The One Real Thing (Hart's Boardwalk) (12 page)

He nodded at the compliment. “Glad you’re enjoying it. You want another?”

He was glad she was enjoying
all
of it. It felt good that Jessica liked all the things he liked about his town. But more than that, he liked that she saw beyond what the tourists saw. She saw what made this place special—the solid connection between everyone who worked on the boardwalk, which made working there feel like he was coming home every day.

“Yes, please.”

Suddenly he imagined another situation in which she said “please” to him. She’d say it in pleading tones, not in politeness. And they’d both be naked.

Cooper turned away before she could see the thought in his eyes.

“Uh, I’ll have another wine, too,” Bailey said to his back, and he heard the amusement in her voice.

And he knew what that amusement was all about. Bailey had known him a long time. He shot her a look over his shoulder. “You’ll wait your turn, B.”

She gave him a huge, knowing grin. “Sure thing, Coop.”

He winked at her and got back to making Jessica’s drink.

“One of my guests told a really bad joke today that was so bad it was good,” Bailey said behind him.

“Was it Jessica?” Tom said.

“No, it was Sherman from West Virginia,” Bailey said. “Okay, here it is. A Buddhist walks up to a hot dog stand and says, ‘Make me one with everything.’”

Cooper shook his head at the bad joke and glanced over to see Jessica give a loud guffaw of laughter. That made him grin.

Tom sighed. “That was awful.”

“Jessica found it funny,” Bailey argued. “Come on, it was cute funny.”

“I’ll give you cute funny . . .” Tom said. “What do you call a Christian that skips church?”

Cooper turned around to slide the Long Island over to Jess and start pulling a draft for Tom.

“I don’t know.” Bailey smiled. “What do you call a Christian that skips church?”

“Christian Bale.”

“Oh, oh, man.” His girlfriend winced as she laughed. “That’s bad.”

“Jessica thought it was funny.”

It was true, she was giggling. “Seems Jessica doesn’t have high standards for jokes.”

Her eyes were bright with amusement. “I really don’t.”

“You tell us a joke, then, Doc,” Cooper said.

She took a sip of her drink, seeming to contemplate it.

“Oh, go on!” Bailey pushed her playfully. “Anything is better than Tom’s.”

“My joke was better than yours, babe.”

Jessica interrupted just as Bailey was opening her mouth to argue.
“Okay.” The doc put her drink down. “A husband and wife are trying to set up a new password for their computer. The husband puts ‘Mypenis,’ all one word.” Jessica grinned. “The wife falls on the ground laughing because on the screen it says . . . ‘Error. Not long enough.’”

Cooper grinned at how much the stupid joke amused her. And not just her. Tom smiled. “Yours wins.”

“Oh, if we’re allowed to be dirty I have a good one,” Bailey said.

Lily appeared at the bar so Cooper wandered away to fill her order. Still, Bailey was being loud enough that he could hear her.

“A mother is in the kitchen making dinner for her family when her daughter walks in. Her daughter asks, ‘Mother, where do babies come from?’ The mother thinks for a few seconds and says, ‘Well, dear, Mommy and Daddy fall in love and get married. One night they go into their bedroom, they kiss and hug, and have sex.’ The daughter looks puzzled so the mother continues, ‘That means the daddy puts his penis in the mommy’s vagina. That’s how you get a baby, honey.’ The child seems to understand. ‘Oh, I see,’ she says, ‘but the other night when I came into your room you had daddy’s penis in your mouth. What do you get when you do that?’ The mother smiles at her and says, ‘Jewelry, my dear. Jewelry.’”

Old Archie suddenly hit his palm against the bar and shouted down toward Bailey, “That was a good one!”

Jessica was wiping tears from her eyes and Tom was laughing.

“Hey.” Riley grinned at Bailey as she poured a draft. “Funny and true.”

Cooper’s eyes moved back to Jessica. Her face was flushed from alcohol and amusement. She looked happy. It was a good look on her.

“Oh no.” Bailey pulled her phone out of her purse and put it to her ear. “Hello . . . Mr. Pollock, how can I help?” She put a finger in her opposite ear and frowned. “Okay, I’ll be right there.” She hung up and gave Jessica an apologetic look. “I have to go. There’s something wrong with the shower in one of my guests’ rooms.”

“Then call a plumber,” Tom said, visibly irritated. “We’re having a nice time, Bailey.”

“I know.” She stroked his cheek affectionately. “But I can’t just call a plumber. I need to be there in case I have to move my guests to another room.” She glanced back at Jessica. “I’m sorry. You should stay, finish your drink.”

“You don’t need help?”

“You’re my guest. Of course not.” Bailey kissed her on the cheek. “But thanks for offering. See you tomorrow.”

Tom grumbled under his breath, threw money on the bar, and got up.

“What are you doing?” Bailey frowned.

“Coming with you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Oh, I do. You promised you’d spend the night at my place tonight. That’ll only happen if I come with you.”

She glowered at him.

Tension fell between them that even Cooper could feel.

Bailey started to move away from the bar. She caught his eye and gave him a wave. “’Night, Coop.”

He nodded at her as she said good night to Old Archie and Riley. All the while Tom followed, scowling at her back.

Ah, the joys of being in a relationship.

Cooper pushed drinks over the bar to Lily and headed back to Jessica, who was sipping her Long Island while she played with her phone.

Her drink was almost finished.

“Another?”

She scrunched her nose, looking adorable. “I don’t know if I should. I feel pretty buzzed.”

“Up to you, Doc.”

Jessica thought about it a second. “I better change to a chardonnay.”

When he placed the drink in front of her a minute or so later she took a sip and then sighed. “I love Bailey.”

Cooper grinned. “Yeah, she’s pretty great.”

“No, like, I
love
her. She’s so kind. And so pretty. She could be a fairy.”

This made him stop for a second. Had he been wrong all along about the connection between them? Was Doc . . . Did Doc play for the other team?

Disappointment started to build . . .

Jessica laughed. “Oh, you should see your face. I’m not gay. Women are allowed to show appreciation for one another without it being about sex.”

Relieved, he grinned at her. “Not gay, but you are drunk, Doc.”

“Tipsy, not drunk. I’m okay with that.” She shrugged. “And I’m not gay,” she repeated. “I’ve just never met anyone like Bailey before. She says what she means and how she feels, no matter what.”

“And you don’t?” He leaned on the bar, drawing closer to her, and her eyes flicked down to his mouth.

Heat stirred in his gut at the way she was looking at his lips.

Jessica dragged her eyes back up to his. Up close he could see the flecks of gold and green in her huge brown eyes.
Gorgeous fucking eyes
. “Sometimes,” she answered and leaned in closer to him to whisper, “For instance, I’m not sure Tom is right for Bailey.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”

She shrugged, dropping her gaze to her drink. “Just a feeling. I can’t explain it.”

“Well, your secret is safe with me.”

She looked up at him again and gave him a soft smile. “You have really blue eyes.”

Cooper grinned. “So I’ve been told.”

“You going to flirt with that pretty woman all night and keep her to yourself or you going to introduce her to your friends?” Old Archie called down the bar.

Sighing at the interruption, Cooper stood tall and threw his regular a look. Old Archie was grinning from ear to ear, the devious old bastard.

“Hi.” Jessica waved at him.

Old Archie nodded at her. “I’m Archibald Brown, but everyone calls me Old Archie.”

Doc frowned at this. “Why would they call you Old Archie when you have such a distinguished name like Archibald Brown? If it were my name, I would insist on being called Archibald Brown all the time. Not Archie, not Archibald, but
Archibald Brown
.”

Cooper’s grin matched Archie’s. “Well, I might do that. And to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?”

“Archibald Brown, I am Jessica Huntington.”

“
Doctor
Jessica Huntington,” Cooper said.

Old Archie raised an eyebrow. “Impressive, Doctor. You a surgeon?”

“I was,” she said, surprising the hell out of Cooper. “I was a surgical resident—general surgery.”

Jesus, a surgeon.
Surgeons were their own kind of rock star.

It was hot.

“Was?” Old Archie cocked his head in curiosity.

“I decided it wasn’t for me. I was good at it,” she said, but it wasn’t said with arrogance, just honesty. “But . . .” She shrugged. “Not for me.”

Cooper wanted to know more, but he wasn’t going to push for that information in front of an audience. He shot Old Archie a look, silently telling him not to, either. Old Archie got the message.

He grinned over at Jessica. “Smart and beautiful. You’re double the trouble, honey.”

Doc narrowed her eyes on him, but she was smiling. “You’re a charmer, Archibald Brown. I bet you say that to all the girls.”

“No, some of them around here are as dumb as a post.”

Her jaw dropped. “That’s a terrible thing to say.”

“Hey, there are a lot of men around here dumb as a post, too. I wasn’t being sexist.”

“Just insulting.”

“Honest,” he argued.

“I can tell I’m going to need another drink if we’re to continue getting to know each other,” Jessica said, making Old Archie laugh.

Cooper took in her empty glass. “You sure you got another in you, Doc?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I hate hangovers. I’ll have a water.”

“You got it.”

By the time an hour had passed, Old Archie was on the stool next to Jessica. The two of them kept Cooper entertained all night.

Finally, Anita called and, judging from the look on Old Archie’s face, told him to get his ass back home. Cooper disappeared to take out some trash at the back of the bar and when he came back Jessica’s stool was empty.

“Is Doc in the restroom?” He nodded his head to her stool.

Riley gave him a knowing smile. “Nah. She paid her tab, told me to tell you good night, and left.”

“Fuck,” he muttered, disappointed. And then just as quickly determination replaced the disappointment. “Watch the bar.”

Riley snorted. “Like I didn’t know you were going to say that.”

Ignoring her teasing, Cooper hurried out of the bar, hoping to catch up with the doc before she made it to the inn. One, he didn’t like the idea of her walking back there alone so late at night, and two, he’d been hoping to get some alone time with her. He wanted to take her out on an actual date and he wanted her to know that he wasn’t just looking to fuck around, as if she was just another hot tourist passing through his town.

He could be a gentleman and he wanted to show her that.

Just as he was about to hurry up the boards, he felt that tingle down the back of his neck again and something drew his gaze out toward the beach.

And that was when he saw her.

Sand kicked up under Jessica’s feet, her hair blowing wildly behind her as her shoes and purse dangled from one hand. It was chilly out by the water at this time of night, but it didn’t look like Jessica was feeling it by the way she spun around, laughing at the way the dying waves rushed around her ankles at the shoreline.

That tingle shot down his spine.

His blood turned hot.

And suddenly Cooper wasn’t feeling very gentlemanly toward the sexy doctor.

The water was cold, but it felt great against my flushed skin. I’d been alternating between wine and water after my indulgent Long Island iced teas, so I wasn’t drunk. However, my blood was still hot from the alcohol, from sitting across the bar from Cooper Lawson all night, and the chilly sea breeze was just what I needed.

I stumbled out of a tipsy spin only to stop on the shore to stare up at the sky. My feet sank into the wet sand, the squishy grain of it warming underfoot. It was a pleasant sensation, relaxing even, and that, mixed with the sound of the soft surf and the infinite darkness of the sea and sky, was soothing.

The stars were brighter here than in the city. They weren’t obscured by all the city lights.

They were beautiful.

Goose bumps suddenly prickled my scalp and a little sigh escaped me.

Maybe Bailey was right. Maybe there was magic here.

“Doc?”

For a moment I thought I’d imagined the voice in the dark, attributing the phantom voice to my guilt over leaving the bar without saying good-bye to Cooper.

I was much too aware of him for my own good.

The feelings he incited in me, this stranger with his bar, well . . . it was just a complication I didn’t need.

A hand touched my shoulder and this time I jumped, spinning around in alarm.

Relief and that damn awareness washed over me as I stared up into Cooper’s face.

“Coop—” His name turned to a gasp because suddenly I was in his arms and my mouth was crushed beneath his.

Confusion was quickly replaced by lust as the kiss instantly turned wild. He had one arm around my back, while his other hand threaded through my hair to hold my head, to hold me to his lips.

Everything about the way he held me said he had no intention of letting me escape him.

And for a few moments, surrounded by the feel of his warm strength, my blood at melting point from his hungry, hard, wet kisses, I didn’t want to escape him.

I clung to him, my fingers curled in his T-shirt as I gloried in the feel of his tongue stroking mine, the hard muscles of his chest pressed against my breasts, the tingling tightness of his fingers in my hair—

My cell phone abruptly burst into song and its unwanted shrillness jerked me back into reality.

I pulled out of Cooper’s hold and he reluctantly let me go.

He stared at me with narrowed eyes, his lips deliciously swollen from our kisses.

My own lips tingled as I stared back at him, openmouthed and shocked.

“Doc,” he began, but I ducked my head, fumbling in my purse for my phone. By the time I got it, it had stopped ringing.

I wasn’t surprised to see a missed call from Andrew. He was the only one I knew who would think to call me this late.

Guilt suffused me. I had a deal with Andrew. I wasn’t supposed to be kissing anyone else. No matter how tempting he was!

I glared up at Cooper. “What the hell was that?”

He raised an eyebrow at my tone. “Something we were both enjoying.”

“It came out of nowhere!”

“I think you and I both know it didn’t come out of nowhere.” He took a step toward me and I stumbled back. “Doc, what’s stopping you from exploring this heat between us?”

“I’m on vacation, for one thing. Nothing good could possibly come of this. And . . . and . . .”

He took another step toward me, so close his chest almost brushed my body.

My knees wobbled at his nearness. I couldn’t remember the last time a guy gave me wobbly knees. I didn’t think a guy ever had.

I looked up at Cooper, incredulous. How could one man incite so much sexual need in me?

“And?” he said, curling my hair behind my ear, his fingers trailing gently against my skin in a way that made my nipples tighten.

It’s the sea breeze!
I lied to myself.

“I’m . . . uh . . . I’m sort of seeing someone.”

“
Sort of
seeing someone?”

For some reason I found myself explaining. “Andrew and I aren’t in a relationship because neither of us wants that, but we have agreed that while we’re doing what we’re doing, we won’t be doing that with anyone else.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and I could see the amusement in his blue, blue eyes. “Doing what exactly?”

I gave a huff of laughter. “You know what.”

Cooper gave me that crooked, sexy smile again. “Doc, you do what you do and you can’t say it?”

I grinned because it seemed impossible not to when he smiled at me like that. “Fine. We are having sex, only sex, but sexual monogamy.”

“You’re fucking.”

My cheeks turned hot and I was suddenly glad for the darkness of the sky. “Yes.”

He contemplated me for about thirty seconds. And that thirty seconds felt like a really long time.

“I better get home,” I eventually said, taking a step back.

He nodded slowly. “I’m walking you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“No arguments.”

And since his tone brooked no argument, I didn’t. Instead I fell into step beside him, completely and totally aware of him. Before the kiss I’d been aware of him. Now I was aware in that every one of my nerve endings seemed to spark at his nearness. My body was tingling, hot, and pliant. In other words it was ready for sex.

My mind, however, was in a whole mess of confusion.

If that kiss was anything to go by, sex with Cooper had the potential to be the greatest sex ever. But Cooper . . . Cooper was a bad idea. He was a no-shades-of-gray guy. At least it seemed that way.

There was that.

There was Andrew.

Plus, I didn’t want a relationship so I didn’t want to complicate the situation here.

So far I loved Hartwell. What if I wanted to come back next year for vacation? If I had a one-night stand with Cooper Lawson that might make things very awkward between us. And he was Bailey’s friend. The awkwardness could bleed into my friendship with her. I didn’t want that!

“I can practically hear your mind whirring,” Cooper murmured, sounding amused.

“It is not,” I argued. “I’m too tired for whirring.”

“Right.” He shot me a look out of the corner of his eye. “Tired? After that kiss?”

I narrowed my gaze. “Aren’t we cocky.”

He smirked, staring ahead as we walked down the beach toward the inn. “I know a fantastic kiss when I share one with someone.”

My insides went mushy at the compliment. I was glad he’d felt
the zinging between us, too. No! I wasn’t. Damn it. I scowled. “It was pleasant enough.”

Cooper threw his head back in laughter. “Right. You keep telling yourself that, Doc.”

I decided from there it was better if I just kept my mouth shut. Speaking to him only confused me more.

The silence was thick with sexual tension as we made our way back up onto the boardwalk near the inn. Every time his arm accidentally brushed mine it was like his touch sent signals to my breasts, and my breasts sent shooting tingles down my stomach to between my thighs.

It was ridiculous!

“I can take it from here,” I said, my voice a little hoarse with desire.

Cooper’s eyes swung to my face. There was a sudden tautness to his features, like he knew exactly what I was feeling, and was frustrated by it. By me.

That became clearer when he seemed to shake his head in irritation and continued on to the inn. He walked me right to the front door, and as I turned to say good night he placed two hands on the door by my head, trapping me.

I sucked in a breath, not sure I would stop him if he tried to kiss me again and wondering what the hell that was about.

Cooper leaned in, his warm breath whispering across my lips. “This isn’t over, Doc.”

And before I could reply to that, he jerked away from me and was striding off the porch and away from the inn.

I stared after him, in shock.

Oh boy.

How the hell was I supposed to resist temptation if temptation had every intention of being irresistible?