The KISS Principle (Erotic Romance) (4 page)

He laughed quietly and went back to cooking,
eventually bringing four more crepes to the center island. Pulling out a second
barstool, he sat next to her and they ate from the same plate.

“What are you doing the rest of the weekend?” he
asked.

Allie finished her bite of food, feeling even more
confused than earlier. Now that they had allowed their friendship to migrate
into sex, she had no sense of what he wanted from her beyond one night, if
anything. The notion of prodding for his thoughts on the matter seemed
ridiculous and annoyingly clingy. “Working mostly. Why?” She wondered what he
would ask, whether he’d ask her out for a real first date.

“I need to buy some furniture for my place. I’ve been
putting it off forever. Your apartment is so pulled together. I could use your
guidance and taste.”

Furniture shopping. That’s not a date. It’s
something you do with your mom.
“Um, sure, of course. I have a
few places I like to go to. Tomorrow afternoon?”

Chapter Four

Allie put the finishing touches on her hair with the
curling iron. Loose, chestnut-brown ringlets cascaded around her face and over
her shoulders. A mindless activity was exactly what she needed, her brain had
been in overdrive since the awkward exchange with Cooper that morning before he’d
left to play pickup basketball at the YMCA. He’d said, “See ya. Thanks for
everything,” when he left in the previous night’s clothes. To make it worse, it
came with a kiss on the top of her head. She didn’t know what to make of that.

A cloud of hairspray formed as she misted her hair
before carefully raking through the curls to loosen them. She turned in the
mirror. She had to admit, forty looked better than she’d ever imagined.

Her mother had been falling apart at that age, even
though she’d been stunning when she was younger. Raising twin daughters had
taken its toll. Their dad had always been a neurotic handful, the suspicious
type, convinced their mother was lying about something—money or other men
most often. In a move that Allie could only rationalize as a preemptive strike,
he broke their mother’s heart and left when the girls were ten.

Mom’s crutch after that was chain smoking. It was also
her ultimate end. Not a day went by that she didn’t think about her mom, wonder
if her dad ever thought about the three of them, even knew that the mother of
his children had died. She knew that her twin Andrea was often plagued with the
same thoughts, and like Allie, she didn’t care to talk about it.

As much as she loved and adored her mother, Allie never
wanted to be in the same position. She never wanted a man to have that much influence
on her happiness. She’d never gone looking for a husband—if one came
along, great. If not, that could be great too.

She’d poured most of her energy into her career,
clocking fifteen years at her old ad agency. They were a small operation when
she started, a boutique agency, some might say rinky-dink. They did amazing
work and had satisfied clients, but as things grew, the creativity slid. Now
that she had her own company, the years spent in the trenches seemed to finally
be paying off. Money was tight and she wasn’t yet able to draw a salary, but
new clients were coming on board every month. If she just stayed on course
without any surprises, she could have some real success to call her own.

There was a knock at her door and she wiggled her feet
into a pair of dark-purple wedge pumps. She hurried across the apartment, and her
heart stopped for an instant when she answered. He was thumbing the keyboard on
his phone. His damp, sandy-brown hair flopped forward. Again, he’d put far more
effort into dressing than he normally would. She was used to seeing him in track
pants and t-shirts but today he wore a black dress shirt and another pair of
jeans with a devastating fit. He looked at her, unleashed his electric smile,
and she could do nothing but take a cleansing breath and pray for strength.

“Ready?” he asked.

For what?
She’d considered asking
him to come in for a minute, somehow lure him into bed, but thought better of
it. His physical presence clouded her judgment and her goal for the day, aside
from finding him a decent couch, was reaching a conclusion about what he wanted.
“Yep,” she answered, grabbing her bag and keys.

“You look amazing.” He buried his face in her neck for
a moment. “And you smell good too.”

She smiled and the heat rose in her cheeks as they
headed down the stairs.
I smell good.

They hopped in a cab for the ride from their apartment
building in Bucktown to a furniture store in River North near Allie’s office.
She wasn’t sure if Cooper would want to hold her hand in the car, but it didn’t
matter. His phone rang the instant the driver pulled away from the curb.

“Yo, Brian. What’s up? I’m busy.” His brows knitted as
he listened to what his brother was saying. “How the fuck does this happen,
Bri?” Glancing at her, he forced a smile. “Yeah, well, he always wants to make
things more complicated than they need to be. I swear we’re going to have to
tattoo K.I.S.S. on his forehead.” He cast his eyes down and picked at the dark
fabric of his jeans as he continued to listen to what was apparently a lengthy
explanation.

Allie fidgeted, trying to focus on the sights and
sounds of the city whizzing by. Being the boss was anything but easy. She’d
learned that lesson over the last year. Tension hung heavy in the air and
seeing the stress take its toll on his handsome face was disheartening.

“Okay. Fine,” he said gruffly. “Just figure it out and
call me later.” Cooper raised his hips to slide the phone into his front pocket
as the cab stopped in front of Metro Style Furniture. “Sorry about that.”

“Everything okay?” she asked as they climbed out of
the car.

He slid his sunglasses from the top of his head back
on to his face. “Fine. My brother just needs to get our programmers in line.”

The store was sleek, a mix of contemporary design and modern
classics like leather and chrome Eames office chairs and iconic Saarinen
pedestal tables. Allie had to stop from rolling her eyes when Cooper zeroed in
on the first black leather sofa they came across.

Plopping down on the cushions, he stretched his arms
along the back and crossed his legs, looking perfectly at home. “Take a test
drive with me.” He patted the spot next to him in invitation. The instant she
sat, he cupped her shoulder with his warm hand. “What do you think? Pretty
comfy, huh?” He bounced in his seat.

Allie leaned forward, examining the stitching at the
front of the cushions. “I like it. Great quality, but it’s a little plain. And
I know guys like black leather, but it can be cold. Maybe something like gray
wool would be better. Still masculine, but cozy. You can probably order it in
another fabric.”

“Yes, you can,” a female voice behind them said.

Allie turned to see a striking young woman with shiny
ebony hair. Her legs went on for days, her deep-red lips annoyingly pouty. It
put Allie on edge even when she hated the idea of feeling in any way threatened
by the presence of another woman.

“Is there anything in particular I can help you with?”
she asked. “This is a beautiful choice, by the way. The line is Italian
designed, but made in the U.S. This particular sofa is an exclusive to our
stores.” She reached out to shake Cooper’s hand as he stood. “I’m Melanie.”

“I’m Cooper. This is my neighbor, Allie.”

Neighbor. Okay, then. That clarifies a few things.
Before she could get up from her seat, Allie’s phone rang and her sister’s name
popped up on the caller ID. “I’m sorry. I have to get this.” She answered while
making her way to the plate glass windows at the front of the store. “Andrea.
Hey. What’s up? I’m kind of in the middle of something.”

“I never ask you for favors, right?” Andrea asked with
a strange tremor in her voice.

“Not usually. What’s up?”

“I kicked Bill out. Bastard was cheating on me. With a
guy, Allie. He was fucking a guy.”

Jesus.
“When did this happen?”

“About an hour ago. I found some texts on his phone
while he was on the treadmill.”

“You were reading his texts? Why would you snoop like
that?”

“This is no time to get judgmental. I need you over
here now. He wants to come back for a few things. I’m worried I might kill him
if I see him, but I don’t trust him to be alone in the apartment.”

Allie exhaled and turned to see Cooper regaling
Melanie with some story that was enough to make her laugh and playfully toss
back her hair. “Of course, honey. I’m getting in a cab right now.”

“Thanks, Al. You’re the best.”

She dropped her phone into her bag and strode to the
back of the store. “Cooper, hey, can I speak to you for a moment?”

He gripped her elbow, concern clouding his face.
“Everything okay?”

“That was my sister. She’s having major boyfriend
issues. She needs me. Now.” She hitched her bag up onto her shoulder. “I’m
really sorry. Can we do this another time?”

He glanced at Melanie before looking at Allie. “You
know, I really think I like that first sofa. Melanie is going to show me some
fabrics. I’m sure I can pick something with her help. You think gray is the way
to go?”

Allie’s shoulders tightened at the mention of Cooper
spending quality time with Melanie, not that she could do anything about it. “I
do. Just make sure it’s a durable fabric.”
Why does everything out of my
mouth make me sound like an old woman?

“Can I see you later tonight?” he muttered.

Her heart beat an anxious rhythm.
He wants to see
me? He just called me his neighbor in front of another woman.
“Maybe. I’ll
have to call you.”

His afternoon with Allie thwarted, at least Cooper had
some new furniture on the way. It would be a six to eight week wait and his
bank account was more than twelve grand lighter, but he’d finally made the move
up from Modern American Dorm Room.

He tossed his keys onto the kitchen counter in his
apartment and checked the time on his phone again—nearly five-thirty p.m.
The ordering process at the store had taken much longer than he’d expected.
Melanie had worked it from all angles, both personal and professional, hinting
that she didn’t have plans that night and wouldn’t mind going out for a drink.

As recently as a week ago, he probably would have been
all over Melanie’s blatant flirtation, but Allie had been the only thing he
could think of now. Everything about her was so much better than he’d ever dreamt—the
unbelievable touch of her skin, the sweet scent that emanated from the most
enticing parts of her body. That, within the context of their already good
friendship, seemed too good to be true.

The mind-blowing sex had been the highlight of their
night, but a close second had been the hours they lay talking in bed, in the
dark, wrapped around each other. He’d never formed a real friendship with a
woman before he slept with her. Doing things that way had never seemed
important, but maybe it was the way to go. It certainly had been with Allie.

He stared at his phone again.
Don’t be a pussy.
Just call her.

“Hey,” she answered after several rings in a whisper
that rushed through him.

“How are you? Is everything okay?”

“I can’t talk for long. Andrea is taking a bath. She’s
trying to relax.”

“What happened?”

“Her boyfriend cheated on her with a guy. She’s
betrayed and confused. Not a good combo.”

Wow.
“And you’re trying to talk
her off the ledge.”

“More or less, but it’s bad. I’ve never seen her like
this. She’s usually so tough, but this has really shaken her. I feel a little
bad because I gave her shit about reading her boyfriend’s texts. That’s how she
found out.”

“Why would she do that?”

“I guess she didn’t trust him, but that tells me they
were already in trouble. You have to trust people or it doesn’t work.”

He nodded in agreement. “Of course.” He didn’t want to
be selfish, but he had to ask the question, especially with the clock ticking.
“So, when are you coming back? I thought I could take you out to dinner, tell
you about my big furniture purchases.”

She sighed. “That sounds great, but I’m here for the
duration. She wants me to stay over and I don’t want to say no. She needs me.”

He kneaded his forehead. Everything in his body went
cold from disappointment. “Yeah. Of course. Another time.”

“What about tomorrow? I have a ton of work to do, but
we could grab a bite or you could come over and we could cook at my place.”

With a glimmer of hope, he felt the warmth return to
his hands, his feet, his belly.
So it’s not just me. She wants to see me
too.
“It’s a date.”

He hardly had time to press “End Call” before his
phone rang with his brother Brian’s number on the caller ID. “Please tell me
you’re calling with good news.”

“Like what? The Bears have some great prospects for
next season?”

“Stop fucking around. Did we get everything fixed?”

“No. We somehow missed a major problem in the beta
testing. I called Chris, but he’s the only programmer who’s around this
weekend. Everybody else is out of town. We’re going to have to call in the
Maestro.”

The Maestro.
“You know I fucking
hate it when you call me that.”

“It’s the truth. Pack your toothbrush and get your ass
down here. It’s all hands on deck if we’re going to stay on schedule.”

* * * * *

How long can I go without sleep?
Cooper slumped back in his chair after eleven hours straight of sifting through
line after line of code. Part of him enjoyed watching the sun come up over the
city, peeking between storm clouds. Part of him found it depressing. He blew
out a long breath and rubbed his neck and shoulder just as Brian poked his head
into his office.