Whatever Happens in Texas Read online

  “You kissed me,” she said, clearly going with the obvious.

  He nodded, readily admitting that. “You left me a note.” Judging from her blank stare, Cooper should have given her a bit more info. “When you sneaked out of my bed, you left me a note.”

  Huffing, she threw up her hands. Since she was still holding the bouquet, it went in the air, too, and tiny white flowers came fluttering down on both of them. “That was two years ago. The kiss just happened.”

  Cooper saw the point she was trying to make, but damn it, that note had hurt. He’d thought Lila and he had made a real connection that night. One that’d gone beyond just sex, and she’d left him a “son of a bitching” note.

  “I kissed you because I wanted you to know I wasn’t using you,” he stated. “Notice that I didn’t kiss you while Evelyn was standing there. I waited until she’d left so you’d know it was about us and not her.”

  “You shouldn’t have kissed me at all,” she snapped. Lila made a shuddering sound of frustration.

  Welcome to the club.

  Lila had been frustrating him for months now. He hadn’t been able to get her off his mind, and Cooper had planned on using this time together to... Well, he wasn’t exactly sure yet. However, he was either going to have to get her out of his system or... He wasn’t sure about that, either, but he didn’t intend for her to leave him with only a note this time.

  “We just need to focus on the kids,” Lila insisted several sweat-popping moments later.

  “For three days, we will,” Cooper assured her. “For three days, we’ll be the best babysitters in the history of babysitting while I also take care of my brother’s livestock. But after that, there’s no reason why we can’t give this heat between us another try.”

  She stared at him as if he’d grown another nose. “Nerd,” she said, tapping her ample chest. “Not a nerd,” she added, pointing to him.

  Now he frowned. “You’re bringing up high school stuff? Good grief, Lila, we’re thirty-four. We’re past all of that.”

  Her stare continued, and it became more than a little flat. “We’re never past all of that. And the only reason you’re interested in me is because I left you before you had a chance to leave me. You’ve got a reputation, Cooper, and I didn’t want to be another flavor of the week.”

  That stung, bad, but he deserved it. He hadn’t exactly aimed for celibacy. Not until recently, anyway, but a man could change.

  He could change.

  “Maybe I could take nerd lessons,” he said.

  It had the exact effect Cooper had wanted. Lila’s lips twitched with a ghost of a smile. A smile that didn’t last or grow.

  “I stand more of a chance of being a hot Viking princess than you do of being a nerd,” she grumbled.

  Cooper slid another long glance down her body. “You could be a hot Viking princess.”

  Though he didn’t know why she’d want that. She looked great as Lila, the high school history teacher. And seeing her that way was proof that he had indeed changed. The trick would be to convince Lila of that. The second trick would be to get her in bed to test out his notion that there could actually be something more than just heat between them.

  He frowned.

  Cooper had to see the flip side of this, too. Because it could mean the “test” would fail. What he felt for her could be attraction and nothing else. But Cooper didn’t think so. Still, it would be a risk since he could end up hurting her.

  When he glanced back up, he realized Lila was studying him, and she was also frowning. “We’re not having sex again,” she repeated. She brushed past him, her arm skirting against his before she headed back into the reception hall.

  Cooper turned to watch her leave—and to give himself another cheap thrill at seeing her butt in that dress. Several other people were watching her, as well. Or rather they’d been watching Lila and him, no doubt wondering what they were talking about. One of those people was his brother, and Jeremy walked toward him.

  Hell. This wouldn’t be good. Jeremy had far better things to do at his own reception than to come outside and speak to him. Obviously, though, that’s what his brother had in mind.

  Jeremy joined him under the shade tree, and he turned, watching and waiting until Lila was inside and therefore out of earshot.

  “You want to talk about this?” Jeremy asked.

  The answer to this was simple enough. “No.”

  Talking wouldn’t do any good, and it sure as heck wouldn’t convince his body to change directions toward any woman other than the very one who didn’t seem to want him.

  Except she did.

  Cooper had felt the hunger in that kiss. Had seen it in her eyes. He wasn’t mistaken about that. Lila wanted him, all right, but she was going to fight it tooth and nail.

  Jeremy sighed. “Do you know what the hell you’re doing?”

  Again, the answer was simple enough. “Nope. Not a clue.”

  But Cooper was pretty sure the next three days were going to be plenty interesting.

  * * *

  LILA DRANK HER iced tea and frowned at her lunch companions. Sophia and Noah both had their attention fixed to their phones.

  This was not what she’d had in mind when she’d agreed to babysit. She’d envisioned watching movies, playing board games or even going horseback riding with them.

  So far, none of that was happening.

  Both Sophia and Noah had slept until nearly lunchtime and then had told Lila they’d be hanging with their friends all afternoon. Friends who would be arriving to pick them up right after lunch. Lila had cleared the “hanging out” part with Jeremy and Crystal, but she hadn’t expected the kids to want to do that on their first day with Cooper and her.

  Of course, Cooper wasn’t actually around, either.

  All four of them had headed straight for bed after the reception that hadn’t ended until well after midnight. They’d been too tired to do any hanging out then. Too tired for any more kisses or sex talk between Cooper and her.

  Lila had been thankful there was none of that sex talk/kissing. She’d been exhausted and hadn’t wanted to tangle with Cooper while her defenses were down. But not only had he not tried anything before they’d gone to their separate guest bedrooms, he’d been up and out of the house before dawn. He’d left her a note to say he needed to take care of some chores on his own ranch before coming back to do the ones at Jeremy’s. Noah had pitched in, too, and had done an hour or more in the barn and stable before coming in to shower and have lunch.

  Cooper’s crammed work schedule was for the best, Lila assured herself. If the next two days were the same, then she wouldn’t see him all morning. Maybe not in the afternoons, either. But that left the evenings. Three of them, to be exact. And while her willpower told her she could hold out long enough to resist him, her body was urging her to take him up on his offer.

  There’s no reason why we can’t give this heat between us another try.

  There was a reason. A huge one. Lila didn’t want to spend the next decade of her life trying to forget a man who was basically unforgettable. And that was something she would have to live with, because despite the other things Cooper had said, he wasn’t the sort to settle with just one woman. Especially someone like her.

  “Forty percent of teenagers fail the test for their learner’s permit on their first try,” Sophia said.

  Lila glanced up from her “yet to be eaten” sandwich to see what’d prompted her niece to volunteer that tidbit. The girl had stopped peering at her own phone screen long enough to look at Noah’s.

  “He’s already studying for his learner’s permit,” Sophia told Lila.

  This wasn’t the first Lila had heard about that. Noah had mentioned it to his father, Crystal and Cooper.

  “I can’t even take the test for another six months and four days,” Noah grum
bled. He looked up at Lila, and there was some hope in his eyes. “But I can get a waiver if there’s like some hardship in the family. You know, if I really need to be able to drive because everybody else is too sick or something to do it. I could really help out more around here if I had a license,” he added.

  Lila wasn’t sure what he expected her to do about that. “Six months isn’t that long to wait,” she settled for saying, which was similar to what he’d already heard from Crystal.

  “It’s forever,” he complained, but then he immediately jumped to his feet. “Gotta go,” Noah said, stuffing the rest of his sandwich into his mouth before he hurried to the door.

  She hadn’t heard the vehicle approaching the house, but she saw the minivan as it pulled into the driveway. Sandy Kellerman gave Lila a wave, and Noah piled into the back seat with Sandy’s son, Jace, and another boy whom Lila didn’t recognize. Jace’s older brother, Beckett, was in the front, riding shotgun.

  Lila nearly went out to the minivan just to find out what the boys had planned—probably some of the same “hanging out” ideas as she’d had. But if she did that, Noah would probably consider it hovering. So instead, she waved goodbye to him, called out a reminder that he had to be home by nine o’clock, and she turned to Sophia to see if she could manage any quality time with her before she, too, headed out.

  Nope.

  Lila heard another vehicle, an SUV this time, and Sophia scooped up her backpack that she’d already positioned by the front door. “I’ll be at Ella’s,” the girl said, hurrying out to the SUV.

  She repeated the goodbye wave, this time with Ella Benton and her dad, Taylor, who was apparently doing chauffeur duty for his daughter. Then Lila stood there on the front porch, wondering what to do with this unexpected free time. However, it wasn’t a decision she had to make, because another vehicle pulled into the driveway. A candy apple–red vintage Mustang this time. And the woman who stepped from it wasn’t there for the kids.

  Evelyn.

  Cooper’s ex was dressed in a snug red top that matched her car and skinny jeans. Emphasis on the skinny. She’d scooped up her long blond hair into a ponytail and was wearing designer sunglasses that probably cost more than Lila made in a month.

  Evelyn reached into her Mustang and brought out a covered casserole dish. She aimed a cool smile at Lila. “I’m here to see Cooper.”

  The woman’s tone was polite enough, but Lila heard the subtext that went along with it. Evelyn was letting her know that she didn’t even consider Lila to be a rival for Cooper’s affections. No doubt because Evelyn just didn’t see Lila as any kind of real competition.

  “Cooper’s not here,” Lila informed her.

  That stopped Evelyn in her tracks, and she glanced around as if she thought that might be a lie. “Where is he?” Evelyn asked.

  It was petty of Lila to answer “I’m not sure,” but it was possibly true. Possibly. If Cooper had finished his chores at his ranch, he could be in town on some other errand.

  “Oh.” Evelyn stood in the yard a moment longer before she started for the porch. “Well, I wanted to give this to him. Lasagna, his favorite. Cooper’s not much of a cook, and I didn’t want him to starve while he’s helping out his brother.”

  With the hopes of hurrying the woman along, Lila reached for the dish, but Evelyn shifted it, hanging on tight. She used her other hand to take off her sunglasses, and her eyes went straight to Lila’s.

  “I’ll just bring it by later,” Evelyn insisted. “I’m guessing you’ll be around all afternoon, keeping an eye on things?”

  Again, there was subtext, and Lila thought the woman was implying she was there only to be close to Cooper. “Yes, I’ll be around,” Lila assured her, and she added a sly smile that she figured would give Evelyn some subtext, as well.

  Lying subtext, that is.

  The smile might make Evelyn believe that something was indeed going on between Cooper and her. Something that Lila could be discouraging instead of taking a poke at Evelyn, but darn it, the woman was riling her. It didn’t help that Evelyn was turning up her nose as if she’d caught a whiff of something bad. Apparently, nerd air wasn’t very pleasant.

  “And then you’ll go back to San Antonio,” Evelyn supplied, her eyes slightly narrowed.

  Lila shrugged. “We’ll see.” She added another of those smug smiles. One that quickly faded when Cooper’s truck turned into the driveway.

  No more narrowed eyes for Evelyn. She turned, posing for Cooper by angling her long, lean body and flashing him a smile that was bright enough to be seen from Jupiter.

  “I’m glad I caught you,” Evelyn said, stepping to the side, which meant she moved in front of Lila.

  Still feeling plenty riled, Lila nudged the woman aside with her elbow and matched her fake smile with one of her own. Clearly, this confused Cooper, because he stopped midstep and eyed them.

  “Is, uh, everything okay?” he asked.

  “Fine,” Evelyn rushed to say. She lifted the dish. “I made you some of my famous lasagna.”

  “Thanks,” he muttered with his forehead still bunched up. “Is everything okay?” he repeated, this time aiming it specifically at Lila. “Where are the kids?”

  “They’re with friends.” Lila widened her smile and went to him. And as if she had a perfect right to do it, she came up on her toes and kissed him.

  Cooper stiffened for only a second before he made a grunt of pleasure and kissed her right back.

  CHAPTER THREE

  COOPER HAD NO trouble figuring out what was going on here. Evelyn had gotten under Lila’s skin—something that Evelyn was a pro at doing—and this was Lila’s way of striking back.

  The kiss was just a pretense.

  However, when Lila’s mouth moved over his, Cooper forgot all about Evelyn, her lasagna lure and why Lila was doing this. Hell, he forgot how to think or breathe. The only thing he was doing was reacting. And it wasn’t an especially smart reaction, either. Because he moved right into the kiss and took Lila’s mouth as if it were his new favorite thing to have for lunch.

  Lila was having a reaction, too, and he didn’t think it was all part of the pretense. She made a sound of pleasure. A silky moan that rumbled deep in her throat, and her palm flattened on his chest. It didn’t stay still, either. Her fingers moved, stroking him. That gave him another reaction. One that started stirring below his belt. And that’s when Cooper knew he had to stop this and regroup.

  Or at least move to a private place.

  Making out in front of his ex—or anybody else, for that matter—just wasn’t right. It might get Evelyn to finally back off, but this was also something Lila would regret once she regained her senses. Which would happen within a split second after he pulled back from her.

  It did.

  He watched as the shock flared through Lila’s eyes, and then reality sank in. They’d just kissed the living daylights out of each other, and the heat beneath the pretense was real. This was a situation of opening a Texas-sized Pandora’s box, and that kind of heat just wasn’t going to cool without, well, sex.

  Cooper hadn’t needed the kiss to urge him in the direction of sex. Lila had been on his mind all day. Heck, for months now. And now he’d gotten a really good sample of how things could be between them. Well, once they had some privacy, that is.

  Evelyn cleared her throat, no doubt to get their attention, and Cooper finally took his gaze off Lila so he could deal with the woman. But Evelyn apparently wanted to deal with Lila first. She practically thrust the lasagna into her hands.

  “You can reheat it in the oven, three hundred degrees for about fifteen minutes,” Evelyn said. There was no venom in her voice, no worry whatsoever in her cool eyes when she shifted her attention to Cooper. “Call me when you’re...”

  Evelyn smiled but didn’t verbally fill in the blank. Cooper didn’t have to hear the words to k
now what she meant. Call me when you’re done with Lila.

  Cooper wished he could scald her with a denial, but he couldn’t, not with his track record. Evelyn wouldn’t buy his “changed man” deal any more than Lila had, and words were cheap. It was going to take some action, and time, to convince Lila and everybody else that there was no longer a revolving door on his love life.

  “See you soon,” Evelyn added, again to Cooper.

  His ex didn’t even spare Lila another glance before Evelyn sauntered back to her car and drove away.

  Cooper turned to Lila to see if she wanted to start the conversation they needed to have about that kiss. Or maybe he should just give her some time to vent. But she stayed quiet, sliding glances between him and the dish.

  “You’re going to burn that lasagna, aren’t you?” Cooper asked.

  “Perhaps.” She paused. “Yes.”

  “Good. It’s not even my favorite,” he confessed. “I had it once at Evelyn’s and said it was good, and she’s been making it for me ever since.”

  Lila’s shoulders seemed to relax a bit, and she took the foil off the top of the dish and upended it. The lasagna thudded onto the ground in one giant blob and splattered bits of sauce and cheese everywhere.

  The air was suddenly filled with the scent of tomato and Italian spices. It didn’t make him hungry. Cooper hadn’t lied about it not being his favorite. But seeing the satisfied smile on Lila’s mouth made him want to kiss her again.

  “I’m sorry I came on to you like that,” Lila said, stomping on the lasagna and grinding it into the grass and dirt. The meaty sauce oozed around her flip-flops, but she didn’t stop.

  He shrugged. “Seemed like a good way to get your point across to Evelyn. And FYI, I’m not sorry. I don’t regret what happened one bit.”

  Or at least he wouldn’t regret it once his body started to soften. Apparently, that brainless part of him behind his zipper hadn’t realized why Lila had started that lip-lock, and it thought it was about to get lucky.