What I Love About You (17 page)

“Cognitive behavioral therapy.” He picked up a croissant, relieved that she didn’t look at him cross-ways like he might howl at the moon.

“You’ve heard of it.”

“Of course. That’s what they teach and preach in rehab.” He expected her to pry or nag or press him to find a sponsor, but she didn’t. They spent the rest of the meal talking about his family and hers, and he told her he’d been talking to Roy Baldridge about the vacant house down the street.

She paused as she pushed her empty plate aside. “You flip houses, too?”

“Yeah. I stared working construction with my cousin just for something to do when I wasn’t deployed or training out of state. It started as a hobby, but I found I really enjoy gutting a house and rebuilding it.”

“Do you ever just relax?”

“I’m not good at that. Jungers are overachievers.” Which was probably an understatement.

Charlotte called while he helped Natalie with the dishes. Mostly he rinsed while she put things away and loaded the dishwasher.

“If you want me to come and get you, call me. Even if it’s late.” Natalie spoke into her phone as she set a plate in the sink. “Yes. Even if its three lates. Late, late, late.” She talked for several more minutes about some fairy movie before she hung up and put her phone on the counter. “I’ll be glad when Charlotte’s home with me.”

“How was Thanksgiving with the Coopers?” He’d been surprised when she’d mentioned where she’d been before she’d shown up on his porch and fainted. When she’d told him, he didn’t like it. He didn’t want her around her former husband when he wasn’t around, but it didn’t matter what he liked. It wasn’t his business.

“Hell. I made everyone cry but Ron, and I think that’s only because he tunes out everything around him. Carla got so upset with me, she ran into her bedroom and burned the turkey.”

“Meanie.” He moved behind her and massaged her shoulders. “What did you do to the poor Coopers?”

“I told them the truth. I told Carla that I wasn’t going to get back together with Michael.” She moved her head forward to give him better access to the base of her skull. “Charlotte cried because she was acting up at the table and spilled her milk all over. I had to take her in the kitchen and give her a good talking-to.”

He chuckled.
A good talking-to
. “What about Michael?”

“I’m not sure he actually cried, but his eyes got kind of misty when I told him I don’t love him.” She turned and looked up at Blake. “I felt so horrible, Blake.” She frowned like
she
might cry. “I don’t love him and I feel it’s best to be honest right up front. I think it’s kinder to rip off the Band-Aid than to give him false hope and lead him on. But it was hard and I feel horrible and mean.”

He smiled. “I have something to make you feel better.” He slid his hands down her sides and around her waist. “Show me your bedroom.”

“You’re not tired?”

“I’ll sleep tomorrow after Charlotte comes home. Right now I want to play with Charlotte’s mom.”

She led him to her room filled with white wicker furniture and frilly stuff that was enough to make a weaker man’s balls shrink. Blake had not had a problem with shrinkage, and had sex one more time before Natalie fell asleep.

The ceiling fan above his head stirred the cool night air as he turned on his back and took her with him. She curled against his side, and again he wondered if he should just grab his pants and go. Home to his own bed that didn’t have a warm woman in it. Instead he fell asleep with her knee next to his groin. He woke several times during the night with her snuggled against him. She was a beautiful woman with a beautiful body, and as the rising sun leaked through the slats in the window blinds, he woke for the last time. Her back was against his chest, one of his hands cupped her breasts, and his erection rested against the crease of her behind.

“Natalie,” he whispered, and lightly pressed his hard penis against her smooth butt. “Are you awake?” Her even breathing continued and he slid one of her legs on top of his. His hand moved to her crotch, and within a few short moments, she was wet against his fingers. He touched her until she arched her back and a long, sleepy moan escaped her lips. So sexy it seeped beneath his skin and tightened his chest.

“Are you awake now?”

She pressed her behind into his erection. “Is that a banana or are you happy to see me?”

“It’s not a banana.” He slid his hand between them and moved his erection between her legs. She was slick and hot and he slipped inside. “But I am happy to see you.” He wrapped both his arms around her and held her still. Held her against his chest and closed his eyes. Her hair tickled his cheek and he rested his forehead against the back of her head. He liked this. He liked her. He’d like to wake like this every morning. With his penis in Natalie Cooper.

“You’re holding me too tight. I can’t breathe, Blake.”

“Sorry.” He didn’t know he was squeezing her and loosened his hold. He slipped his hand down her belly to cup between her thighs. He adjusted her behind and legs, and positioned himself further beneath her.

“I love being inside you.” He kissed her neck and bit her shoulder and drove into her until he felt the first squeeze of her orgasm. She was right. She was the whirlwind and he joined her in a wild, out-of-control climax that spun his head around and around. He squeezed her against his chest as if he wanted to absorb her into him. She called his name, a rush of pleasure ending in a wheeze from lack of oxygen.

“Blake, I can’t breathe.”

“Sorry,” he said again, and when it was over, he lay on his back looking up at the whirling ceiling fan. He’d never given a woman a chokehold. Not once, let alone twice.

He thought about it as he dressed and she tied a silky pink robe around her waist. It didn’t leave his head as he tied his shoes and she left the room to let out Sparky. He was still thinking about it when he grabbed an apple off the kitchen counter, and she passed him on her way down the hall.

“I have to get in the shower before Charlotte gets here in about an hour,” she called out to him. “I’ll see you later.”

Blake bit into the apple and moved to the side door. He shoved the puzzle of Natalie and his sleeper hold to the back of his mind and reached for the handle. Beau and Stella had one more day in Truly. Maybe they’d want breakfast at the greasy spoon in town. He and his brother loved a greasy spoon breakfast. He shut the door behind him and stopped on the top step as Charlotte and a man with dark hair moved down the side of the house with Sparky running and jumping in circles around them. He recognized the man wearing new sneakers and jeans and a dark blue ski parka. He’d seen him in Natalie’s photo store before he’d left town.

“Hi, Blake,” Charlotte greeted him. She wore her purple coat above a puffy dress, bare legs, and dress shoes. “Did you bring Spa-ky to my house?”

He took a big bite of apple and watched the man as he chewed, sizing him up in a few short seconds. Nice-looking guy. Kind of pale. Prison would do that to a man. “Yeah.” He wiped the back of his shirtsleeve across the back of his mouth. “He missed you.”

“Ahhh.” She grabbed the dog around his neck until he yelped. “I love you, Spa-ky.”

“Blake?” The man held out is hand. “I’m Charlotte’s father, Michael Cooper.”

Blake shook his hand and had to give the guy points for looking him in the eyes and not being a pussy. His handshake could be a little more firm, though. Blake dropped the guy’s hand and moved down the steps as Charlotte moved up.

“Guess what, Blake?”

“What?”

“I watched the fairy movie four times. I ate popcorn and hu-t my tooth right here.” She opened her mouth and pointed inside.

He pretended to look. “It looks okay. I don’t think you’ll need surgery.”

“No way.” She continued up the steps and turned with one hand on the door. “Bye, Blake.”

“See ya, kid.”

Then she looked at Michael, and Blake wondered if she was still worried that she might not like him. “Bye, Dad.”

“Bye, Charlotte.”

She gave a little wave and she and Sparky ran into the house, leaving Blake and Michael looking after her.

“Charlotte talks about you,” Michael told him.

“Oh yeah?” Blake wasn’t wearing a coat and headed down the sidewalk toward the front yard. He could cut through the trees, but he wanted to make sure Michael Cooper left the way he came.

“She says you two are friends.”

“We are.” It was good that Michael walked beside Blake so Blake didn’t have to drag him by one leg. “She’s a good kid.” Blake took another bite and chewed. Charlotte was funny and smart and a drama queen, but he’d let Michael find out what a great kid she was all on his own. He didn’t feel the need to help the guy out.

“What is Natalie to you?”

Michael was getting right into it. No nice, friendly chitchat, which was fine with Blake. He didn’t like nice, friendly chitchat. “That’s none of your business.”

“Maybe not.” Michael stopped by the front of a red Jeep Cherokee. “When I was in prison, I had a lot of time to think about my family. I really fucked up a lot of lives. It will take Natalie a long time to forgive me, and I can live with that if I know she’s good.”

“She’s good.” Blake took the last bite of the apple and tossed the core into the trees. He didn’t have a problem with Natalie’s ex. Not unless the ex created a problem. “You don’t need to concern yourself with Natalie.”

“Natalie is the first woman I ever loved. I remember what she wore the first day I ever saw her in sixth grade. I remember the first time I kissed her and how she looked in her wedding dress.”

Blake folded his arms against the crisp morning air and debated whether he should tell the guy that he knew five different ways to kill a man with his bare hands. “Do you have a point, or is this a pissing match?” He looked the other man directly in the eyes. “I don’t do pissing matches.”

“Not a pissing match.” Michael held up one hand as a corner of his lips lifted like he was amused. “I would never get into a pissing match with a Navy SEAL.”

“Natalie tell you that?”

“No. I did a public records search. Then I paid fifty bucks for a criminal background check on you. I trust Natalie, but I wanted to make sure for myself that you’re safe around my daughter.”

Blake couldn’t be mad at that. Could probably respect it, even. “And safe around Natalie.”

“Yes. It’s hard not to think of her as my wife. I will always love her.”

“She doesn’t love you.”

“I know.” He looked down at the toes of his shoes, then looked back up into Blake’s eyes. “Natalie told me she loves you.”

Chapter Fourteen

“Mom, there he is.”

Natalie looked up from her grocery list. “Who?”

“Mason,” Charlotte said just above a whisper, and pointed to a little boy wearing a Spider-Man coat and boots. “He’s in my class.”

Natalie knew about Mason Hennessey. Charlotte had mentioned his freckles several times. “Is he the little boy you like?” She reached for several boxes of macaroni and cheese and put them in her cart.

“Not anymore. I had to give him up.”

Natalie chuckled. “Why?”

“Amy chased him at recess and kissed his cheek.” She climbed on the side of the cart. “I don’t want him now.”

Poor Mason, used goods before he graduated from kindergarten. She grabbed a bag of spaghetti noodles and canned vegetables, then headed for the produce aisle. She thought about last night and Blake. She’d never had so much sex in one night in her life. Not even when she’d been younger and she and Michael used to skip school and go to her house while her mother had been at work.

“Can I have fruit snacks?”

“Go grab some but come right back.” Charlotte jumped off the cart and darted around the corner.

Natalie didn’t remember sex being that good. If it had been, it might have been harder to go without for so long. Every time she woke last night, she’d been glued to Blake. Either she’d been on her back with his arm across her, or she’d been on her side with his hand on her breast, the other cupping her crotch like he was afraid to have her parts too far away from him.

The last time, he’d woken her from an erotic dream only to discover she hadn’t been dreaming at all. “I love being inside you,” he said. At the time, his whispered admission thrilled her. Now she thought she’d read too much into it. She’d thought it meant something, but it only meant that he loved sex with her. He didn’t love
her
.

After years of living free of her anxiety, she felt it clog her throat and pick up her pulse. What if he never loved her? She loved him so much she’d let him into her life. She loved him so much she’d broken her rules with him. Her love for him was new and scary and made her heart all achy and wonderful.

Natalie chose a bunch of bananas and placed them in her cart. He had to feel something for her. Until last night, he’d been tight-lipped about his life. He’d kept everything close to the vest, but last night he’d told her about his flashbacks. She wasn’t surprised. A person couldn’t live through the things he must have seen and done and not have it imprinted on his subconscious. Thank God for the men and women who were brave and dedicated and served their country, but it had to take a toll. Even superheroes had a chink in their armor. Superman had kryptonite and Batman was only human without his tool belt.

She added oranges to her cart. Blake was an alcoholic. That had been a surprise, but it didn’t make a difference to her. She loved him. All of him. Drinking or not drinking wasn’t a problem for her. The only time she drank was with Lilah, and that wasn’t often. The only other alcoholic that she knew was Mabel Vaughn, and she only knew about Mabel because Mabel used to talk about it with her grandmother. Mabel was a big AA supporter and it was one of the only groups or meetings or people she didn’t gossip about.

After the grocery store, she and Charlotte drove to the dry cleaner’s before heading back home. She’d always closed Glamour Snaps and Prints the day after Thanksgiving, and it was a rare Friday that both of them had off. They had plans to bake cookies and make Christmas cards. Later when Charlotte went to bed, Natalie had other plans. Grown-up plans with the neighbor boy.

In the backseat, Charlotte sang her ABCs, over . . . and over . . . and over, and Natalie white-knuckled the wheel.

“There’s Spa-ky!” Charlotte paused at L-M-N-O-P.

Still several blocks from home, Natalie slowed the car and came to a stop in the road. If she had to chase the dog, she was going to be pissed.

Charlotte pointed to the Loosey house and Blake’s red Ford sitting in the driveway. Sparky was tied to the front porch, and Natalie pulled her Subaru in behind Blake’s truck. As soon as she put the car in park, Charlotte unbuckled herself and opened her door.

“Blake,” she called as she jumped out. “Where are you?”

Natalie got out of the car herself and stopped to study the abandoned house. The yard was nothing but frozen weeds and dirt, and the blue siding was warped in several places and some of the windows were cracked. She remembered the Looseys and their well-groomed yard and flower boxes.

Blake had talked about buying this house, but it looked like a ton of work to her. God knew how many wild animals had made the house their home in the past few years.

The front door swung open. “Who’s causing such a ruckus?” Blake walked from inside the house, wearing his brown jacket and jeans. His confident and easy stride carried him across the large porch. Happy tingles rushed across Natalie’s skin, and she buried the lower half of her face in the collar of her coat to hide her smile.

“It’s me, Blake.” Charlotte ran up the steps. “What are you doing here?”

“Just looking around.” He put his big hand on Charlotte’s head and messed up her hair. Then he raised his gaze to Natalie as she walked across the lawn and up the steps. Smile lines creased his warm gray eyes, and he said a low and sexy “Hello.”

One word. One word that made happy tingles lift her heart like her chest was filled with carbonation. “Mr. Junger.”

“What do you think of my new house?”

“You’re gonna move here?”

Blake looked down at Charlotte, who stood between them. “No. I’m just going to buy it and fix it up.”

Natalie guessed that meant he planned to live in Truly for a while. This time she didn’t hide her smile. “Did you make an offer?”

“This morning.” He looked at her as if he was remembering last night. All hot and steaming as if he was tempted to throw her down and relive it.

The door to the house opened and Beau walked out. Looking at Beau was like looking at Blake, only there was a minute difference, so slight that she really couldn’t put her finger on the difference.

“Hello, Natalie. It’s good to see you again.”

“I don’t have wine and I’m not going to faint today.”

Charlotte peeked around Blake’s side and looked up. For once she was speechless.

“You must be Charlotte,” Beau said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Charlotte finally found her vocal cords. She opened her mouth and screamed like Natalie had never heard her child scream before. It was high and loud and filled with terror.

“It’s okay, Charlotte,” Blake said.

She looked from Beau to Blake and screamed again. This time she turned and ran down the steps for the car. One word, “robot,” trailed behind her.

The three adults watched as she opened the car door and dived inside.

“Jesus.” Beau was the first to speak. “Sorry I scared your kid.”

“I’ve got to go,” Natalie said, and moved down the steps. “Sorry she screamed when she saw you.” She walked across the yard and stuck her head in the open door to the backseat. “Charlotte. Don’t be scared, baby. That man isn’t a robot. He’s Blake’s brother.”

“I wanna go, Mama,” she cried.

“Okay.”

“Should I talk to her?” Blake asked as he moved toward the car.

“Maybe later.”

He ducked his head to look inside the car, then returned his gaze to Natalie. “Hasn’t she seen twins before?”

“Not like you and your brother. The Olson triplets aren’t identical.” She dug in her coat pocket for her keys. “Ever since she saw
I, Robot
with Will Smith, she’s been terrified of robots.”

“I’ll come over later and see how she’s doing.”

“I’ll talk to her and she’ll be okay. We’ll Google ‘twins’ and I’ll show her Beau’s not a robot.” She lowered her voice a fraction. “Why don’t you come over about nine? I have a surprise for you.”

His smile started at one corner of his lips and spread. “What?”

She shrugged and hurriedly got in the car before he pressed and she told him. “You’ll find out at nine.”

Blake placed a hand on the roof of the car and the other on top of the door frame and looked into Natalie’s blue eyes. “I’ll be there, whirlwind,” he said, then shut the door and took a step back. He glanced at Charlotte’s teary-eyed face and felt like a shit head. Who knew the sight of Beau would terrify her?

He watched the Subaru pull out of the driveway, then he turned back to the house. He’d walked through the house this morning with the Realtor, and despite it having been empty for so long, there were no major problems with the home. It had been gutted and most of the fixtures stolen, but those things were easily replaced. The Realtor had left him the keys and he’d brought Beau to see the house while Stella took a nap. He wondered if his brother’s fiancée was pregnant or the altitude was making her sleep a lot. Blake wouldn’t mind being an uncle, and a grandbaby would get his mom off his back.

“You have an interesting effect on the Cooper girls,” he said as he walked back up the steps. He grabbed Sparky’s leash secured to the front post and untied it.

Beau looked as baffled as Blake when he’d first met the pair. “At least the little kid didn’t faint.”

They moved inside and Sparky went crazy sniffing around. The carpet was filthy, but the hardwood floors just needed a little sanding and sealing. “The biggest problem I foresee is finding licensed subcontractors to do the work I don’t want to do. Like the plumbing.”

Beau looked up at the ceiling fan hanging by some wires. “Your plan is to work on this between jobs?” He returned his gaze to Blake. “When’s your next security assignment?”

Blake shrugged. “Day before yesterday I got offered a lot of money to work on an oil rig in the Gulf of Oman.”

“Shit job.”

“That’s why I said no.” He looked at the staircase to his left and the iron rails. The house wasn’t dialed up, but it was built solid. In a climate with such extreme temperatures, that was important.

Beau bent down and scratched Sparky’s head. “What about Natalie Cooper?”

The house had nice bay windows and a big fireplace. He returned his attention to his brother. “What about her?”

“She has a kid.”

“Yeah. I know. What’s your point?” he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

“You’re not just messing with the mama. When you walk out of Natalie’s life, it’s going to affect that kid.”

He knew that, and it was why he’d avoided women with children in the past. “Who says I’m walking out?”

Beau crossed his arms over his thick sweatshirt. “Have your thoughts about marriage and settling down with one woman changed?” When Blake didn’t answer, Beau shook his head. “I didn’t think so. You can’t fuck the mother and not fuck up the kid’s life.”

Sometimes he hated having a twin brother. Someone who knew him like he knew himself. Someone who pissed him off more than anyone else on the planet. “Watch what you say,” he warned.

Beau lifted one brow. “It’s like that?”

Again, he knew exactly what his brother meant. Did he love Natalie? He liked her. He liked to spend time with her in and out of the sack. He felt protective over her and he felt comfortable with her, but that wasn’t love. “Ever since you decided your orgasms should mean something more than getting off, you’ve been a self-righteous son of a bitch. Ever since your dick had some miraculous conversion to ‘meaningful sex,’ you think I should convert, too.” Anger lowered his brows and he pointed at his brother’s face. “Natalie Cooper is none of your goddamn business!”

“You’re just mad ’cause I’m right,” Beau said, calm and cool. “You’re already in that little girl’s life. What do you think is going to happen when you walk out of it?”

“What are you? A fucking psychic?” Blake dropped his hand. “Who says I’m going to walk out?”

“Because it’s what you do. Until a year ago, that’s what I did, too. Because you still live for the chase. Whether it’s bad guys or women. Because you don’t know that loving one woman isn’t weakness. You don’t know that planting roots in one place, with someone you love, doesn’t take away your superhero powers and make you average. It’s normal, Blake, and God forbid the Junger men are normal.”

Part of what his brother said was true, and that just pissed him off more. They’d been raised to be better at everything. Even better than each other.

Beau dropped his hands to his sides. “From what you’ve told me, Natalie doesn’t let a lot of men in her life. She’s going to develop stronger feelings for you than you have for her. If she hasn’t already.”

He opened his mouth, then closed it again. He wanted to say Natalie didn’t have feelings for him and Beau could shove his sanctimonious bullshit up his ass, but he couldn’t exactly do that now. “Natalie told me she loves you,” Michael Cooper had informed him just that morning. He hadn’t thought much about it since because he hadn’t been able to figure out the guy’s motive. If he’d said it to see a reaction, Blake hadn’t given him one. It was too soon for Natalie to mention anything about love. They’d had sex only four times, not counting the amazing blow job. They were neighbors and shared a dog. He liked Charlotte and Natalie a lot. Since he’d left for Mexico, he’d known that if he wanted more than a quickie with Natalie, and he definitely did, she would want more from him than booty calls. He was prepared to give her more. He was prepared to have a friends-with-exclusive-benefits-to-the-other’s-naked-body relationship. It was the logical next step but a giant leap from the L-word. There was no way Natalie loved him any more than he loved her.

“Natalie seems like a nice woman. Smart. Beautiful.”

She hated lies and was the only person he’d ever known who truly lived her life as an open book. If Natalie really had told Michael that she loved him, Blake knew her well enough to know she believed it.

“You can’t treat her like you have all the other women in your past,” Beau said over his shoulder as he walked toward the front door. “Shit or get off the pot, frogman.”

Natalie checked on Charlotte one last time. Her daughter was curled up in her own bed asleep. She shut Charlotte’s door and moved into her bathroom. She hurriedly shucked her robe and stepped into her old blue and gold cheerleader skirt. It hit her a bit above mid-thigh, and she could still zip up the side. It was tight around the waist so she left it unbuttoned. The sweater still had her name patch embroidered in a megaphone on the left breast, and her spirit ribbons were still pinned on the right. She pulled the sweater over her head to her waist. It was also tighter across her breasts and pulled when she lifted her arm to brush her hair into a high ponytail.