’s have all the fun we can tonight,” I said in my cheery voice.

Cooper pressed his lips to mine then took my hand and led me back to our table. “Back in you go.” He grabbed me around the waist and tugged me into the booth with him.

I laughed despite my new mood.

Silvia’s eyes darted between Cooper and me. “Everything okay?”

“Peachy,” I said. “Can I get another one of those margaritas?”