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Cooper thanked him and slipped him what I assumed to be a fat check to thank him for his help.
“Whew.” Cooper exhaled slowly as he sank into the chair next to me. It was nearly midnight and we were both wiped out. “That was insane.”
“Tell me about it!” I looked over at him and smiled.
“You were amazing,” he said, his voice suddenly very serious.
I tried to brush off his compliment.
“Allison, I’m serious. Without you…” His voice trailed off. “Well, let’s just say this company can’t take one more fire to fight. Thank you.”
I nodded and tried to breathe normally. The room crackled with intensity and I found myself, once again, being pulled to Cooper.
“Come on,” he said, standing and offering me his hand. “Let’s relax a little. Or does Sam need you home?” He smiled at me and I couldn’t help but laugh at his reference to my cat.
“I think he’ll be okay,” I answered before slipping my hand into his.
“Glad to hear it.” Cooper’s eyes darkened as I let him lead me to the leather couch on the opposite side of my office. He sank down and pulled me next to him. “Are you hungry? You never got a chance to eat. I put your food in the fridge. I can go heat it up, though.”
I stared at him, baffled by his sweet gesture. He was the most complicated man I’d ever met. He brought out every emotion within me, sometimes all at once.
He could make me so angry and fierce that I wanted to punch him, and then rebound two seconds later and have me eating out of the palm of his hand.
It was insane.
And intoxicating.
I had to admit that regardless of how much I wanted to be angry and stomp my feet and throw a fit, the reality was that I was developing real feelings for him and I wasn’t sure what to do with them just yet.
“I’m all right. Let’s just sit. My brain is fried.”
Cooper laughed. “I bet.” His hand was still holding mine and he gave a little tug and I fell against him. His rock-solid chest provided a nice place to land and I didn’t give in to the urge to resist. I let myself lay against him and heard the comforting beat of his heart under my ear.
“This is nice,” he whispered against my hair.
I nodded, but the quiet of the room and his voice was starting to unsettle me.
“Do you prefer Allie, or Allison?” he asked.
It struck me as an odd question. We had known each other for well over a month at this point. He’d always called me Allison.
“Most people call me Allison, but friends and family call me Allie,” I answered, wondering where he was going with his question.
“Well, what am I?” he asked. He tilted his head to look down at me.
Good freaking question, I thought.
If only I knew…
“You can call me Allie.”
“Okay, Allie. Have you ever been in love?” he asked.
This time, I popped off his chest and stared at him. “What kind of a question is that?”
It was like he’d touched a raw nerve and I recoiled at the sensation.
“Whoa, easy,” he said. He reached over and placed my head back on his chest and stroked my hair gently. “It was just a question. We’ll start with something easier. Tell me about your tattoos,” he said, his hand sliding from the ends of my hair and over my arm, tracing the colored lines of my tattoo sleeve.
