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20
She loved him. She had stupidly, recklessly fallen in love with Cooper Graham. She’d had plenty of warning—the buzz she’d experience whenever he appeared, the delight she took in making him laugh, the rules she’d broken for him. How could she not have correctly identified that intense wash of emotion engulfing her at the most unexpected times?
She was so dizzy she put her head between her knees, which only made it worse. All the signs had been there, but she’d refused to pay heed to any of them. She’d believed she was immune to falling in love. And maybe she had been. Immune to falling in love with anyone other than Cooper Graham. But watching him being led away in handcuffs had broken open the steel trap that had caged her heart for so long she’d been unaware of its existence. Until now.
She made herself sit back up. She didn’t do love. She had no resources to handle it. How could she walk out this door and act as if everything were normal? He
was so perceptive, so good at reading her mind. He’d see her feelings on her face. And if he did see . . . He’d be so kind. So fricking kind.
The minutes ticked by. Any second now he’d barge in to check on her. She wanted to hide in here forever, but she couldn’t do that, and she made herself stand up. There was only one way she could save herself. Only one way to avoid his pity, his kindness.
She had to get out there and finish this.
***
He emerged from the kitchen with his shirtsleeves rolled up. His lips looked as swollen as hers. Had she bitten him? He’d arranged the silverware haphazardly on their banquette table, along with two neatly plated arugula and apple salads he almost certainly hadn’t made himself.
“Lobster risotto.” He set down the bowls he’d been carrying. “Direct from the kitchen warming drawer. Extra creamy.” His half-lidded gaze slid over her. “Like you.”
The erotic jolt that zipped through her proved exactly how vulnerable she was. She sank into the banquette.
Forcing herself to eat was even more difficult than pretending nothing had changed. “You’re an amazing cook,” she said.
She knew, and he knew she knew, that he hadn’t prepared any of this, but he played along. “Got my finger cut up a little bit going after the claw meat.”
“Injuries happen to all great chefs.”
He grinned. She relentlessly attacked the risotto. It was creamy, just as he’d noted. Cheesy, with succulent chunks of buttery lobster that threatened to stick in her throat. They talked, or mainly he did, going back over what had happened with Parks. She finally told him how she’d gotten Noah’s computer, but even that wasn’t as difficult as what she had to say, and she finally gave up her attempt to eat.
“No good?” he said.
“Pregnancy screws up your appetite.”
He dropped his fork, and his stark horror testified that she was trying too hard to act normally. “I’m kidding.”
“Not funny!” he practically roared.
“You know I turn into a wiseass when I’m stressed.”
“I don’t care how stressed you are. Don’t ever joke about— What are you stressed about?”
Maybe she could put this off for a few days. A few weeks . . . The possibility was as seductive as the serpent in the Garden of Eden and as destructive. She had to do this quickly. Perfectly. Be as ruthless with herself as Duke used to be when she’d cried over a broken balloon or a scuffed knee. She was her father’s daughter, and she made herself look him square in the eye. “Breaking up with you.”
“Yeah, right.”
Lay it out logically. Men understand logic. “My job’s over. I finally have a little money in the bank. I even have another place to stay.”
“You already have a place to stay.”
“A better place. Amber’s leaving in a couple of days for a tour with her choral group, and she isn’t coming back to the Lyric until December, so I’m going to stay at her place.” She hadn’t talked to Amber. Hadn’t even thought about staying there until this very minute.
His frown deepened. “Completely unnecessary.”
“I’ve done what you hired me to do.”
“Which doesn’t have anything to do with the two of us.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Sure it does. The job’s over, and so are we.”
