Temporarily Yours (A Shillings Agency Novel) (Entangled Brazen) (7 page)

Good for you for going after what you want
, Kayla thought.

“Right. Now off you go, Susan.” Her mom gently turned her in the opposite direction. “Cooper hasn’t met your father yet.”

“Oh.” Susan looked over her shoulder at Cooper and cringed. “Good luck with that.”

Cooper blinked at her. And he might have paled, too. “Uh, thanks?”

“He’s not
that
bad,” Kayla said to Susan. Then she looked at Cooper and tried her best to be reassuring. “He’s really not.”

“Yes, he is,” her mom said sympathetically. “That’s him, in the corner. Ignore any rudeness you might get—it’s all in the name of his love for Kayla.”

Kayla watched Cooper’s eyes follow her mom’s gesture, then he stiffened. He turned to Kayla with a scowl. She flinched, not sure why he looked ready to bite her head off. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all,” he muttered. He straightened to his full height and then smiled at her mom. “Why don’t you go along ahead of us, Mrs. Moriarity. I just want a second with Kayla before we follow.”

“Of course, dear. I’ll see you in a few.”

She practically skipped toward the corner where Kayla’s dad sat, frowning at Cooper even from across the room. Cooper waved at him politely, then turned to Kayla. “At what point were you going to mention your father is the man I’m going to be working for?”

Chapter Eleven

Cooper couldn’t believe it. The guy sitting in the corner was his new boss. What the hell were the chances of that happening? He bet Kayla knew. She always knew the answers to weird shit like that.

But she had failed to tell him about
this
.

Kayla blinked at him, then looked over at her father again. “I think you’re mistaken. My father isn’t in private security. He’s a cop.”

He dragged a hand through his hair. He hadn’t been expecting this. And he didn’t know if this fake relationship with Kayla would work
for
him or
against
him in this situation. “A cop that runs a private security firm?”

“No…he’s just a cop.” Kayla pursed her lips. “A homicide detective. I think you’re looking at the wrong guy.”

“Well, then, which one is your father?”

She pointed at the guy next to his new boss. “The one in the black suit and the green shirt.”

Of
course
her father was the guy who looked as if he wanted to pummel Cooper into the ground for touching his baby girl. And of course her father would be a cop who probably had an arsenal of excellent ideas of how to properly dispose of a body.

“Who were you looking at?” she asked.

“The one in the grey and purple.”

“Oh.” She nodded. “That’s Uncle Frankie. Well, we call him uncle, but he’s just a family friend.”

Cooper sighed. “He’s the guy who hired me.”

“Oh. Well, let’s go say hi.” She caught his hand and tugged him toward his employer and the man who looked as if he’d like nothing more than to kill him. “It’ll be nice having a friendly face when you meet my dad. Trust me.”

“What will your father say when—”

“I don’t know. There’s a sixty-three percent chance that this will backfire, but it’s too late to back down now. They’ve both seen you and they know who you are. There’s nothing to be done except to walk up and say hi.”

“Shit.” He dragged his hand down his face. He didn’t like this, but she was right. He couldn’t exactly tell them the truth, could he? “Fuck it. Let’s go.”

She nodded and they crossed the room to stand in front of Kayla’s unfriendly looking father. “Dad, meet my boyfriend, Cooper Shillings.” The smile on her face was forced, but hopefully only Cooper noticed that. “Cooper, this is my father, Greg Moriarity. And that’s his best friend, Frankie Holt.”

Cooper tensed but managed a smile. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Moriarity.” He shook hands with her father. The man practically broke his fingers, but Cooper didn’t flinch. “And nice seeing you again, Mr. Holt.”

Mr. Holt shook his hand, his brow furrowed. “Cooper. I didn’t know you were dating my niece.”

Cooper forced a laugh. “And I didn’t know my girlfriend was
your
niece.”

“I’d imagine not.” Mr. Holt didn’t let go of his hand. “How does she feel about you leaving?”

“
She
is right here,” Kayla said. “And I’m fine with it.”

“Yes, sir, she is.” Cooper extracted his fingers from the man’s hold. “We have a great support system.”

“Wait a second.” Kayla’s father watched him with narrowed eyes. “What’s the position and where is it?”

“It’s an overseas assignment.” Mr. Holt sat back down and smoothed his suit jacket. “Mr. Shillings here used to be a Marine, and he’s going back over with his team as a guard now. He leaves next week.”

Cooper shifted on his feet. This was the complication Cooper had been trying to warn Kayla about. What would her father say about a boyfriend that was leaving her behind to go fight overseas? “Yes, I am.”

Her dad narrowed his eyes on Cooper. “So, you get involved with my baby girl and then you leave?”

Cooper flinched. He didn’t do that and never would. “Actually, sir, I—”

“Stop it, Dad,” Kayla cut in with. “He’s just doing his job. He’s trying to protect the people fighting for his country. It’s honorable and I’m proud of him.” Kayla curled a hand around his biceps, surprising Cooper. “Don’t you dare give him a hard time about that. You of all people should support him.”

Mr. Holt cleared his throat. “We’ll take good care of him, Greg.” He looked at Kayla. “I promise that much.”

She nodded, but she looked a lot paler than she had before. “Thanks, Uncle Frankie.” Then she faced her dad again. “Just so you know? I’m behind his decision one hundred percent. No odd numbers or decimal points.”

Cooper glanced down at her, something warm taking over his heart. “Thanks, sweetheart. I support you, too.”

“I know.” She smiled up at him. “And you’re welcome.”

Her dad relaxed a little bit, his eyes still locked on Cooper and Kayla—watching the way the two of them were interacting. Something told Cooper her father saw way too much, but he nodded and gestured toward the empty seats at the table.

“Sit. Talk. Drink,” her father said.

Kayla squeezed his arm again and sat down gracefully. She might not be used to this charade, but she was fucking good at it. The way she kept smiling with those bright blue eyes of hers shining up at him made him want to wrap her in his arms and hold her close all night long. Hell, maybe even longer.

“Sir, I’m very excited to meet you, just for the record. Kayla told me a lot about you,” Cooper said, focusing on Kayla’s father. “I’m honored to be here.”

“Are you now?” He eyed Cooper, his voice clearly skeptical. “So, tell me more about yourself.”

Cooper gripped his own knee under the table. “I was in the Marines, and I’m from Maine, near Kayla. I just recently got home after getting out, and now I’m about to make my next career move…” He broke off, smiled, and gestured toward Mr. Holt. “But you already heard that part earlier.”

Mr. Holt laughed. “We’ve already completed the background check, Greg. He’s legit.”

“I see.” He tapped his fingers on the table. “Parents?”

“Still happily married and living in Maine.”

“What do they do—or are they leaving the country, too?”

Kayla rolled her eyes. “
Dad
.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind.” Cooper smiled at Kayla, trying to show her that he didn’t care about her father’s curiosity. Because he didn’t. He understood wanting to protect the people he cared about. It’s what he wanted to do, too, overseas. “My father owns a private security firm, among other things, and my mother is an artist.”

Mr. Holt perked up at that. “Your father owns a private security firm, but you’re working for me?”

“Yes.” Cooper shifted his weight and tugged on his collar, despite himself. “That’s right, sir. I feel it’s important for a man to make his own way. I don’t want to get a position because of my last name.”

Her father nodded and Cooper swore he saw something that wasn’t hatred in the other man’s stare. Maybe…respect? No. That couldn’t be it. Maybe he just had something in his eye. “All right.” He looked over Cooper’s shoulder. “I’ll see you two later, though. Max’s family just got here, and I have to go say hi. Frankie? You coming?”

Mr. Holt stood. “Of course. I’ll see you two later.”

Cooper inclined his head, then watched as they left. “Well. That was interesting, to say the least.”

“It went better than I thought it would.” Kayla leaned her head on him. “You did good, by the way.”

He kissed her temple. This snuggling thing didn’t feel too bad. “It’s the dimples. No one can resist the power.”

“Not even my father,” she said, laughter in her voice. She lifted her head and grinned at him. “Right?”

“Especially not your dad.” He stood up, then held his arm out for her. “Ready to have a drink?”

“How about ten?”

He pretended to consider this. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’d hate to have to restock the bar.”

“I’m not that bad.” She swatted his arm, then curled her fingers around his biceps. “Let’s do this.”

He led her toward the bar, strangely content to have her at his side.

Chapter Twelve

The next hour flew by in a haze of introductions and mind-numbing craziness from everyone. Everyone wanted to know how they met. Wanted to know what Cooper did for a living. How long he was staying. Everyone wanted to know…well, everything. Everyone wanted to meet Cooper, and Kayla
wanted
everyone to meet Cooper.

Sure, she’d been hesitant about this at first, but he was such a great guy that the whole being her “boyfriend” thing came naturally to him. Sometimes even
she
forgot it was all an act. She wasn’t sure what to make of that, exactly, but, hey, whatever.

It totally worked.

Even now, Cooper was surrounded by her female family members, and they all hung on every word he said. He had them all enamored, and he didn’t even have to try. She couldn’t believe it. His strong baritone voice cut through the space. “…and then the plane landed, and the rest is history.”

“Wait, so you flew with her? That’s how you two met?” her mom asked, her eyes wide. “How did
that
go?”

Susan leaned in. “And how did your not-even-there-yet relationship survive it?”

“Oh, I found her nervousness charming.” Cooper threw his arm around Kayla’s shoulders and smiled. “She needed a knight in shining armor, and I’ve always had a thing for a damsel in distress. We were the perfect fit.”

Cue eye roll
. “Yeah, we really were. Still are, somehow.”

“Because we work,” Cooper said, reaching out and cupping Kayla’s cheek. His warm gaze stared down into hers, stealing her thoughts right out of her head. “
So
very well.”

Even though she
knew
he was putting a show on for the women, she still had to catch her breath when he leaned in and kissed her sweetly. He looked at her as if she was the only thing that mattered to him. And it felt real—his lips on hers and the emotion behind them.

Man, he was good.

He had them all on puppet strings, and he was the puppeteer. If she wasn’t careful, she’d be on a string, too. She pulled back, her cheeks burning. Cooper stared down at her, something unspoken and deep in his eyes.

Something she couldn’t read. “Hey,” she whispered.

“Hey,” he said back, his gaze finally clearing. He noticed her family, then gave them a sheepish grin, “Oops. Forgot we had an audience.”

“Keep him,” her mom whispered. She turned her attention to everyone else. “All right. Enough bothering the lovebirds. It’s time for me to go on stage, and then it’ll be you, Kayla. Everyone, to your seats.”

One by one, they all dispersed to their assigned seats and Cooper led her to the table next to her father. Her heart was still racing from the kiss he’d given her earlier, and her legs were a little bit wobbly. This was freaking ridiculous. She wasn’t the type of girl to swoon over her man, and she wasn’t about to start with a
fake
relationship of all things.

Sinking into her chair, she gulped down her cool water, not stopping until the glass was empty. God knew she needed all the help she could get in cooling the heck off.

“You all right over there?” Cooper asked, a brow up.

“Yeah, sure.” She set down her glass, then pointed to his untouched drink. “You going to drink that?”

Cooper held his cup out to her. “It’s all yours, sweetheart. Thirsty much?”

“God, yes.” Snatching the glass out of his hand, she tipped it back and emptied it without a break. After she was finished, she swiped her hand across her wet lips. “Thank you.”

His eyes on her mouth, he reached out and wiped away a drop she must have missed with his thumb. “You’re very welcome.”

She shivered, his thumb leaving a trail of fire in its wake. So much for cooling off. “Uh, I need to read over my speech one more time.”

“Go ahead.”

She pulled back. “You’re touching me. I can’t.”

“You can’t read while I’m touching you?” he asked, his voice light.

“Nope.” She pulled the paper out of her purse with a trembling hand. “So hands off, mister.”

He held them up in surrender. “Yes, ma’am.”

She shot him one last look, then focused on the words she’d written instead of the man at her side. Somewhere in all the pretending and kisses, her body was forgetting that this was all for show. He didn’t really love her, and she didn’t love him, either. This was all fake.

Fake, fake, fake
.

She needed to focus on something that wasn’t pretend.

She lowered her head and checked him out from under her lashes. Thank God he’d packed a suit just in case he had a business meeting. He was so handsome in it…and the fabric grazed his whipcord lean body just right. What she was going to do with him once they got back to the hotel
definitely
wasn’t fake.

The microphone crackled and Cooper jumped. He glanced over his shoulder then turned back to her. Tugging on his collar, he shifted in his seat and asked, “When do you go on?”

“I’m first, so in a couple of minutes.” She peeked at him over the top of her paper. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Do you need a drink stronger than water before you get up there?” he asked, his voice tight. “A Xanax? Sex? Something to help you relax?”

A laugh bubbled out of her. “Uh, no thanks? I’m fine. I worked on this speech for months because I wanted it to be perfect. Susan deserves perfect.” She shifted closer and squeezed his knee. “
You
look like you’re about to panic, though. What’s up?”

He averted his eyes. “I just don’t like stages, is all.”

She studied him closely. He wasn’t kidding. He had sweat on his forehead and he looked ready to run for the door, and
he
wasn’t even going up there. “Sweetie, you’re not going up there. You’ll be okay.”

She had forgotten his fear of public speaking, or being on a stage. The fact that this big, strong man could be scared of something at all, let alone something so trivial, struck her as oddly cute. He seemed so invincible the rest of the time it made her want to hug him and kiss him now that he
wasn’t
.

If anything, it made him hotter.

He swiped his forearm over his sweaty forehead. “I know. It’s stupid, but I hate those things. And having the spotlight on you is just as bad. Everyone watches you.”

“It won’t come near you, don’t worry. You can stay here. It’ll give you a break from acting as if you love me. You’ve got to be sick of it already.”

“I’m not, though.” He met her eyes. “This isn’t all an act, you know. Well, the love part is, but that’s it. I
do
like you, and I like being with you. I’m having a lot of fun. If things were different and I wasn’t leaving…” He shrugged. “Well, it doesn’t matter. Because I am.”

Kayla swallowed hard, her heart stuttering and then speeding up. He had to stop saying things like that, or she would want to spend more time with him, too. And that just wasn’t possible. She didn’t want a real relationship any more than he did. He was leaving. And she wanted to live her own life free of meddling family members and husbands trying to tell her what to do.

But then again…

No. No buts.

This was not real.

She shook her head. “Cooper…”

“I know. But when—” He cut himself off and glanced at the stage. Kayla waited, wanting to see what he would finish that sentence off with. Instead he said, “I think they want you to go up now. They’re staring at us.”

“Oh. Right.” Kayla stood. It was probably better he didn’t finish that thought anyway. “Wish me luck.”

He tugged at his collar again. “Knock ‘em dead.”

Kayla made her way to the stage. Her mother stood next to the microphone, smiling at the crowd like some benevolent queen upon her subjects. The spotlight made her mother’s diamond necklace sparkle, blinding everyone who watched.

Kayla closed the distance between them, smoothing her purple skirt as she walked. Her mom gestured her closer. “First on the roster, we have the maid of honor who is none other than my other wonderful daughter, Kayla.”

Polite applause filled the room at the unnecessary introduction. Most of the people knew who she was, after all. Clearing her throat, Kayla stepped up to the microphone. “My little sister might be all grown up, and might be getting married in a few short days, but to me, she’s still the little girl who used to keep me awake every night. She used to make me watch her until she fell asleep, so the monsters wouldn’t come get her. She was sure if I stayed up and watched over her, nothing bad would happen.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve such a vote of confidence from her, but I dutifully stayed awake and did what she asked. Sometimes when she couldn’t fall asleep, we’d just talk. Usually it was a different topic, but at least once a week, before she drifted off to sleep, she would tell me about her wedding day. She would look like a princess, and everyone would cry as she walked down the aisle. Everyone would be watching her, unable to believe she could be so lucky as to catch the man of her dreams. And she was going to marry a man as wonderful as our daddy. ”

Kayla had wanted that, too, at the time. So badly. She broke off, swallowing past the lump in her throat.
Pull it together. Don’t buy into this emotional crap.

She looked at Cooper. He nodded at her, smiling, and she felt better. “I think Susan made the right choice in Max because I can tell he loves her very much. Heck, he’s been following her around since second grade. All you have to do is look at him when he thinks no one is watching, and you’ll see it. I’m also quite sure when we all see her walking down the aisle Saturday, there will be tears in our eyes.” She turned to her little sis, who was practically sparkling from happiness. Even the normally reserved Max was grinning ear-to-ear.

Family pressure and fake boyfriend drama aside, she was thrilled for both of them. It’s why she’d concocted this lie in the first place—so the focus wouldn’t be on when Kayla would find someone. Which, unfortunately, was exactly what had happened at Susan’s bridal shower a while back. Now, people would be content that Kayla was happy, and all eyes would be where they belonged.

On her sister.

“I’m so thrilled for you, Susan, and I wish you nothing but happiness in life—but I’m positive you don’t need any help from me anymore. I know you two will be together forever, and he’ll be the one standing guard over you from now on.”

She lifted the glass of champagne her mother handed her, smiling past her unshed tears. “To your happily ever after.”

Susan stood and called out, “And to yours.”

Kayla looked at Cooper…
again
. He still sat at their table, watching her with a light in his eyes that literally took her breath away. For a second, and only a second, she let herself imagine a future with him.

And it looked good.

But then she shoved the happily-ever-after forever thought away and focused on what she could have.

The sex.

Her happily-ever-after for tonight.

Her mother came over, wiping the tears off her face hurriedly. “Thank you, sweetie.” Her mother hugged her, sniffing loudly. She whispered, “That was perfect. I love you.”

“Thank you,” Kayla whispered back. “Love you, too.”

“If I can pull myself together now…” Her mom turned to the crowd and laughed. Everyone joined in. “Everyone, let’s show our appreciation for Kayla.”

The room full of people clapped, and Kayla saw Cooper stand and clap, too. He made a face at her, something silly and so
him
. She grinned and rolled her eyes back at him. Then he burst into laughter.

God, he was hot when he did that.

She made her way down the stairs, and he came across the room. In the background, her mom talked about Susan and Max, but Kayla didn’t hear a word. Cooper pulled her into his arms under the guise of a sweet hug for her family’s benefit, but once he lowered his mouth to her ear, he said, “You did great. I promise a huge reward when we get back to the hotel.”

Oh, God, yes please
.

As happy as she was for her sister, and as much as she loved her family…

She wanted tonight to be over so she could collect.