Cooper: Casanova Club #8
Date: 2019-07-20T11:33:02.624353+00:00

COOPER

CASANOVA CLUB #8

ALI PARKER

BRIXBAXTER PUBLISHING

CONTENTS

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Description

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

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DESCRIPTION

My journey with the Casanova Club has been full of wonder and magic and, dare I say, heartbreak.

More heartbreak than I ever imagined I could endure.

But here I am, suitcases packed, chin held high, ready to march into July to meet my next Bachelor.

Cooper Diaz.

He’s disgustingly handsome. Abs for days. A smolder worthy of every billboard in New York City. And a devilish grin that promises one thing:

Mayhem.

Too bad he’s a complete jerk.

My first encounter with him at his beachside mansion in Nassau sends me reeling. I’ve dealt with my fair share of arrogant pretty boys, but Cooper puts them all to shame, and he’s a stark contrast to the gentlemen I’ve met prior to him on this journey.

It’s only a month.

I can survive a month without falling for his ‘charms’ and his it-must-be-painted-on six pack.

Right?

One thing is for certain.

I didn’t expect what I got from this bachelor. And I sure didn’t expect how our time together ended, either.

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CHAPTER 1

PIPER

The clock on the stove rolled over to display the time in mint-green lighting.

10:15 a.m.

I had approximately one hour left before I had to head to the airport and catch my flight to Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, and meet the next bachelor on my whirlwind Casanova dating extravaganza.

Cooper Diaz.

Billionaire. Playboy. And one hell of a looker.

“Piper,” Janie said from where she stood over a sizzling pan, bubbling with pancakes. “Call your dad. You’re running out of time.”

I swallowed and looked down at my blank phone screen.

I wasn’t entirely sure why I had put off calling my father since I’d gotten home late the night before from Aaron’s. Certainly, I was a bit nervous to talk to him because I wasn’t sure where things stood with us. We’d fought last month about the restaurant and his surgery, but I’d been there when he went into recovery, and there hadn’t been any semblance of tension.

Of course, that could have been due to the fact that we were all on our best behavior. I, for one, hadn’t been keen on starting an argument with my very stubborn father minutes after he came out of heart surgery.

So now, there I was. Back in that infuriating place of being unsure.

Janie let out a dramatic sigh and turned from the pan to point her spatula. “Piper. Call him. Now.”

“I will.”

She arched an expectant eyebrow as her eyes flicked from my face to the phone in my hands.

I waved her off. “Just let me make sure I’m fully packed first.”

Janie’s glare burned into my back as I hurried down the hall to unzip my three suitcases for the third time that morning and compare the contents to the list I’d downloaded on my phone: A Complete Packing Guide for the Bahamas. I was feeling a little more frazzled this month, and if I was going to forget something important, it felt like now would be the time.

Because this was the bachelor I was most nervous about.

Cooper hadn’t given me warm tingly feelings when we’d met back at the Casanova Club in December. In fact, the only feelings he’d given me were the “stay very far away” sort of feelings. To go from spending a month with Aaron—sweet, wholesome, kind, generous Aaron—to being with Cooper was going to be a huge shock to my system.

So, I’d packed accordingly with plenty of books and ample distractions, in case I loathed him entirely.

My suitcase checked out against the list on my phone, just like it had the other three times I’d checked it this morning. Wishing I didn’t have to, I sat down on the edge of the bed and called my father’s cell. He’d be home, still recovering from surgery, and either Phillip or my mother would be there watching over him.

He didn’t answer.

I sighed and let my hand fall into my lap. It was getting harder and harder to lie to my folks.

Sure, the bright shiny light at the end of the path helped a little, but a lie was a lie, and the James family never lied. Especially to each other.

I was sure, when all was said and done and they saw why I was doing this, they would understand. The million dollars in their pockets would speak for itself. And if they needed more time to process, so be it. They could be angry at me while we paid off all the debts and saved the restaurant.

My phone rang.

I yelped and nearly jumped out of my skin, sending my phone clattering to the floor. Cursing under my breath, I went to my knees to pick it up and answer the call.

“Hi, Daddy.”

“Piper.” My father’s warm voice filled the line. He sounded a little tired but in high spirits. “Sorry I missed your call. Couldn’t get to the phone in time. You know how it is. I’m a little slow at the moment.”

“That’s all right. I knew you’d call back.” I shifted to rest my back against the side of the bed. I drew my knees up to my chest and rested my chin on them.

“How are you?” he asked.

How was I? Good Lord. What a loaded question.

“I’m good,” I said.

I wasn’t. I was anything but good.

My body and heart were exhausted and heavy. The thought of settling into another man’s house for the month of July made me want to hurl myself off my apartment balcony and just be done with it. I used to hang on to the memories of the men I cared for to bring me joy and relief, but they now only brought pain, and for some reason, the end of this process felt like it was getting farther away rather than closer.

I was shutting down.

“How are you, Daddy?”

“Oh, you know. I’m hanging in here. Your mother and brother are taking good care of me. They’re working very hard. I owe them a lot. Keeping the restaurant open while still tending to me.”

I grimaced. Poor Mom and Phillip. And I thought I was tired.

My father sighed. “We miss you.”

I gnawed at my bottom lip. “I miss you guys too. A lot.” I wish things could go back to normal.

“The year will be done soon,” he said. “You’ll be back sometime for summer break? Wait. Isn’t that now?”

“No. It’s a full-time program. I won’t be back until the end of the year.”

“Oh.” My father let out a short grunt of pain, and I imagined him sitting in his chair in the living room, trying to get comfortable without putting too much strain on his healing chest. “Well that’s all right, Piper. I understand. How is school going, by the way? We haven’t had a chance to talk much about what’s going on with you.”

“School is… tiring.”

“Are you doing all right, sweetheart?”

I pulled the phone from my ear, covered the speaker with my palm, and let out a trembling breath. I willed my bottom lip to stop trembling. Now was not the time to lose my composure. When I lifted the phone back to my ear, my father was asking for me, assuming our call had been cut off.

“Sorry, Dad. I think I lost you for a second there. Yes, I’m doing all right. I just miss home. And you and Mom and Phillip. And I feel really bad abandoning all of you with the restaurant and your surgery and—”

“Piper, don’t talk like that. School is important. I know I’ve done a poor job of showing it lately, but… I’m proud of you. You’re making the hard choices and doing the right thing by you. And think of it this way. You’re more than halfway through. You’ll be back home before you know it.”

“Yeah. You’re right.”

“What’s it like there, anyway?”

I hesitated. “At school?”

“Yes. What is your campus like? Have you made more friends, other than that Aaron character?”

I smiled at my father saying Aaron’s name. It was a strange thing to have introduced one of the bachelors to my family, with them being none the wiser. It almost made the whole thing feel a little more real between Aaron and me.

I hoped he wasn’t in trouble with Jackson Lee for coming back home with me to see my father into surgery.

“I have other friends, yes,” I said.

“Girls?”

I laughed. “Dad!”

“What?”

“You don’t have to worry about me and Aaron. We’re just friends.”

“I wasn’t worried.”

“Uh huh,” I said.

My father put on a good show of pretending not to care about Aaron. We talked for a little while longer, and he told me all about how his recovery was going. Walking was easier. He still had some tenderness and pain, but his body was healing nicely. He joked about getting a zipper tattoo up his chest over the scar, and I decided to say goodbye when his mood was good.

“Have a good week, Piper. We’ll talk soon. All right?”

“All right.” I rolled to my knees before getting to my feet. “Love you, Daddy.”

“Love you too, sweetheart.”

With a tired sigh, I slid my phone into the back pocket of my jeans, zipped all my suitcases closed for the final time, and began toting them out into the living room. Janie was sitting at the island in the kitchen, devouring her pancakes, and she offered me some of the extras on the pan.

“Thanks, but I’m good.” My stomach was unsettled and had been all morning. The thought of putting food in my body made me want to hurl. I was simply too nervous.

“I get it. Did you at least pack some snacks for the flight?”

“No. But I’ll buy something when I’m through security.”

Janie nodded and twisted around on her stool. “Can we talk about Cooper, Piper?”

“What did you want to talk about?”

Janie shrugged. “I just wanted to give you a heads-up. He’s not like the other guys.”

“I know.”

“No, like, he’s really not like the other guys. He didn’t start this thing with good intentions. His end game probably has nothing to do with you or a proposal. So just keep your wits about you, okay?”

“I will. Don’t worry, Janie. I already don’t trust him. He’s—”

“A douche bag,” Janie finished for me.

I chuckled. That pretty much summed it up. “Maybe he’ll surprise me.”

“No. I’m serious, Piper. Don’t give him an inch. He’s a playboy with a reputation and a lot of money, which makes him powerful.”

“Janie, relax. I get it. And I hear you loud and clear. I’m going to try to spend my entire month on a beach chair, soaking up the sun and reading my books. Does that sound safe enough for you?”

Janie, my guardian angel, slash best friend, slash personal bodyguard, licked her lips. “If you’re in his line of sight, I don’t think you can use the word safe.”

CHAPTER 2

COOPER

Fuck love.

Fuck the idea that a man needed a woman to make him better. I sure as shit didn’t.

All I needed was this right here.

The ocean. The world at the tips of my fingers. The rolling water under my board, and a promise of excitement that could be hiding in the next wave.

Women had one role in my life, and I liked it that way.

And so did they. Because I was damn good with them. Well, their bodies anyway.

I turned in a slow circle, pointing my cherry-red surfboard away from the shore and toward the horizon, where the sun was high in the sky and beating down on me and my buddies as we waited to catch some good afternoon waves.

So far, there hadn’t been any action.

Davis, Mitch, and Luke followed suit, pointing their boards in the same direction as mine. The water was steady for miles.

Damn it.

Mitch lowered himself down to his elbows. “Too bad there isn’t a little more action for you, bro. You might not get as much time out here this month, what with your new lady friend moving in.”

“She’s not a lady friend,” I said sourly.

A “lady friend” was a woman whose body I had access to whenever I wanted. A woman who shared my bed, my shower, and wore minimal, to no clothing while she was lucky enough to stay at my place.

Piper James was something else.

I hadn’t found a label for her yet, but I was sure a nickname would come to me within the next couple days.

Mitch looked over his shoulder at me and arched a blond eyebrow. “Well, she’s a lady, isn’t she?”

“Sure, she has the appropriate parts,” I muttered.

Davis chuckled. “Coop is paranoid she’s gonna be a prude.”

The others laughed. Luke, who was sitting closest to me, leaned sideways to knuckle my shoulder. “If she is, that’s karma. I hope she keeps her legs closed all month.”

“What did I do to deserve that?” I asked.

The three of them snickered at my expense.

Bastards. All of them.

I sat up straighter and kept my eyes focused on the stretch of turquoise water before us, searching for the slightest hint of a wave while my three friends ran with their current focus of amusement.

“If she has any clue who you are, she’ll show up wearing a chastity belt,” Mitch said.

“Dude, if she has any clue, she won’t let him anywhere near her goods,” Luke said firmly.

Davis nodded his steadfast agreement. “If I was a chick, there’s no way in hell I’d sleep with you, Coop. No offense, but you’ve been around.”

“Damn straight, I have. And you know what that means? Experience. The ladies love me. There’s a reason they keep coming back for more. You all are just jealous. And petty.”

Davis slapped at the thin layer of water gliding over the top of his board, spraying it up into my face. I wiped it away with a laugh.

“Shouldn’t you head back up to the house?” Mitch asked.

“Nope, not until I catch at least one wave.”

Mitch frowned. “But she’s gonna show up any time now, isn’t she?”

“Your point?” I asked.

Mitch scratched at his chin. “No point.”

I smirked. “I’m sure all the other do-gooder Casanova boys put on a good show for her. I bet they pulled out all the stops and dazzled her with their fancy suits and charms. Fuck that. I have no intention of changing my lifestyle to accommodate her for a month. If she doesn’t like it, then guess what? There are eleven other dudes for her to choose from.”

“Why did you sign up for this thing, then?” Luke asked, cocking his head to the side.

I shrugged. “It was something I could win.”

“Of course.” Luke rolled his eyes.

It was the truth. When you had the sort of money I did and access to anything and everything you wanted, sometimes you needed to throw something new into the mix just for shits and giggles.

Piper was my shits and giggles.

However, she hadn’t been my first choice. Hell, she hadn’t even been my tenth or twentieth. I had a thing for blondes. Correction, I had a thing for blonde bombshells with big tits and tanned skin. Piper was pretty, sure, but she wasn’t my class of pretty.

That wasn’t her fault, but I sure as shit wasn’t going to dazzle her with the whole Cooper show. What a waste of my fucking time.

I was going to surf. And when I was good and ready, I’d head back up to the house. If she was there, fine. If not? Also fine.

As if the ocean knew I was on a timeline, it shrugged beneath my board, gently rocking me up and then down as it crested and rolled out toward the shore.

I grinned. “I think we’re getting our ride, boys.”

My friends straightened up, and for a few silent minutes, the four of us gazed out at our stretch of ocean; our paradise that ran off toward the skyline for miles and miles in front of my beachfront mansion. This was our private surfing area, and I’d had the house specifically built here so I could come out to this shore whenever I damn well pleased and catch waves.

A ripple in the surface about a quarter mile out caught my eye, and I started turning my board back toward the shore. The others followed suit, and we watched over our shoulders as it crept closer, picking up speed and height as it came until it fully formed behind us.

We paddled like mad and fanned out. The wave was close to breaking.

It caught up to us, and at the last possible moment, I popped up, planted my feet, kept my knees bent, and dipped the board down and to the right. I caught the wave as it white capped and broke, forming a two-foot tall tunnel behind me as I rode the front.

The others didn’t make it as far as I did. They never did.

The wave swallowed them as I rode her wide and into shore, stepping off my board as the rush of water foamed in the shallows. It washed over my head, and I stayed under, ears humming with the rush of water and the grainy whisper of the sand dancing across the ocean floor beneath me.

When I broke the surface, I hoisted myself up onto my stomach on my board and paddled to the shore. Once it was shallow enough, I walked the rest of the way. The ocean continued to tug and pull around my legs as if beckoning me to return to it.

And did I ever want to.

But there was always tomorrow.

Mitch, Davis, and Luke were still out on their boards. I threw a hand in the air to wave, and they hollered “good luck” to me as they paddled back out to our sitting point.

The sand underfoot was hot as I made my way up the beach, but it was a heat I’d grown used to after living there for the last four years. My house loomed up above, set back from the beach by only fifty feet and built up high on a miniature mountain of rocky foundation to spare it from any potential flooding. It stood there like a modern castle, all glass and white-concrete frame, proudly planted on the most expensive slice of land in Nassau.

And she was all mine.

I was halfway up the beach when a tight body in a neon-yellow bikini caught my eye. She was spectacular. And she caught my eye as she approached and offered me a coy little smile that pressed dimples into her tanned cheeks.

“Why hello there,” I purred.

She stopped walking. Sand speckled her ankles, which were both wrapped in glittering silver chains, and her toes were painted a bright shade of pink that matched the color on her fingertips. A silver belly chain hung around her hips and connected to a sparkly piece of jewelry in her navel that matched the pieces on her ankle.

She was a summer goddess, sun kissed, with golden hair and eyes the color of the ocean at night.

She bit her bottom lip and batted her lashes bashfully at me. “Hi.”

A shy little minx. One of my favorites in bed. Soft spoken and meek in public, but wild and greedy in the bedroom.

If Piper wasn’t coming to my place this month, I’d have already slapped some pickup lines on this hottie and invited her up to my place. And judging by the way she was looking at me, it would have been an easy yes.

“Do you come here often?” I asked, already thinking down the road. If I couldn’t have her in July, maybe I could have her in August. She’d be even more bronze by then.

Delicious.

There were several reasons I’d moved to the Bahamas four years ago, but fit, tanned women in bikinis that covered barely anything was definitely reason numero uno.

“I’m here for another week,” she said with a sweet smile. Her dimples were maddening.

“Damn,” I breathed. “Can’t swing it, sweetheart.”

She was missing out.

She frowned as if taken aback by my confidence. “Swing it?”

“On any other day, you and I might have been able to have some fun together. You know. Some drinks. Maybe a bit of dancing. A walk on the beach that ends with both of us naked in the water at midnight. That sort of thing.”

She ran a finger along her collarbone and then down to the fabric of her bikini. “Oh?”

I chuckled deeply. I’d called it. She was a minx. A freak in the bedroom for sure. I could tell by the hooded look in her deep eyes. “Oh yes.”

Her cheeks turned bright pink.

I brushed past her, my shoulder gently grazing hers, and I heard her feet shift the sand underfoot as she turned to watch me leave. Having a woman look longingly after me would never get old.

As I made my way back to my house, I considered how unlucky I was. The blonde girl on the beach was a solid nine and a half. Near perfect. And I was flushing my shot with her down the drain because of the Casanova Club.

I should have left well enough alone when Jackson Lee first reached out to me to invite me to the club for interviews. It would have been better to keep going with my life the way it was.

But even a playboy billionaire got bored. And sometimes, you had to throw a wild card into the mix.

Of course, I was hoping for something a little wilder than Piper James.

Sure, she’d showed up in leather pants and killer red lipstick, but I could see right through her.

She was the girl next door, nothing more. And this bachelor didn’t go for girls like that.

CHAPTER 3

PIPER

I could see why the word “billionaire” was used as an adjective to describe Cooper Diaz, the richest man in Nassau.

His house was not a house at all, but rather a generous, sprawling, obnoxious testament to his bank account.

I stared up at it through the back window of the luxury town car that had picked me up from the airport. My breath fogged up the glass as my driver, a woman in a pinstripe business suit with short, slicked-back blonde hair named Talia, twisted around in her seat to look expectantly at me.

She was severe looking and intimidating, and she’d told me on the drive over that we would probably see more of each other over the course of the month. I assumed she meant because she’d be driving me all over the island.

“We’re here,” Talia said flatly.

I interpreted her words to mean, get out of the car so I can leave.

I licked my lips. “Um. Can you point me in the right direction of the front door?”

Talia didn’t laugh. She didn’t strike me as a woman who laughed much, really. But her mouth quirked, and I sensed a little softness from her, which I appreciated.

I was super intimidated.

Talia pointed between the two front seats toward the house and tipped her chin. “You see there, between the baby palms?”

“Baby palms?” I followed the line she made with her index finger until my gaze settled on two short palm trees with wide trunks. “Yes.”

“Go between those. Follow the path down a set of stairs. Follow the bend. The front door is right around the corner on the side of the house. Mr. Diaz appreciates his privacy.”

“Privacy?” I almost scoffed. How could such an eyesore of a house ever be considered private? It didn’t matter how high a fence was built around it. There would be prying eyes.

I opened the back door of the car anyway and paused to lean in. “Thank you. I’ll see you around.”

“Don’t forget your bags in the back.”

Right. My bags. My bags which I would apparently be solely responsible for moving into the house. Three massive suitcases’ worth.

“Thank you,” I said again, for no apparent reason. There wasn’t much to be thankful for. Talia had been reserved and quiet for the duration of the drive, only speaking when spoken to, and I was left to spend the half hour from the airport to Cooper’s agonizing over what the month was going to be like.

And so far, it was shaping up to be just as disappointing as I’d anticipated.

My sandals slapped on the hot asphalt as I moved around to the back of the car to the popped open trunk, and lugged my three massive bags out of it to line them up on the path in front of Cooper’s house. As soon as the latch on the trunk closed, Talia’s brake lights went out, and she pulled away, leaving me in the scorching heat with my three heavy bags and an even heavier heart.

“Where’s a gentleman when you need one?” I pouted to myself, staring down at my row of bags.

Talia had said something about stairs, too. It looked like I was going to be bringing the bags down one at a time.

I started with the heaviest and tried not to think about how horrified the other men I’d spent time with so far this year would be to learn I had half pulled, half carried my own suitcases to the front door of Cooper’s mansion.

It wasn’t a short little walk either.

His front door was fairly far down the side of the house and through a winding garden of tropical plants of various colors and shapes and sizes, and by the time I had all my bags set up at the front door, I was dripping with perspiration and feeling anything but cute.

Regardless, I was there, and I wasn’t going to bother trying to fix myself up for Cooper’s benefit.

I rang the doorbell and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

I planted my hands on my hips as a gentle breeze picked up and caught the hem of my dress. “Are you fucking serious?” I mumbled, peering back and forth down the path through the gardens.

The jackass wasn’t even home?

I could hear Joshua musing over how unsurprising this was.

And Aaron teasing how at least his entrance wasn’t this bad.

Jeremiah would have just been furious that I was made to wait.

Miles would have been offended, too. “Quietly irked” were the words that came to mind.

And Easton?

Well, he probably would have seen this coming and given me the heads-up in advance.

Wyatt would have silently stewed, jaw set in an angry line, and he likely would have waited here on the spot until Cooper showed up so he could give him a piece of his mind. Or his fist.

Seeing as how none of my gentlemen were here to fight for me, I decided to take action and set off down the path around to the back of the house. My temper was as hot as the weather as my sandals slapped obnoxiously over the paving stones laid in the grass. I emerged from the shadow cast by the monstrosity of a house in an immaculate backyard. Everything was green and lush, and beyond and below was a pristine white sand beach.

And the ocean. A beautiful turquoise ocean. It reminded me of my time in Rarotonga with Miles. Good Lord, how I wished he was the one here with me instead of Cooper fucking Diaz.

I stopped to admire the yard. There was an in-ground infinity pool and a staircase to the right that led down to the beach. A cabana to the right hosted a bar that I imagined was used for bumping parties in the evenings. Lawn chairs with plush cushions littered the garden and patio around the pool, and in one of the lawn chairs was a man.

Cooper himself. And damn him for how good he looked in that chair.

The chair was on the lowest setting, so he was almost lying completely flat on his back. His hands were clasped behind his head, showing off arms that rippled with muscle and were heavily inked in swirling black tattoos. He was shirtless, and I was suddenly very parched as I traced every ab with my eyes.

Whoa.

Cooper was the kind of sexy you only saw in the movies. And not all the movies. Only the select few. Like your sexual awakening movies.

Every girl had that moment where a leading man came on screen and, suddenly, she feels very different. And she can’t stop thinking about him for ages. Weeks. Months. Years. He would be this all-consuming entity to her—and yes, cartoons counted too—and she would create this idea of who he was as a person in real life. He was dreamy. And charismatic. And wise. And romantic. Obviously.

My sexual awakening?

Easy. Jeff Goldblum from the first Jurassic Park in his black leather pants, sprawled out on a metal table while his injured leg was tended to. Oh, and did I mention his shirt was mostly undone?

Yeah, well…

Cooper was making me feel like that with his chiseled, tanned body. He was powerful but not in a scary way. His muscles were purposeful and well earned. And the tattoos? Well, the tattoos were just icing on the cake.

I made my way across the pool patio to go stand close to his chair and see if he was awake.

He didn’t stir. He stayed exactly where he was, his eyes hidden from me by black Ray Bans, his chest rising and falling with slow, controlled breaths. I swallowed and wet my lips.

Was I supposed to wake him up? And if I let him sleep, how long should I stand around waiting for him before I finally threw in the towel and asked him to let me in his damn house?

I could always just find one of my bathing suits and take a dip in the glorious pool. It was probably the nicest pool I’d ever seen. The view was pretty good too.

Of the ocean. Not the hot guy sleeping on the lounge chair. Although it wasn’t that big of a con.

I let out a long sigh and hung my head back. I was about to turn and walk away when Cooper himself let out a sigh to match mine. “Like what you see, Princess?”

Oh God. He was one of those guys.

I blinked at him and shielded my eyes from the sun. “Um. It’s a very expensive view. I could get used to it.” I intentionally referred to the ocean, rather than him.

Cooper chuckled and propped himself up on his elbows. I did my very best not to look down at his abs as he peered up at me over the top of his sunglasses. “You and I both know that’s not what I was talking about.”

I didn’t say anything.

Cooper swung his legs over the side of his chair and stood. He was impressively tall—taller than I remembered. He probably came in at around six-foot-three, possibly six-foot-four, and when he wasn’t lying down, it seemed like there was a hell of a lot more mass to him. His shoulders were broad, his waist narrow, and his forearms? Drool worthy.

I had never wished a man was ugly so much in my entire life as I stared up at his cocky smile.

“Welcome to the best stop on your twelve-month adventure.” Cooper grinned. He threw his arms out wide as if to encompass his property, his house, and the beach. “Bet you haven’t seen anything like this yet, huh, Princess?”

Great. Modesty and pet names within the first five minutes.

Things were off to a great start.

CHAPTER 4

COOPER

All right, I had to give credit where credit was due.

Piper was hot.

But it was more of a “girl next door” sort of way than anything else, and that didn’t get me all hot and bothered under the collar. But her little summer dress was doing her a lot of favors. It showed off her slim waist and curvy shape, and I’d be a liar if I didn’t note that she had the most gorgeous set of legs I’d ever seen.

And that was saying something. Because I’ve seen a hell of a lot of legs in my day.

Her dress was the palest shade of blue, with tiny little yellow flowers on it. It was sweet, and innocent, and pure. Just like her.

Or that was what she wanted me to think.

Either way, I didn’t give a damn because second to surfing, one of my all-time favorite hobbies was corrupting good girls like Piper James and showing them what it was like to walk on the wild side.

The Diaz side.

“Did you bring a suit with you?” I asked, wondering where the hell her luggage was.

“Yes.”

“Where is it?”

“My bags are at your front door. I didn’t want to lug them around with me while I came looking for you.”

Was she giving me attitude? The shortness of her tone suggested she wasn’t happy that she’d had to look for me. And I liked a girl with a bit of sass in her bones.

“The front door was unlocked,” I said.

Piper blinked dubiously at me. How adorable. Then she straightened up and shook her head. “I wouldn’t just walk into your place.”

“My place is your place for the month. Make yourself at home.”

She narrowed her big brown eyes at me. I had half a mind to tell her how cute she was when she was upset, but I’d used that line on girls before, and it never ended well for me.

Well, that wasn’t true. Sometimes, it did. Other times, it just meant I had to work a little harder to make them forget about the snide comments and remember how hot and rich I was.

I gave her my best smile. “Why don’t you run and grab your suit, change, and come back out here and join me? We could go for a dip before the sun goes down.”

Piper peered over my shoulder at the ocean, and I saw the way her eyes lit up.

So, she was a water girl. That was good news, at least.

“Where can I change?” she asked.

“Through the front door. Washroom is down the hall on your right. Help yourself to anything inside.”

She gnawed at the inside of her cheek as her eyes flicked from me to the expanse of azure waters over my shoulder. What girl in her right mind would say no to that?

Finally, she gave me a curt little nod, turned, and headed back around the side of the house to fetch her things. I could have gone with her. And maybe that was why she’d hesitated. She was waiting for me to pick up my feet and help her bring her bags in.

I wasn’t that guy.

Every other guy she’d been with so far had surely treated her like she was a queen. They’d probably kissed the ground she walked on.

That wasn’t my style. Never had been. And not because I was too good to do so, but because there was nothing more unattractive to me than a woman who expected me to do everything for her.

Didn’t want to carry your own bags? Then don’t bring so many. Simple.

I sat back down on the lounge chair by the pool and assumed my original position with my hands clasped behind my head. With Piper being a stranger, I had no clue how long I was going to have to wait. She might be the kind of girl who had to tie her hair up, or apply a bronzing lotion, or slap on some lip gloss—I didn’t know. All I did know was girls took a long time to get ready, even if it was for something as simple as hitting the beach for a swim.

Piper surprised me by returning within less than five minutes.

“Ready,” she said, as if demanding my attention.

I sat up and looked her over. Ready indeed.

This was a pleasant surprise. Piper James was fit. Very fit. Not just slim. She had a line carved straight down the middle of her stomach, which was quite flat. Her thighs were a little thick but in the best way, and when she moved to rest her weight on her right foot, the muscle rippled.

And her tits?

Well, they were pretty fucking spectacular. Her black string bikini offered no support, but there they were, perky and full and milky white. She didn’t have much of a tan, but we could fix that pretty quickly.

Piper arched an already-dramatic dark brow and crossed her arms over her breasts. “Like what you see, Princess?”

I snorted. So she could play, too.

All right. All right.

As I got to my feet, I completed my assessment of her. Sexy calves. Slender ankles and wrists and knees. Full thighs. Tits worthy of infinite amounts of attention. A round, firm ass. And slight definition of muscle in her lower and upper back.

“Let’s hit the beach,” I said.

Piper followed me when I turned from the pool. Her sandals struck the patio, and she kicked them off before our feet met the grass. We crossed the lawn and went down the stairs to the beach. At night, they were lined with solar lights to illuminate the way, and everything around here became a hell of a lot prettier.

When we hit the sand, Piper fell into step beside me. She didn’t look over at me or say a word. Her eyes were glued to the ocean as it lapped at the beach.

“You like the water?” I asked her.

Her gaze flicked briefly to me. “Yes, I’ve only recently seen tropical water like this. And I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it.”

“You probably won’t. It doesn’t get old. I wake up and stare out at it every morning like clockwork. Storms can’t even ruin it.”

She looked like she was about to say something before she thought better of it and closed her mouth. I let it go as we hit the lower part of the beach, where the sand was hard, packed, and damp.

Piper strode out in front of me, letting the water hit her ankles and wrap around her as if it were hugging her. A delighted giggle bubbled out of her that surprised me.

And then I found myself hanging back, watching her wade out into the shallows.

What a curious thing.

I was usually the guy to go in headfirst, kicking up a spray as I went to splash the lady in my company. She would squeal, as per usual, and then I would drag her into the water, despite her protests, and one thing would lead to another. We’d kiss, she’d blush, and the water would rush around us like a welcome third wheel.

This was different.

Piper met the ocean with a childlike wonder. Her eyes were bright, her smile broad, and for the moment, she had completely forgotten about me. I didn’t remind her by stepping forward. I let her go, watching as she waded in up to her hips and then paused, lifted her face to the sun, and inhaled a deep breath.

Then she plunged beneath the surface.

“I have my own little mermaid,” I mused before wading out after her.

Piper broke the surface and slicked her hair back. Her eyes were closed, and I traced the line of her jaw, the swell of her lips, and the way the saltwater clung to her lashes. Maybe she was more of a marvel than I initially took her for. She moved with an effortless sort of grace that lent the thought that she might, at some point or another, have been a dancer. Or a swimmer.

She shot a look over her shoulder at me and caught me staring.

“Sorry,” I said, surprised the word even came out of my mouth. “I just don’t often get to see someone enjoy it so much.”

She arched an eyebrow again.

“The water,” I clarified.

The corner of her mouth curled in a smile. “I could live in it. You’re lucky to live here.”

I couldn’t argue with that.

I was about to swim over to her and close the distance between us when familiar voices hollered my name. Piper and I turned to face away from the beach, where three guys were swimming toward us on surfboards.

“Coop,” Mitch called, waving one hand over his head.

I waved in greeting and moved up beside Piper’s shoulder. “These are some of my friends. That there is Mitch, Luke, and on the right is Davis. We surf and dive together.”

“Dive?” she asked.

“Scuba,” I said.

“Oh. Duh.” Piper blushed and smiled at my buddies as they slowed down and rolled up beside us. I introduced them, and Piper dazzled them with a smile I hadn’t been lucky enough to get.

Or, rather, hadn’t earned.

Mitch waggled his eyebrows at Piper. “If Coop gives you a hard time and you need to get away, just come find me, all right?”

“You?” Luke scoffed. “If she’s fleeing Coop, it’s because she’s trying to get away from the testosterone and ego. You’re the last person she should go to. Piper, I’m your man.”

Piper laughed softly. “I assure you, if it gets to that point, the only place I’ll be going is a hotel. But thank you.”

“Wise,” Davis said. “For real though. If he’s an ass, you don’t have to put up with him.”

“If?” Mitch mused.

Piper looked back and forth between them with an amused grin.

“He’s not as bad as he pretends to be,” Luke said in my favor.

Piper looked over her shoulder at me. “Did you pay them to say this?”

I shook my head. “This is all of their own volition. Possibly to embarrass me. But they forget. I don’t get embarrassed.”

“Of course, you don’t,” Piper said, nodding slowly. She turned back toward my friends. “I appreciate your concern. But I think I can handle it.”

I grinned. “Confident. I like it.”

Piper didn’t look back at me. Instead, she spoke to the men looking adoringly at her from their surfboards. “I work in food service. I can handle any asshole of any shape or size, so long as I’ve had my morning cup of coffee.”

Oh yes.

This month was going to be fun indeed.

CHAPTER 5

PIPER

My room at Cooper’s mansion was so big, it had an echo.

It was unsettling. The space was minimally decorated in the way ultra-modern interior-design magazines were. The walls were such a light shade of blue that they almost looked white. The bed was high with no headboard. A massive picture of the beach hung on the wall above the pillows. It was pretty, soft, and soothing, but not at all cozy, which was my preference.

The white floors were polished marble or granite. I couldn’t tell. Either way, they were white, shiny, and cool against the soles of my bare feet. Heavy white blinds were drawn to keep the early evening sun out, and I drew them up to unveil the view of the beach down below.

It had become immensely more crowded since Cooper and I came back up from the water. Apparently, he was hosting a party tonight, which in my opinion was insensitive timing. I was already overwhelmed with meeting him, and this house, and how entitled he was. Having to spend a night with a bunch of strangers down at his pool party was not my idea of a first evening of settling in.

It was a social nightmare, but I wasn’t going to start this month being the girl who locked herself up in her room and hid from the party. No way.

I stripped out of my black string bikini, took a shower, and spent the next hour and a half pulling out all the stops to show Cooper Diaz I wasn’t just this sweet, innocent damsel who’d arrived on his doorstep wide eyed and clueless.

The sun had dipped down to meet the horizon by the time I finished getting ready. My room was painted a warm purple-pink color from the sunset, and I’d dressed to match it: a tight purple dress, sparkly, gold, strappy heels, and minimal summery makeup. Bronzer, highlight, dark pink lips, dramatic lashes. Simple but fun. Light and breezy but a little sexy.

When I left my room and made my way down the winding glass staircase to the lower level, my stomach tightened into a knot. Big parties like this put me on edge, especially when I didn’t know anyone.

If Cooper and I had made a connection and been a couple weeks into July, I probably wouldn’t have been nervous. I might have even looked forward to it. But as it was, I was shaking like a leaf, with sweaty palms and a racing heart.

This. Sucks.

The music thrummed through the house from the back patio as I approached the sliding-glass patio doors. I stepped out into the warm Bahamas evening and breathed in deeply. It smelled like orchids and pineapples out there. Tropical, sweet, and fresh.

My moment of sweet reprieve was shattered when Cooper sauntered over to me, weaving between two girls in bikinis lingering at the edge of his pool. He had a drink in each hand, garnished with a neon-pink umbrella, and he pushed one toward me.

“For the lady.” He grinned.

I sniffed the drink. “Whoa. How strong is this?”

“Julio doesn’t measure shots. He’s a free pourer. Once the first one goes down, you’ll be fine.”

I looked to the bar, where the so-called Julio was spinning and flipping martini shakers and soaking up the attention the girls around his bar were giving him.

I frowned at my drink before pursing my lips to the straw and taking a tiny, slow sip. The strength of the booze nearly scalded my tongue, and I winced as it went down my throat. “Gross.”

Cooper laughed. “Like I said. The second is better.”

It tasted awful, but once I got it down, I knew socializing would become easier. So I sipped it back, lips puckered, tongue burning, the inside of my cheeks itching, and willed the alcohol to kick in sooner rather than later.

“Thatta girl,” Cooper said before tilting his head back to polish off his own drink.

I hated that I couldn’t look away from the line of his jaw as he swallowed. Or his Adam’s apple. Or the way a little bit of his drink trickled from the corner of his mouth down his chin. He wiped it away with the back of his hand before turning toward the pool and throwing his arms out wide.

“So, what do you think? Good place to spend the month, huh?”

I would have liked it better if there weren’t a hundred and fifty people filling the pool and milling across the property. “Is this a typical Monday night for you?”

He shrugged. “To be honest, I never really know what day of the week it is. I do what I want, when I want, and tonight, I want to party.”

Some girls might find his fuck-all-responsibilities attitude attractive. I, however, found it to be a massive turn off.

I finished my drink.

Cooper slapped his hands together before rubbing them briskly, his palms whispering with enthusiasm. “I didn’t expect this.”

“I’m self-medicating.”

His mouth quirked in a devilishly charming smile that I was sure had gotten many beautiful ladies into his bed. “Whatever works, babe.”

“Stop calling me ‘babe’.”

Cooper’s smile stretched. “Why?”

“Because I asked you to.”

“All right. Fine. Just don’t go calling me by any pet names when you fall for me, Piper James.” Cooper winked and plucked my empty cup out of my hand. Had I not been so irked by his obscene ego, I might have had a snappy comeback. But I was irked. And I had no snappy comeback.

I watched as he wandered off toward the bar with our empty cups in hand and decided I wasn’t going to stand around in the same spot and wait for him to come find me again. I was going to mingle. And with any luck, I’d find someone who was far more tolerable than Cooper Diaz that I could waste away the evening with.

It was a good thought. However, after milling around the party for about fifteen minutes, I realized how difficult of a task I had assigned myself.

Everyone at his house was tanned, beautiful, drunk, and nearly as infatuated with their reflections and the sound of their own voices as Cooper was.

You could just go up to your room and lock your door and read, I thought as I leaned up against the side of the house to watch people diving into the pool. Their bodies danced in the reflection of the lights under the water. It looked beautiful. Magical almost.

If the whole yard had not been blaring with loud music and laughter, it might have almost been a romantic setting.

I was about to turn in for the night when a familiar face appeared at my right shoulder. I glanced over at Mitch, the blond surfer friend of Cooper’s, and offered him the best smile I could manage. Apparently, it wasn’t a very good one because Mitch chuckled at my expense.

“Sorry you’re not having a good time,” he said.

I sighed and crossed my arms. “It’s not that bad.”

“Don’t lie. You hate this. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Was he testing me? Had Cooper sent him over to get the lay of the land? Even if he was only here with good intentions, I didn’t trust him farther than I could throw him.

Which was nowhere. Because he had at least a hundred and fifty pounds of muscle on me.

“It’s really not that bad,” I said. “It’s just a lot for my first night here, is all. I’m a pretty low-key person. I like quiet nights in. Not loud parties with girls snorting cocaine in the kitchen. You know?”

Mitch pressed his shoulder blades to the back wall of the house and nodded knowingly. His blue eyes slid across the backyard and lingered for a moment on Cooper, who was presently having tequila poured into his open mouth as he leaned backward over the bar. Two girls were fawning on either side of him, running their hands over his chest and stomach.

“I can see how this wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea,” Mitch said.

“But it’s yours?”

“When the mood strikes? Sure.”

“And when it doesn’t?”

Mitch chuckled. “Then it doesn’t. And I don’t have to come. My place is just down the beach. I can walk home when I get bored.” He shot me a look as I shifted my weight to my other foot beside him and let out a disgruntled sigh. Cooper was now up on the bar, pouring the tequila into the mouths of the girls who were clearly obsessed with him. “I bet you wish you had that luxury right now.”

“Of being able to go home?”

Mitch nodded.

I chewed the inside of my cheek. “Yeah, I do. Lucky for me, I have a bedroom upstairs all to myself and far away from this shit. Have a good night, Mitch. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

He didn’t stop me from leaving. Instead, he wished me a good night in an apologetic voice and slipped away to rejoin the party, and I made to leave it. I had to duck past three young women sipping champagne by the back sliding doors, and they gave me curious but not all too friendly looks as I went inside and drew the door closed behind me.

In the kitchen were a half-dozen other people talking loudly and over each other about something I couldn’t make out and didn’t care to. I kept my head down and marched past them, through the living room where other people had gathered, and across the foyer’s sand-covered floor. People must have been tracking it in all night long.

My shoes clicked on the glass stairs as I climbed up to the second level and went to my bedroom door.

As soon as I pushed it open, I was filled with regret.

There were people fucking in my bed.

“Hey!” I bellowed, slamming a hand flat against the wall to make a loud smack.

Startled, the people in the bed—my bed—sat bolt upright with startled expressions. The woman pulled my sheets up over her breasts and let out a shrill gasp as she scowled at me.

I pointed an accusing finger at her. “Don’t give me that look. This is my bedroom. Get the hell out!”

The man scrambled out of the bed and hid his nakedness behind both hands. I glowered at them as they collected their clothes, and I didn’t give them space to leave. I made them squeeze past me. The woman muttered about how much of a bitch I was before she ducked into one of the bathrooms in the hall to get changed. The man followed her in, and I imagined they picked up right where they’d left off.

I closed and locked my door behind me and slumped against it. My messed-up sheets taunted me.

Was this how the month was going to go?

With an irritated growl, I went to the closet in search of fresh bedding. There were no extra sheets, but there were blankets, so I stripped the bed, crammed the sheets into one corner of the room, and draped one of the blankets over the mattress for me to lay on. I took the pillowcases off and concluded that they were fine to sleep on. I’d get new cases in the morning.

After brushing my teeth and taking off my makeup, I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling above, wishing I was anywhere but here.

Like Aaron’s loft.

Or Wyatt’s ranch. I could sit on the porch and listen to the crickets until I forgot all about Cooper and Nassau.

Being with Jeremiah in Port Orchard would be lovely too, surrounded by the rich aroma of pine and cedar and earth.

Or in Quebec City with Joshua, sampling Canadian delicacies while we walked the cobblestone city streets.

I could be with Miles. Or Easton, even.

Anything would be better than here. And I still had a whole month ahead of me.

I rolled onto my side and tucked my hand under my pillow. If things got worse, I could call Jackson Lee and ask him to pull me out of this. He’d fly me back to New York City, and I could go home. Although home didn’t seem much better. Things were strained. Tense.

And truth be told, I wasn’t sure where my home was anymore.

“Don’t be such a baby,” I grumbled to myself. I closed my eyes and lay there, wishing I could ignore the bass of the music rolling through the house.

Sleep did not come for a long, long time.

CHAPTER 6

COOPER

“Fuck me sideways,” I mumbled.

Sunlight bathed my room the morning after the party, and it felt like someone was skewering my eyeballs with ice picks. White-hot, spiteful, wicked little ice picks.

Last night had been a rager. And a damn good one.

My memory was blurry, but there were pockets of time that were still fairly clear. Like Piper’s arrival at the party.

She’d emerged in a tight purple little number, looking the part of the beach goddess of my dreams—minus the tan. I recalled her annoyed mood and how she’d blown me off, and from that point, the night started to get fuzzy. Tequila. More tequila. And more tequila.

I remembered being at the bar with some beautiful women in teeny tiny bikinis that left little to the imagination and then Mitch coming over to tell me Piper had retired to her bedroom. He’d hinted that I should go up and check on her, or at least apologize for throwing a rager on her first night in town.

But that was nonsense.

This was my life. And the whole point of her spending a month in my company was to get a taste for what Cooper Diaz had to offer. And this was it. Lavish parties. Fun evenings. Wild sex. Days sprawled on the sand, broken up by afternoon drinks and hot—figuratively and literally—fuck sessions in the shower afterward, with our skin still sizzling from the sun and our tongues still tasting like margaritas.

If this wasn’t for her, then she wasn’t for me, and we could slap a pretty bow on this thing and call it finished when July came to a close.

I didn’t really give a damn that she’d fled the party. In fact, within ten minutes of her departure, I’d forgotten about her entirely and moved on to enjoy the rest of my evening. I had certainly enjoyed it.

So did Mitch. If memory served me correctly, I was fairly certain he’d departed the party shortly after one in the morning with one of the pretty girls in the tiny bikinis from the bar draped on his arm. I would have bet ten grand the girl was half naked before they made it halfway down the beach to his place.

Lucky bastard. She had amazing tits.

I shielded my eyes from the sun with a forearm draped over my face. A groan passed my lips as I considered getting out of bed and decided that it was far too early for such a thing. Then I glanced at the clock.

It was ten in the morning.

“Fuck me sideways,” I muttered again, jerking the blankets down and swinging my legs over the side of the bed. The room swung as well. I stayed where I was for a moment until everything righted itself, and then I pushed myself to my feet and padded over to my closet, where I pulled on a pair of boxers and athletic shorts. Once my sneakers were laced, I took a piss, brushed my teeth, and splashed cold water on my face to try to wake up.

It helped only a little.

Downstairs, I kicked off my morning routine in the kitchen. Step one: drink a glass of water. Step two: blend protein shake. Step three: ingest protein shake.

I was in the middle of step two when I had the sense that someone was watching me. I looked up and saw Piper standing in the living room, looking across the dining room toward me with a sleepy frown on her pretty face.

The blender stopped. “Did I wake you?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No. I’ve been awake for a while.”

“Where were you?”

“In my room.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Are you sure I didn’t wake you up?”

“Quite positive.”

“What were you doing in there?” I waggled my eyebrows.

“Well,” she said stiffly, “for starters, I found where you keep your extra sheets and remade my bed because I found two people fucking in it last night.”

I liked the way the word “fucking” sounded on those lips of hers.

She moved into the kitchen with a disgruntled sigh, and her gaze settled on the coffee pot. “Coffee,” she muttered. Then she looked up at me. “Where do you keep your coffee?”

“Who did you catch fucking in your bed?”

“I don’t know. A pretty girl and a good-looking guy.”

That didn’t narrow it down. Everyone at my parties was good looking. It was basically an entrance requirement.

I chuckled. “Did you catch any of the show?”

Piper braced herself against the kitchen counter and glowered up at me from beneath her sharp, dramatic eyebrows. “No, I did not, thankfully. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep in that bed. Now, by all that is holy, please help me make a cup of coffee.”

“All right, all right,” I said, holding on to the laughter that threatened to consume me. I showed her which cupboard I stored my coffee and filters in, and Piper went about brewing herself a cup while I drank my protein shake.

A minute passed, and then two, and it became clear that she wasn’t going to strike up a conversation.

So I took the lead. “That’s what you did all morning? You re-made the bed?”

“And I read my book.”

“Really?”

She planted her fists on her hips. “Yes. Why is that so hard to believe?”

I shrugged. “In a place like this, I figured you’d want to take advantage of the amenities.”

“Dear God, I hope you’re not referring to yourself.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. She was fucking funny, whether she knew it or not, and I was a sucker for a girl who could make me laugh. Like, really laugh. This was a full-belly, head-thrown-back laugh, and it felt pretty damn good. When I recovered, Piper was still giving me a foul look.

I held up both hands apologetically. “I’m sorry. No. That’s not what I was referring to. But that would have been a good one, wouldn’t it? I meant the pool. Or the beach. The gardens. The exercise room. Sauna. Whirlpool. Yoga room. Take your pick.”

Piper’s cheeks were pink as she poured herself a cup of coffee. I finished my protein shake and kept a steady eye on her as she shuffled backward and sipped from her mug.

She was dressed in a pale-pink silk sleeping set. The pants went down to the middle of her shins and were trimmed in white lace, and the shirt was a button up with the same matching lace on the sleeves. It was cute, but not sexy, and part of me wondered if she’d done that intentionally to avoid my needy stare.

A smart move, really.

But even though the outfit wasn’t sexy, she still looked attractive in it. There was something classy about it, high end, sophisticated. It made me itch to know what lay beneath the silky material, even though I’d seen her in a bikini just the day before. It didn’t matter. The tease was there.

“What are you going to do now?” I asked.

Piper didn’t look at me. Instead, she looked out at the pool. “I think I’m going to go get my book and sit by the pool and read. If that’s all right with you.” Her big brown eyes flicked in my direction and rested on me in a stare that said, I dare you to say it’s not.

“Make yourself at home. I’m going to work out.”

“Enjoy,” she said before marching toward the stairs to retrieve her book.

I watched her climb the stairs with her cup of coffee in hand, and once she disappeared from sight, I set out for my exercise room.

I’d had it custom designed when the house was built. It faced the pool in a solarium-type room off the back of the house. It wasn’t all that big, but it was large enough to fit all the proper machines and free weights that I needed to get in a good sweat. My body took work and maintenance, and this was the place where the gains were made.

I didn’t take days off from the gym. Even the worst of hangovers couldn’t keep me from pumping iron.

I focused on my chest, triceps, and biceps. I moved from free weights to machines in a strict circuit of time under tension, making sure my movements were slow, precise, and getting the most bang for my buck.

While I was standing by the window, curling dumbbells, and looking out at the pool, Piper stepped out of the house. She was no longer wearing her pink sleep set.

Instead, she had on a bathing suit coverup that was the same color as the ocean. Little gold beads dangled off the hem and caught the sunlight as they shimmered around her thighs. She had a book clutched in one hand and her coffee in the other, and she walked languidly to a pool chair, draped herself over it, and set her mug on the table beside her.

Then she let her cover-up fall from her shoulders. The sun kissed her skin, milky smooth and fair, and she opened her book to rest it upon her lap and read.

I finished my set and put the weights on the rack before taking several greedy gulps of water. While I drank, I kept my eyes on the pretty girl by my pool.

She wasn’t my type. Not even close.

And yet, I was ogling her, wondering what exactly it was about her that had me thinking of all the things I’d like to do to her. And for her.

I shook my head.

Get your shit together, Coop. Real ladies are a bore.

I picked up heavier weights and set to lifting.

Piper crossed one leg over the other and turned the page in her book. She ran a finger down the side of the page, and the sunlight broke across it, almost turning it transparent. From where she sat, it didn’t seem to bother her. She sat and read, as motionless as the chair beneath her, except for the turning of the page every minute or so, and I, the dumb oaf watching her, lost count of numerous reps and had to set the weights down and be done with it.

I was about to go tell her to sit somewhere else and stop distracting me when she got to her feet. The coverup remained on her chair, and she set her book down and turned toward the pool. She was wearing a different bathing suit than yesterday. This one was emerald green with little gold jewels hanging from the ties at her hips and between her breasts. It matched her coverup perfectly.

She moved to the pool and bent one leg to dip her toes in. In that moment, she reminded me of a gazelle.

Deeming the water safe, Piper stood back, pointed her hands above her head, and dove in headfirst, graceful as a swan. She swam beneath the surface for half the length of the pool before breaking the surface and slicking her dark hair back.

Her eyes fluttered open, and even though she was far away, I could tell she was looking right at me.

CHAPTER 7

PIPER

I’d found one good thing about being in this damn house: the pool.

The water was refreshing and brisk, and it cooled my skin from sitting in the morning sun with my book. It was a jolt to my system, and it knocked the chip off my shoulder I’d been carrying around since last night. A swim was the perfect way to clear a frustrated mind.

As I swam laps, I was aware of Cooper’s eyes on me. He was over in the gym working out—if that was what one could even call it. Half the time, he just stood around breathing hard and looking at me, and every time he set his weights down or moved to a different machine, his eyes would shift over to me like clockwork.

I didn’t give him the time of day or let on that I was aware of his watchful gaze. I busied myself with swimming and working on my form. I loved being in the water. It made me feel like I was part of something bigger.

I liked the way it pushed against my palms as I propelled myself forward, like it was trying to squeeze between my fingers. I liked the sound of it in my ears when I was below the surface. It muted out the rest of the world and seemed to embrace me like a long-lost friend.

The best part was the way the sun struck it and cast wavering reflections upon the pool floor. I loved that part. It made me feel like a child again, when I used to pretend to be a mermaid at the outdoor swimming pool my parents took Phillip and me to.

The water was a safe place for me. Always had been. Always would be. Even Cooper Diaz couldn’t ruin it for me.

When I stepped out of the pool, Cooper was no longer in the gym. I paid that no mind and went back to my chair to let the sun dry me off. I made it through two chapters of my book before I was dry enough to go back inside. My game plan was to have a shower and then go off into town somewhere.

Without Cooper.

But he was standing at the kitchen island, eating two cooked eggs and watching me from beneath his dark brows.

“Have a good swim?”

I wanted to ignore him. “Yes.”

“You’re a natural in the water.”

I wasn’t sure if he was complimenting me or not, so I didn’t say anything. Instead, I helped myself to a glass of water, drank it, and made for the stairs.

“Do you have plans today?” Cooper asked.

I hesitated with one foot on the bottom step and my hand on the rail. I should have told him yes, I did have plans. It would have been a white lie and nothing more, and it wasn’t like I owed him anything. He’d proven within the first twelve hours of me being here that he didn’t respect me, so I didn’t have to respect him, right?

I sighed. “I don’t have plans.”

Cooper pushed himself away from the counter and wiped his hands on his shorts. “How about we do something water related?”

“I’m listening.” I moved my foot from the bottom stair and turned to face him.

“Ever been diving?”

“Scuba diving?” I asked.

Cooper nodded.

I pursed my lips. “No, but I’ve always wanted to.”

“I can take you.”

“I don’t have any certification,” I said.

“You don’t need it. Money can buy any form of certification. And lucky for you, I have a shit-ton of it, as well as some connections who will take us to the best diving spots on the island.”

I frowned. “That sounds dangerous.”

Cooper barked out a laugh. “I should have known you’d say something like that.”

“Forgive me for having self-preservation skills.”

“Piper,” Cooper said, coming toward me. He stopped about two feet away. “We’ll do some training first. I know experts in the field. Trainers themselves who’ve been doing this for decades. They won’t let you go down unless they’re completely confident you can handle it.”

“And if they don’t think I can?”

Cooper shrugged. “We snorkel instead. Deal?”

I wished he hadn’t had a fallback option. It would have been easier to say no if scuba diving was the only option. But as it was, snorkeling was safe, and scuba diving was damn tempting, and so was getting out on the ocean.

“Fine,” I said, lifting my chin.

“Excellent. I’ll make some calls. Pack your bag. Bring a hat. And a more practical bathing suit.”

He and I both looked down at my bathing suit in unison, and I felt my cheeks flush. “Practical?”

He nodded. “Less tits. More coverage. You know. For the sake of the fish.”

“The fish?” I asked flatly.

Cooper flashed me a dazzling smile. “Yes. The fish.”

I had a margarita with Cooper at the bar on the marina while his crew got everything in order on his yacht—because Cooper was the kind of person who went scuba diving off a yacht apparently—and the drink helped settle my nerves. When it was time to shrug into the harness that held my oxygen tank, I was only slightly terrified.

Slightly was better than completely in my books.

The trainer Cooper had called to ride along with us was a man in his mid-fifties named Bob. Yep, Bob. He had hair whiter than the skin on my ass, which hadn’t seen the sun in years, and eyes as blue as my mood.

But he was kind.

“All right, Piper,” Bob said, tightening the harness around my ribs. “This is going to be easy. You’re not going deep. And we’ve gone over all the important bits. You were a champ. You know what you’re doing. Are you comfortable getting in the water?”

I licked my lips. Champ seemed like an exaggeration. Before the yacht left the marina, Bob had brought me into the water for a crash course. This was the second time he’d strapped this contraption on me, and it still felt as awkward and cumbersome as the first.

Things had gone well in the shallows at the marina. Bob was in the water with me, and he held on to me as we went under together. I breathed underwater, which was spectacular, and I got acquainted with all the equipment. Bob assured me I wouldn’t have to do anything fancy while we were diving. He would be out in the water with Cooper and me, keeping an eye on everything, and the water was shallow where we were going. Quite shallow. In most spots, I’d be able to touch the bottom.

If I was feeling brave, I could swim out into deeper waters and dive down to see an underwater cliff completely overgrown with coral. Bob had called it a submerged vertical ecosystem, or something along those lines. The nerves were making my mind foggy.

“I’m ready,” I said.

Bob patted my shoulder. “Fantastic. Come with me then. We go off the back.”

Cooper was already standing at the back of the boat. He was fully decked out in all his equipment, and even though I couldn’t really make out his face behind his goggles, I could tell he was impatient. I’d held us up, asking for one more check with Bob to make sure I was ready to go in the water.

Now the time had come. We had to get in the water.

Bob stood on my left, while Cooper stood on my right. I felt tiny between them and looked back and forth between both men as Bob told me how to get in the water.

“Piper, let’s get ready. Hold your regulator and your mask with your right hand. Very good. Got a good hold? You don’t want it popping off when we hit the water.”

I nodded.

Bob gave me a thumbs-up. “We step forward into the water. Keep your chin up and your eyes on the horizon. I’m right behind you. In three. Two. One.”

Cooper and I stepped off the back of the boat. My flippers bent awkwardly, flexing my feet upward, but the water gave way beneath me, and I plunged down beneath the surface. I was wrapped up in azure blue waters and bubbles that climbed up my legs to break above my head.

Cooper was beside me, and he’d already set himself on an angle so he could start swimming forward. Sprawled before us, about six or so feet down, was a bed of coral. Pops of rich greens and pinks and blues winked at me from down there, chunks of it nestled upon the white sand, set in ripples on the ocean floor.

The water rushed in my ears as Bob stepped off the boat on my other side. He turned toward me as soon as he was in and gave me the thousandth thumbs-up of the day. I returned the gesture to show him I was okay. Then, without further delay, he dove down.

I followed after Bob and Cooper.

The coral rose up to meet me, and as I watched the little tropical fish flit in and out of holes and cracks and crevices, all my worries about diving ebbed away. The anxiety in my chest was replaced by a warm sensation of calm. The sound of my own breath was the only thing that cut through the noise of the water, and it, too, became a reassuring thing. White noise under the sea.

Cooper swam along below me, rolled onto his back, and waved. I waved back, despite how infuriating I found him.

I wasn’t sure how it was possible, but I could tell he was smiling, even with his scuba mask on. There was something about the line of his jaw, about the twinkle in his eye that promised a hint of amusement. Or happiness.

Maybe this moment was as glorious for him as it was for me. Of course, it would be a hell of a lot more glorious if I were there with anyone but him.

When Bob swam up ahead, Cooper lingered, waiting for me to catch up with him. Then we both swam beside each other above the coral. If we both reached out our arms, we’d be able to touch fingertips.

My eyes darted every which way as neon-colored fish played peek-a-boo beneath us. A particularly bold one zigzagged upward, coming nearly within a foot of my face, and then swerved back down to the coral, where it disappeared. I searched for its green and blue shimmery scales but couldn’t see it.

Then Cooper grabbed my shoulder. He’d come closer without noticing. He pointed down to our right, where the fish had reappeared and was performing the same little routine with Bob.

Somehow, I managed to smile while not breaking the seal of my lips over the regulator. Cooper’s hand on my shoulder lightened, and he proceeded to point my attention to other parts of the coral: clown fish, star fish, eels, urchins. Everything that lived and breathed down there was alien and beautiful all at once. I didn’t dare swim any closer, but Cooper was fearless, swooping down and swimming right above the sharp bottom. I doubted there was more than two inches between his abs and the coral.

Abs. They were one perk to this diving adventure.

The second? Cooper couldn’t talk.

The result? I hated him a little less.

In fact, it was easy to appreciate him in this environment. If I thought he was an impressive-looking specimen out of the water, he was ten times more drool-worthy under it. His muscles rippled with every stroke, and the reflection of the water flickered upon his skin the way it had on the bottom of the pool earlier that morning.

Nassau had beautiful water and beautiful sun. The combination was intoxicating.

Bob turned back toward us about ten minutes later and pointed upward. We slowly turned and began swimming back to the boat, which I could barely make out. It was a floating white blob far away and up above our heads. We swam slowly, still soaking in the beautiful sights, and Bob moved up ahead to be our guide.

When we were only about twenty feet from the boat, Cooper grabbed my hand and pulled me back to him.

I turned, puzzled, and found Cooper pulling his regulator out of his mouth.

What is he playing at?

Then he reached out and ran a hand gently up my arm and over my shoulder. His touch slowed and softened as it crept up my neck, and he traced my jaw with his thumb before pausing with his fingers on my regulator.

We were only a few feet under the surface. Perfectly safe. And suddenly, my body was responding in ways I didn’t want it to.

My skin prickled. My heart fluttered. My palms would have been sweaty if we weren’t underwater, and my cheeks would have been pink. The place below my stomach tightened.

Cooper pulled, and I released the regulator. Then he wrapped an arm around my waist, and we came together.

The swell of his muscled chest pressed against me as he dropped his head and leaned in. His hair floated around his head, held down on the sides by the strap of his full-face goggles, and before his lips touched mine, I dimly wondered how the hell he still looked so hot with such a ridiculous thing on his face.

Then he kissed me, and none of it mattered.

His lips were strangely warm underwater. And smooth. I’d never kissed underwater like this, and as our bodies became entwined, I realized how thrilling it was. I couldn’t breathe. Neither could he. But the kiss continued, and we floated upward.

When we broke the surface, our lips were still pressed together, and his hand still lingered by my jaw. I felt him smile as he ran his hand into my soaking wet hair and tightened his grip. My body betrayed me, and I let out a soft moan that he must have interpreted as an invitation because suddenly, his tongue pressed between my lips.

I didn’t fight him.

I didn’t want to. Despite how completely intolerable I found him, it felt good. Like a heavy weight had been taken out of my arms and handed to someone else. I wrapped my legs around his hips and kissed him in return, earning a moan from his throat.

I smiled into the kiss with satisfaction.

He wasn’t the only one in the driver’s seat.

CHAPTER 8

COOPER

I smirked at my own reflection in the full-length mirror on my closet door as I rolled up the sleeves of my shirt. My thoughts wandered to the kiss I’d shared out in the ocean with Piper the day before last, just as they had all day yesterday and all this morning and afternoon.

For some reason, I just couldn’t shake it.

If I thought on it long enough, I could still feel the soft, warm press of her lips upon mine. I could taste the ocean on her now if I concentrated hard enough. At first when I’d gone in for the kiss, I hadn’t been sure how she would respond. She might have pushed me away. Might have cursed me out.

Hell, she wouldn’t ever get a better opportunity to drown me. Bob might have helped her since I’d made him come out with us on his day off.

But she hadn’t. She’d kissed me back. Not only that, but she’d gotten into it.

The strength of her thighs wrapped around my hips had my brain concocting all kinds of wicked ideas of what I’d like to do with her, and to her, in a bed rather than in the sea.

Piper James had hair for pulling, an ass for slapping, and tits for sucking.

She just needed a man to show her how to unwind.

Clearly, the other Casanova bachelors she’d spent time with already hadn’t done her justice. She was still wound like a tightly coiled spring, full of pride and modesty. She could cling to those ideals as long as she wanted. But by the time I was through with her, she was going to be a changed woman. One way or another.

It was my mission.

And I never failed.

Once I finished getting dressed, I made my way downstairs. I’d thrown on a pair of khaki-colored linen pants, brown oxfords, a brown belt, and a loose white button up. I’d opted to leave the first few buttons open, exposing a bit of my tattoo and a lot of tanned skin. When I hit the bottom floor and turned toward the living room, I caught Piper checking me out from where she sat on my sofa.

As soon as my gaze locked onto hers, she looked away.

“Evening,” I said as I passed by the back of her sofa and went into the kitchen.

She closed the book she was reading and left it on her lap, cover down. I wondered if she didn’t want me to know what she was reading. “Evening.”

I let silence hang between us as I poured myself a whiskey on the rocks. I set to sipping it as I braced myself against the counter.

Piper’s eyes raked me up and down and then narrowed. “You’re dressed nicely.”

“Thank you.” I knew she was making a statement, not paying me a compliment, and I liked how she prickled under my gratitude.

“Are you going somewhere?”

“Boys’ night.”

“Oh.”

I took a healthy swig of whiskey and set the glass down. The ice scattered along the edges of the glass. “Friday nights here in Nassau are reserved for me and my boys. I never thought to tell you, babe. My bad. I’m so used to running my own show and not having to report to anyone.”

Piper opened her book back up and dropped her gaze to the page. I could see the tension in her stiff shoulders and the hard set of her jaw. “Well, you definitely don’t have to report to me, either.”

“No?”

She looked up sharply. “No.”

I admired her lips. There was no trace of a smile there. They were pressed firmly together in a scowl that only made her hotter. The poor thing had no idea. I liked a girl with a hard edge and a backbone. Slap those qualities together with a tight body, and you were officially getting yourself added to my roster.

Piper was all that and more. She was like a unique baseball card I was desperate to add to my collection.

“I won’t be too late.”

The corner of her lips twitched. “I don’t care.”

“Of course not. But still. It would be rude of me not to tell you, right?”

“What’s rude is insisting on calling me ‘babe’ when I’ve specifically asked you not to.”

“But you are a babe,” I said, just for the sake of seeing that angry glare of hers again.

She rewarded me with it. Her dark brown eyes burned. “I’m not one of your loose party girls, Cooper. And this game you’re playing? It’s not going to work.”

“Game?”

Piper started reading. Or rather, she attempted to look like she was reading. “Yes. Game.”

“I’m not playing any games.”

“Sure, you aren’t.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a wonderful conversationalist, Piper?” I asked, making sure to enunciate her name to make sure she noticed I had refrained from calling her babe.

“Yes, actually. But not after a conversation of the likes of this one. They were much more… elevated.”

“Elevated?” I scoffed. What a stuck-up little brat.

Piper closed her book again and let out a dramatic sigh. “Are you leaving soon?”

“Am I bothering you?”

She clenched her jaw but said nothing.

I grinned. “Whatcha reading?”

“A book.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” I said, swinging around the sofa and dropping into the corner spot beside her. I leaned forward to try to peer up at the cover, but she hid it from me. “Is it a steamy romance novel perhaps? One of those goodies with the half-naked dude on the front with the long flowing blond hair? Am I close?”

“Not even a little bit.”

“Uh huh,” I said, not believing a word she said. I pushed myself to my feet and finished my drink before setting the glass down on the side table. Piper’s attention moved from me, to the glass, and then back to her book. “Have a good night, Piper. I’ll be home after midnight. If that book gets you all hot and bothered, you officially have my permission to wait for me in my bed in whatever outfit you deem appropriate. Or completely buck-ass naked. Either works for me.”

“Goodbye, Cooper.”

“Is that a no?”

Piper didn’t answer me. So I left her brooding on the couch and set out to meet my buddies at our local hangout at the opposite end of the beach.

Our Friday night destination was called Bassau. It was run by two brothers from Jamaica who knew how to throw a good party and mix a mean drink. The place was small, tiki themed, and a hot spot for locals who wanted to get fucked up, listen to some good music, and eat good shrimp.

Like me and my boys.

“So you just left her behind?” Mitch asked after we’d already made our way through our first beers. I’d just finished telling them about me and Piper’s encounter before I headed out the door.

I shrugged. “Yeah. Guys’ night. Right?”

Mitch frowned. “I wouldn’t have minded if she tagged along.”

“Me neither,” Luke and Davis echoed in unison.

I frowned at them. “That’s because you think she’s hot.”

“And you don’t?” Mitch asked.

I rubbed the back of my neck. Was it worth lying to the three people who knew me better than anyone else in my life by pretending I wasn’t all that into Piper James? Would they buy it? Or could they already tell I thought she was one sexy little morsel?

Mitch chuckled and shook his head. “You’re just as floored by her as we are. Be honest.”

“All right fine,” I conceded, leaning back in my chair. It creaked beneath my weight. I threw an arm in the air to flag down a server to bring us another round of beers. She caught my eye, and I mouthed, “Four tequilas.”

Once I was satisfied she’d gotten my order, I turned my attention back to my buddies, who were all crowded around our small little table. “Piper’s hot. Okay? She’s really fucking hot.”

“Obviously,” Davis said.

“And too good for you,” Luke added.

Mitch laughed. “By a fucking landslide.”

“Piss off,” I spat. “She has no idea how lucky she is to be with me for a month.”

Luke’s eyebrows crept upward. “Or how unlucky she is.”

“Pretty sure she figured that much out at the party on Monday,” Mitch said.

I looked back and forth between my friends as they shit-talked me. “For your information, Piper is going to have the best month of her life. She just doesn’t know it yet.”

“By ‘best month of her life’, do you mean leaving her alone at your house on a Friday night?” Mitch turned toward me.

I blinked at my friend. “Are you accusing me of something?”

Mitch nodded. “I’m accusing you of being a shitty host.”

I laughed and slapped my hand on the table. “Distance makes the heart grow fonder. Right? That’s a thing. I’ll come home to her after she’s done reading her smutty little book, and when she wants something between her legs, guess who’ll be there? Cooper Diaz, ready for duty.”

“Oh God.” Mitch rolled his eyes.

Davis and Luke snickered like schoolgirls.

“What?” I asked, splaying my hands wide.

Mitch sighed and opened his mouth to speak, but he promptly slapped it closed when the server came back with our round of tequila shots. I asked her to add it to my tab. She took her leave, and the four of us scooped up our shots.

“To getting our dicks wet tonight,” I said.

The three of them grumbled their agreement before we all tossed back our shots.

Mitch leaned his elbows on the table. “You realize you might have to change your strategy with Piper, right? She’s not going to fall for the same tricks you always use. Especially not if she’s already spent some quality time with these other Casanova guys.”

“What are you trying to say?” I asked.

Davis stepped in. “He’s trying to tell you that you’re not as charming as you think you are.”

“And she sees right through your bullshit,” Mitch added.

“And your good looks might not be enough to save you,” Luke finished.

I frowned. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, boys.”

Were they on to something? Maybe I needed to change up my tactics with Piper. My game plan was definitely to get in her pants. I wanted to know what a good girl like her was all about, and I wanted to see what kind of face she made when she came, but what if my normal go-to strategies weren’t going to work this time?

Was Piper worth me—God forbid—trying to be a gentleman?

I took a generous swig from my fresh beer. “We’ll see who comes out on top at the end of the month, boys. We’ll see.”

CHAPTER 9

PIPER

The front door slammed, and I woke up mid-snore. “Wh—what?”

I sat up and looked around.

At some point in the evening, I’d fallen asleep on Cooper’s sofa. My book was lying open on my lap, pages down. I had the imprint of the stitching of the sofa cushions on my left arm from where it had gotten wedged in the back crevice, and it was very, very asleep.

I tried to shake out the pins and needles as I twisted around to look across the foyer at the front door.

It was dimly lit, but I could make out Cooper’s form as he staggered past the stairs.

Great.

Had I thought ahead at all, I would have made sure to go up to my room so I could close and lock the door and completely ignore him when he got home. But now I was right in his path, about to endure his company, which I imagined was twenty times worse when he was shitfaced than when he was sober.

“Oh, hey there, babe,” Cooper drawled as he stumbled forward and caught himself on the kitchen island. He blinked in my general direction but failed to focus his gaze on me. He dragged the back of his hand across his lips. “Sorry. Piper. Not babe. Piper.”

That was surprising. He’d checked himself while heavily intoxicated.

I planted my hands on my hips and studied him as he leaned sideways on the island. “Did you have a good night?”

Cooper nodded. Two more of his shirt buttons had come open at some point during his night out, revealing a hell of a lot of chest—even some rib. I tried my best to keep my eyes on his face as he chuckled and rubbed at his shoulder. “You could say that. I was wingman of the fucking year.”

“Were you now?”

He nodded. “Had to be. You know the rules. No fucking around if you’re a Casanova bachelor.”

“Wow, I’m flattered.”

He grinned. “You should be. It takes a lot for a guy like me to turn down pretty girl after pretty girl at a bar.”

“I can only imagine.”

“The boys fared well, though. Paired them up with ladies and sent them home before I made my way back here. To you.” His eyes locked onto mine.

My body responded poorly. My breath caught in my throat, and my tongue swelled up in my mouth. Heat gathered below my belly, and I mentally coaxed myself out of this sudden state.

I could not possibly be turned on by him right now.

“Gross,” I muttered.

“What?” Cooper asked, cocking his head dramatically to the side.

“Nothing,” I said hurriedly.

Cooper snorted. “Sure. Nothing. How was your night?”

I thought of the book I’d been reading. Aaron’s book. Well, one of his books. Ever since staying with him the month before, I’d become obsessed with finding and reading every single work of fiction he’d ever published. They were all romance stories, of course. At least, they were for now. I wholeheartedly believed that in the next couple of years, he’d be publishing in other genres. For now, I was happy to read whatever already existed out in the literary world with his name on it.

Maybe this sudden hot and heavy mood was partly because of his book and the steamy scene I’d just read. There was no way it was solely because of Cooper fucking Diaz.

He was a mess.

His hair was disheveled, his gaze was hooded from drinking, and his posture was sloppy. He was all over the place and not coordinated at all. He had a bit of stubble forming along his jaw that made him look rough. Tough. Rugged. Worn.

The way his hand dangled from where he rested his elbow on the counter had me aching inside. Why were the simplest things men did so sexy?

If he didn’t have the sleeves of his shirt rolled up, it wouldn’t have been a problem. But damn him, he did, and his forearms were well defined.

“Damn,” I breathed.

“What?” he asked again.

Thank God for his drunken stupor.

“Nothing. I asked if you need help getting to your room.”

“Are you going to keep me company?”

Ick. There it was. The shitty side of him. “No.”

“Then I don’t need help.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.” He shrugged—well, half shrugged. It looked like he was trying to do some form of a wave, like the crowds at sporting events. Then he pushed himself away from the counter, took three staggering steps forward, let out a booming laugh that nearly made me jump out of my skin, and pitched forward to lean against the back of the sofa.

I crossed my arms over my chest and resisted the urge to tap my foot at him.

Cooper looked up at me sheepishly. “Maybe I do require some assistance.”

Would he even remember if I took this opportunity to tell him what an ass he was? Probably not. In which case, it wouldn’t be worth wasting my breath.

So I straightened up, slid under his right arm, and took hold of his wrist—the same one that had been dangling all sexily a minute ago. I held on to him as we righted ourselves and planted one foot in front of the other to get to the bottom of the stairs.

When we reached them, both of us stared up the glass steps to the second level.

I swallowed. “Okay. Maybe you should sleep on the couch?”

“Scared, Piper?”

“No,” I said, shooting him a dark look.

He was smirking at me. And he was so close. Close enough where, if he wanted to, he could have kissed me.

Would I stop him if he did? I wasn’t sure.

“I’m just saying, these glass stairs might be a bad idea in your current condition,” I said.

“Fuck it. I’ve fallen down them before. Let’s go.”

I wasn’t going to dig deeper into that statement. Even if I wanted to, he wasn’t going to give me the time to get my thoughts in order. Cooper started up the stairs, and I was forced to follow as I supported a small fraction of his weight over my shoulders.

With sheer luck, we made it to the second floor. I steered him immediately away from the top of the staircase and set him in the direction of his bedroom. “Almost there.”

“You sure you don’t want to come to bed with me tonight?” Cooper asked, slurring. “I’d make it worth your while.”

“I’m quite certain you’re too drunk to make sex worth it for any woman alive right now.”

“Bullshit.”

“There is nothing less appealing than having a sex with a wasted man.”

“Bullshit,” he said again, but this time, his voice took on a hint of surprise.

We stopped in front of his bedroom door, and I pushed him off of me. He leaned up against the wall and braced himself there.

When I turned to leave, he caught my wrist. “Come on, baby. Don’t be like that. I’ll take care of you. You have no idea what you’re missing. I want to get between those thighs of yours and lick until—”

I clamped a hand over his mouth. “That’s enough. You’re on your own from here. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Mmmff maaw mmmmf.”

I rolled my eyes at him trying to talk with my hand over his mouth. “Shut up, Cooper.”

He ceased trying to speak, and I let my hand fall away. Then he gave me another smile.

I didn’t stick around and wait for him to make another attempt to get me into bed. Instead, I marched off to my bedroom, ignoring him calling after me, and slammed my door behind me.

I marched straight to my phone on my nightstand, picked it up, and called Janie.

She answered on the third ring with a thick, tired voice. “Piper? Is everything okay?”

“Yes. No. Sort of. Ugh, I just need to vent. Are you awake?”

“I am now,” Janie mumbled.

“I’m sorry.” I pinched the bridge of my nose as I sat down on the edge of my bed. I hadn’t meant to wake her up. Truth be told, I hadn’t even noticed how late it was. I should have put two and two together and assumed it was past two in the morning, what with the state Cooper had come home in, but my temper was flaring and I needed support. Badly.

“Tell me what’s going on,” Janie said.

I told her everything, from the moment I landed to now, right after I walked away from Cooper in his drunken state.

“That’s rough, Piper. I’m sorry. But I can’t say I’m surprised. Cooper is, well, kind of—”

“A jackass?”

“Yes.”

I groaned in frustration and collapsed onto my back on the bed. “He’s insufferable, Janie. I don’t know what to do. I thought that after our day out scuba diving, things had taken a turn, you know? He seemed nicer. A little less abrasive. And then tonight happens, and it’s like we’ve gone back thirty steps.”

“Cooper is all talk, Pipes. He’s just a product of his upbringing.”

“What do you mean?”

Janie was quiet for a minute. Then she sighed heavily into the phone. “Well, his last name isn’t actually Diaz. Did Jackson Lee not talk to you about this?”

“About what?”

“About Cooper.”

“No. Clearly not. What about him? What’s his last name?”

I could hear Janie’s silent apprehension through the line.

“What’s his last name, Janie?” I pressed.

“Rockefeller.”

Little white stars exploded in my vision. “What?”

“I said—”

“Oh no, I heard you. He’s a fucking Rockefeller? And I’m out here trash talking him to his face?”

Janie giggled. “Yeah, I guess.”

“It’s not funny, Janie.”

“It’s a little funny.”

“It’s a little weird,” I said.

It was more than a little weird. It was super weird.

Why would he lie about his last name? Or legally change it? He was such an arrogant ass that I would expect him to wear his Rockefeller name proudly for the world and all the people who came to his lavish parties to see.

“I need to know more,” I said.

“He’s a player, Piper,” Janie said.

“I know.”

“Why not turn the tables on him?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Janie’s soft laugh filled the line. “Don’t play dumb.”

“You think I could pull it off?”

“The player played by the innocent girl? Why not?”

I licked my lips. It sounded like dangerous territory. But it also sounded like a hell of a lot of fun. And it wasn’t like I owed Cooper anything. In fact, I’d say it was the opposite. He owed me for the shit he’d put me through in just five days.

“I’ll keep you posted, Janie,” I said, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips.

“Oh, please do.”

CHAPTER 10

COOPER

It was raining.

Great gushes of wind outside blew the raindrops against my bedroom window as I stirred awake on Saturday morning. It was like coming to after being run over by a semi truck and left to bleed out on the side of the highway.

Everything hurt. My head especially.

My tongue was as dry as the sand down on the beach. I ran it along the roof of my mouth in an effort to stir up the tiniest amount of moisture, but it only got dryer. I was desperate for water.

The rain taunted me from outside the window, making it impossible to just roll over and go back to sleep. It would have been so much better to sleep it off. Maybe the next time I woke up, the worst part of this hangover would have already passed.

But alas, I needed to hydrate.

Every muscle in my body protested when I sat up. I groaned loudly and stretched, despite the pain. Then I rolled out of bed and padded barefoot to the bathroom, where I turned on the tap, bent over, and drank straight from the faucet.

I guzzled for two straight minutes before straightening, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, and blinking at my reflection in the mirror above the sink.

I looked like I’d been run over by a semi truck, too.

My hair was a wild dark mess atop my head. Strands stuck every which way, and when I raked my fingers through it, I found it was thick and gritty. Likely from the sand, saltwater, humidity, and sweat. Grimacing at my own expense, I inspected a bruise on my right shoulder I had no recollection of acquiring. Then, concluding that no memories were going to come back of their own volition, I had a hot shower to wash away some of the fatigue and heaviness in my limbs.

It only sort of worked.

I stumbled out of the steam-filled shower stall and breathed in the cooler air. My brain sang with relief. I drank more water, considered shaving but decided against it, and returned to my bedroom to put on a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. Had I not felt so rough, I’d have gone down and started my workout, but that would have to wait until tomorrow.

I suspected if I tried to exercise, I’d spew the contents of my stomach all over the place. That certainly wasn’t my idea of a good way to start the day.

All I wanted was a cup of coffee and maybe something to eat. Having some carbs in my stomach would curb the nausea. Hopefully. I set off out of my bedroom and emerged in the hallway upstairs.

A sudden memory of standing out in the hall with Piper last night slammed into me. I recalled her helping me up the stairs and getting me to my bedroom door, where she left me in a bit of a mood.

“Damn it,” I growled, realizing how poorly the night had gone once I got home. In my ignorance, I’d believed I had a chance to maybe make something happen between the two of us. Mitch had warned me at the bar that I was dreaming, but the more drinks we pounded back, the more supportive of my mission my friends became.

When the night came to a close, they were all wishing me luck, and in my drunken stupor, I’d come home thinking Piper would be open to receiving me.

Dumb ass.

As I made my way down the stairs, I wracked my brain trying to remember what else I’d said to her last night. Nothing stuck, and when I hit the bottom level, my nose filled with the rich aromas of melting cheese, grilled onions, and eggs.

I clutched at my stomach as it growled loudly, despite how queasy I still felt.

“Food,” I mumbled as I proceeded across the hallway to the kitchen.

I found Piper hovering over the stove when I came around the corner. She didn’t look up or show any sign of noticing my arrival. She bustled from the stove to the kitchen island with a plate piled high with a stack of pancakes. She set the plate on the island, where it joined an assortment of breakfast foods: bacon, sausage, hash browns, and chopped-up fruit. She wiped her hands on her leggings and nodded confidently at her spread.

I cleared my throat.

Piper’s brown eyes swept up to me, and she wore an expression of surprise that quickly morphed into a pleasant smile. “Good morning.”

It took me a moment to get my mouth working. My brain was groggy and slow from all the alcohol. “Morning.” My voice was rough like gravel and deep. I cleared my throat again. “What’s all this?”

Piper hurried over to my coffee pot and pressed brew. Then she went back to the stove where she was scrambling eggs in a wide, flat pan.

It smelled absolutely heavenly.

“It’s breakfast,” Piper said over her shoulder.

“I can see that. But why? What for?”

“For you,” she said simply.

I rubbed at the back of my neck as I took a seat at the island. None of this added up. Was I recalling last night incorrectly? Had I been less of an ass than I thought?

Surely not.

Piper giggled at my confusion. “Can I not make you breakfast?”

“No. Of course you can. I just… I’m confused is all.”

Confused was an understatement. I watched as she stirred the eggs in the pan with a spatula and added a sprinkle of salt and pepper. She leaned over the pan and wafted the steam up to her nose, inhaling deeply. Then she gave it another stir and hummed to herself.

What the fuck was going on?

“What time did I come home last night?” I asked.

“Around three thirty.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep.” Piper nodded. “It seemed like you had a good night, though.”

“I think I’ll need Mitch to refresh my memory.”

Piper turned the stove burner off but left the pan on it. Then she turned toward me, her gaze flicking to the coffee pot to check how much time was left. “You definitely had a lot to drink.”

“Yeah,” I said faintly.

She offered me a smile. “It happens.”

Who was this girl? Why wasn’t she giving me the same flack and attitude she’d worn like a second layer of skin since she arrived? Of all the times I deserved it, this was definitely the most prominent one.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

She cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean?”

I looked around the kitchen. “All of this.”

“I like cooking.”

“Yeah but—”

“Cooper, you’re reading too much into it. I’m just trying to get settled here, and the best way I can think to do that is to cook some good food, sit down, and share a meal together. And I figured you’d be too sluggish this morning to fight me on it or blow me off in favor of something else.”

I winced. “Ah.”

“Was I wrong?”

Wishing I had a shell I could crawl into, I shook my head.

Piper let it roll off her back. She went to the coffee pot, poured two mugs, and asked how I liked my coffee.

“Black,” I said.

She brought the cup to me and then plated the eggs and served them. There were two empty plates at one end of the counter, and she passed me one. “Help yourself.”

Piper had prepared a full-on buffet for the two of us. Feeling guilty for taking her food after how I’d behaved last night, I kept my head down as I loaded up my plate. She continued humming softly as she took her food, and once our plates were full, she asked if we could sit outside by the pool.

“Lead the way,” I said, falling into step behind her as she cut across the living room to the sliding glass doors.

I took a moment to check her out when her back was turned.

She was wearing skin-tight black leggings that made her ass look spectacular. The leggings weren’t doing all the work, of course. Since seeing her in that bikini, I knew for a fact that she had a wonderful rear end. The leggings just emphasized it.

The sweater she wore was cropped and pastel pink with a hood. About an inch of her upper stomach showed, peeking out under the sweater and above the high waistband of her leggings. She had black sandals on that slapped against the soles of her feet as she walked, and her thick brown hair was tied up in a loose ponytail.

Somehow, she got sexier every time I saw her.

What was the deal with that?

We took our seats at my patio set near the pool. Piper dug into her meal first, and I watched her eat for a moment before loading my fork up with eggs and shoveling food into my mouth.

Piper smiled. “Hungry?”

“Famished.”

She was a delicate eater. She made it look sexy, too. Maybe it was the fullness of her lips or the smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Maybe it was the darkness of her eyes and the dramatic length of her eyelashes.

Maybe it was a combination of everything.

By the time I was halfway through the food, I needed to take a breather to let it all settle. It seemed like the right opportunity to apologize. I just needed to find the right words. Saying sorry was not in my nature and, therefore, felt very foreign and awkward.

“Piper?”

She glanced up at me with a mouth full of pancakes. “Mm?”

“I’m sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have gone out or gotten so plastered. I put you in a bad position.”

She shrugged and took a sip of coffee. “It’s all right.”

I arched an eyebrow. “I expected you to be pissed off. I was kind of an ass.”

“You had a good night out with the boys. It’s okay. I get it. No harm in blowing off a little steam, right?”

“Right,” I said slowly. This seemed too good to be true.

Unless she was that taken with me that she was willing to overlook my partying ways.

As soon as I thought it, I shook the thought off. Not possible.

“Well, if there’s no harm in blowing off a little steam, maybe you can join me next weekend for a big monthly beach party?” I leaned forward to rest my elbows on the table. “It’s a good time. If you come, I won’t leave you hanging like I did at the party here at the house.”

Piper bit her bottom lip. My blood sang in my veins at the sight of it. Did she have any idea how hot she was?

“I don’t know,” Piper said, running her hands down her thighs.

“There’s a bonfire. Late-night swimming in the ocean. Fireworks. Food trucks. Music and dancing. It’s a great time. Really low key.”

“Low key, huh?”

I nodded. “I’ll stay by your side the whole night.”

“Like my date?” She arched an eyebrow and gave me a flirty little smile.

“Yes,” I said quickly. “Like your date.”

Piper clasped her hands together. “All right.” She took another sip of her coffee and stared down into the mug thoughtfully. “Can I be honest with you, Cooper?”

Where was this going? “Of course,” I said.

She licked her lips and then rubbed them together. I wanted to kiss her again. To feel their softness against my own lips. To taste her.

“I feel a little out of sorts here.” Piper shifted in her seat. “Like I don’t really know you. And it would be nice if we could dig deeper this week leading up to the party. I know it’s weird. But this process has taught me that you have to put in what you want to get out of it.”

My chest tightened. Dig deeper? Not my thing, really.

But there was a prize at the end: Piper.

“I suppose it couldn’t hurt to get to know each other better,” I said.

Piper smiled. “That’s the spirit.”

“How would you like to start?” I asked, my mind already wondering.

How deep had she dug with the other men over the last six months?

CHAPTER 11

PIPER

I gazed up at the ceiling of the tiki bar Cooper had taken me to for drinks and seafood appetizers. Polaroid pictures of strangers were strung up on copper strings of lights and spanned the entire ceiling. The photos fluttered on the wires as a breeze rolled in off the ocean, carrying with it the scent of salt and wide-open air.

I breathed in deeply and smiled as a couple at the table next to mine snapped a picture with one of the polaroid cameras sitting on one of the tables in the bar. Apparently, it was a thing. Tourists and visitors were invited to put their pictures up to mark their visit to this place, and if they ever returned, they could spend hours searching the hanging photos for their memory.

It was a sweet sentiment.

I caught a glance of Cooper up at the bar, ordering us drinks served in hollowed-out coconuts. Despite spending the last couple of days together touring the island, I couldn’t help but find myself wishing I felt closer to him. Wishing he was less of an asshole than he was. Wishing I wanted to snap a picture with him and string it from the ceiling among the other smiling faces.

But I didn’t want that.

Instead, I ached to have the company of someone else. Someone who already would have scooped up one of the cameras and told me to smile wide while he leaned over my shoulder and snapped a picture. He might even kiss my cheek for the photo if he was feeling particularly affectionate. And I would laugh. And the picture would be candid. And our memory would be as worthy as all the others dangling above my head.

I sighed and rested my chin in my hand. If only I was here with anyone other than Cooper Diaz. Cooper Rockefeller.

Whatever.

In the middle of my pity party, Cooper returned with our drinks. The coconuts were topped with neon umbrellas and wedges of fruit. Long hot-pink straws stuck out from the top, and I pursed my lips around one and took a sip once he handed it to me.

“Whoa,” I said, pulling back and staring at the coconut. “What is this?”

“Like it?” Cooper asked, pulling out the chair beside me.

I nodded. “It’s delicious. Like summer in a cup.”

He chuckled. “It’s a Nassau signature cocktail. Well, sort of. Bass created the recipe. He refuses to share it with anyone who asks.”

“Bass?”

“One of the brothers who owns the place.”

“Oh.” I took another greedy sip of the fruity cocktail. I picked up notes of rum, coconut, and lime, and then more subtle flavors like bananas and grapefruit. It was a delight on my taste buds. “These could be very dangerous. I could drink several in one sitting.”

“We can if you want to.” Cooper winked at me.

“Very funny.”

He chuckled and held up both hands. “All right. All right. Just a joke. I know we’re here to chat and get to know each other. I’m on board.”

“Good,” I said, sitting up a little straighter. “Tell me something about yourself.”

“Uh…” He hesitated and looked everywhere but at me.

I was about to suggest he tell me about something safe to get the ball rolling, like why he chose the Bahamas of all places to move to, or why he decided to join the Casanova Club, but our server arrived with an appetizer platter worthy of the gods.

He set it down in the middle of the table, gave Cooper a friendly nod, and hurried back to the kitchen, where I imagined dozens more orders were pouring out.

Although the bar, Bassau, was not all that large, it was very busy. It had an indoor seating area and a covered deck that hung over the ocean. The waves rolled to the shore underneath, sloshing against the wooden posts holding the deck up. It was a peaceful sound.

Our table was in one of the corners. The sun was starting to bow to the horizon, and the sky was turning a deep magenta shade. It painted everything a soft pink hue, and suddenly, the lights above our heads with the Polaroids flicked on.

“I think I love this place,” I said as I gazed up at the little twinkling lights.

“It has that effect on people,” Cooper said.

My attention went to the appetizer platter before us. It was a spread and a half, complete with massive garlic shrimp, veggies, chicken wings, fresh salsa with so much cilantro I could smell it, and a side of tortilla chips.

“The crab legs are still coming,” Cooper said as he reached for a wing.

“There’s more food? How are we going to eat all this?”

Cooper laughed. “Man up, Piper.”

I laughed too. And it felt good. Really fucking good. As I picked up a heavy, girthy, buttery shrimp, I realized that I hadn’t let my hair down at all this month. It was already the ninth of July, and I’d spent most of my time with my nose buried in one of Aaron’s various books, wishing I was anywhere but here.

But now, we were laughing. I wasn’t going to let the moment slip through my fingers.

“Where were we?” I asked. “Oh yes. You were about to tell me something about yourself.”

“I like seafood.”

“That doesn’t count as an answer.”

“Sure, it does.” Cooper shifted in his seat and made me blush with an endearing, lopsided smile. “Now it’s your turn.”

I popped the shrimp in my mouth and answered him with my mouth full. “I like seafood too.”

Cooper watched me with a steady gaze. “My last name isn’t Diaz.”

I nearly choked on my second shrimp. I recovered by sipping my drink and playing it off like I was just parched. His gaze never wavered. I hadn’t expected him to come clean with the goods so fast. Or so bluntly. Was he testing me?

“It’s not?” I asked innocently.

Cooper shook his head. “No.”

Did he want me to ask him what his name was? I hadn’t thought this through enough. I was going to have to feign surprise, and I’d been told on more than one occasion that I was bad at acting. Mom and Dad always knew when I didn’t like a birthday or Christmas gift.

Game face, Piper. Game face.

“Why did you change it?” I asked, hoping the question sounded natural.

Cooper shrugged and leaned back in his chair. I liked the way he had himself draped casually over it, like he owned the place.

Hell, maybe he did.

“My name painted this picture in people’s heads of who I was before they met me. And it wasn’t doing me any favors.” His tone was casual, dismissive.

“And Diaz does you favors?” I asked.

He smirked. “Sort of.”

“Was your family upset when you changed your name?”

Cooper’s eyes flicked back and forth between mine. “Furious.”

“I’m sorry.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why?”

I bit my bottom lip. “I don’t know. Family can be tricky to navigate. Especially when they don’t agree with your choices.”

“Does your family disagree with your choice to be here?” he asked, turning the tables on me.

I ate a piece of carrot smothered in ranch dressing. “They think I’m in school in the UK.”

Cooper’s eyes widened. Then he burst out laughing and slapped his knee. “You’re shitting me. Tell me you’re shitting me.”

I shook my head. “Nope. God’s truth. I told them I was in school. They have no idea what I’ve been up to all year.”

“Why didn’t you tell them?”

I considered lying to him and telling him they were just strict and that they wouldn’t understand. Which wasn’t technically a lie. But in my experience, the more truth you wove into a lie, the more convincing it was.

So I told him everything, except for my real motive: the money. “My parents don’t have a lot of money. Actually, they have negative money. The family business is being run into the ground, and I needed to escape. I needed to carve out my own future. And when this opportunity came across my path, I couldn’t let it go. I needed to try. To be honest, I never expected to be the girl sitting here… but here I am.”

“Here you are,” Cooper mused, dragging his eyes over me. I hated that I liked when he looked at me like that. Like he wanted to do naughty things to me. He sipped his drink and set it down. “But you haven’t explained why you never told your folks this is what you were actually doing.”

“I couldn’t.”

“Why?”

“My dad has a bad heart. He had surgery last month. I didn’t want this to push him over the edge and compromise his health.”

Cooper frowned. “I’m sorry about your dad, Piper. It must be hard to be away from him at a time like this.”

I felt my eyes widen and fought to keep my mouth closed. Was Cooper actually being supportive? For a moment, I wished I didn’t have to trick him to get him to open up. But only for a moment.

“It is hard,” I said softly. Just not for the reasons you think.

Cooper nodded before indulging in another chicken wing.

“So, what is your last name anyway?” I asked, licking ranch dressing off my thumb.

He paused.

“You can tell me,” I pressed.

He studied me like a textbook. “Don’t freak out.”

“Why would I freak out?”

“Rockefeller.”

“What?”

“My real last name is Rockefeller,” he said, playing right into my hands.

I hoped the way I contorted my features made me look convincingly shocked. Or rattled. I opened my mouth to speak and promptly closed it again. Then I reached for my drink and took six steady gulps.

“I know it’s a lot,” Cooper said, his expression tight. “You can see why I wanted to get out from under it.”

I set my drink down. “Because you’re the son of the wealthiest family on the planet? Yeah. Yeah, I think I get it.”

Cooper nodded. Then his eyes got this far-off look, and I had the sense he was no longer in the tiki bar with me. He was somewhere far away. Somewhere cold and dark that he didn’t like, judging by how the color drained from his face.

“Cooper?”

He blinked and looked up at me. “Sorry. Yes?”

What had he been through, being a Rockefeller? What was it like growing up with that kind of pressure on your shoulders?

I supposed it made sense that all he wanted to do was party and cut loose. He was escaping.

The trouble was, he never figured out how to stop escaping.

I reached across the table and put my hand on his. “You’re still Cooper Diaz to me.”

His cocky playboy smile came back in full swing. “Thanks, babe.”

You should have seen that one coming.

CHAPTER 12

COOPER

From my bedroom window, I could see the pool. And therefore, I could see the pretty girl lounging on one of my chairs.

Piper had the seat fully reclined. She’d been reading when I first went down to work out, and then she had gone for a swim. That had become her daily ritual at the house. I had no complaints. While I worked out, I had a great view—well, greater than usual. On top of the blue ocean spanning as far as the eye could see, and the white sandy beach, and the shimmering pool, I had her.

All long legs, strong thighs, and dark glittering hair.

It was like she’d been designed to tan in my backyard.

Today, she was wearing a neon pink bathing suit. It had turquoise and white beads dangling from the string between her breasts, a cruel placement in my opinion. It was already hard enough to keep my eyes off her body without there being pretty little accessories to draw my attention. The beads also dangled by her hips and down her back. The swimsuit was cute, sporty, and suited her, especially with the tan she had going on.

I raked my fingers through my hair as I watched her down below.

Things were moving along quicker than I anticipated. It was already the twelfth of July, which was nearly the halfway mark of our time together. I didn’t feel close to her. Not in the sense that Jackson Lee suggested I might by this stage of the game. But I did feel like we were bordering on something close to friendship.

At least, I hoped we were.

Our days touring the island together and our night at Bassau on Tuesday had shifted things and put us closer together. It was what she wanted, so she was in higher spirits than her first week with me, and in turn, so was I. Though I couldn’t be in a bad mood with a beautiful girl like her strutting around my place.

I didn’t know at what point I started thinking of her differently.

Back at the beginning of the month, she’d been nothing more than a nuisance to me. A task to check off my list and move along from. Hell, back in December, I hadn’t thought she was anything special at all.

And now?

Well, things had changed.

“Clearly,” I muttered, leaning forward to rest my forearm on the glass above my head. “You told her your fucking last name.”

I hadn’t spoken my Rockefeller last name aloud in some time. A year at least. Mitch was the only person on this island who knew where I actually came from, and that was only because I’d confessed it to him on the beach when we were both shitfaced. At the time, I had thought he’d be too drunk to remember.

But after passing out on the sand and waking the next morning, he told me breakfast was on me. When I protested, he scoffed and told me it was the least I could do for swearing him to secrecy about being a Rockefeller.

He’d been right. It was a heavy burden to bear. Ever since walking away from my name and my family, things had been easier, sure, but I still knew the truth. I knew who I really was.

And it wasn’t Cooper Diaz, despite how desperately I wished it was.

Piper hadn’t moved in a while, and I began to suspect she’d fallen asleep. I pushed off the window, worried she might have been down there in the sun too long. She was going to burn.

I stopped at the top of the stairs and frowned at myself. What was this girl doing to me?

Shaking my head, I hurried down the stairs and swept across the foyer to make my way out to the pool.

Piper didn’t stir when I approached her chair. Her ankles were crossed, and her book rested on her right thigh, cover down. I cocked my head to the side to try to read the text printed on the back, but I couldn’t make it out under her hand.

She’d made her way through three different books since arriving here.

Either she really hated me and wanted to immerse herself in a fictional world, or the writer was really talented. Curiosity got the best of me.

I reached for the book and slid it out from under her hand. She didn’t wake. Her hand fell down to her thigh, and I flipped the book over to peer at the cover.

It was a minimalist design with mostly white space and the image of a girl’s ankles on the cover. The book was called “Simmer” and there was a New York Time’s Best Seller sticker slapped in the righthand corner, right alongside the author’s name.

“Aaron Morris,” I whispered, reading the author’s name aloud. “Son of a bitch.”

She’d been reading the damn author’s books. I scoffed and flipped the book open, skimming past the copyright pages, the title, and the dedication and stopping at the page with the number “1” in cursive font to mark the first chapter.

I ran my index finger down the length of the page as I started reading.

Annabeth’s parents saw the world through a narrow lens of black and white. They were the sort of people who believed hard work and wanting something more than others meant you deserved it. They were impatient consumerists who made sure their annual new car was proudly displayed in the driveway every spring like clockwork.

They were good at a lot of things, too.

Things like hosting dinner parties, taking quality high-contrast pictures for their social-media feeds, pairing their shoes to their outfits, and making small talk in the grocery store with influential people in the town.

But they did not know their daughter.

“What are you doing?”

I looked over the top of the page and down at Piper, who’d propped herself up on her elbows and was peering up at me from behind her sunglasses. If she was scowling, I couldn’t tell.

I closed the book. “Checking out if Morris is as clever with his words as he claims to be.”

Piper made a swipe for the book, but I pulled back. She pushed her sunglasses up onto her head and glared hard at me with a scowl and a half. “Give it back. Please.”

“But I just started reading. I want to know if poor Annabeth gets the unconditional love from her parents she’s clearly craving.”

Piper rolled her eyes and let out a growl as she swung her legs over the side of the chair. “Don’t be an ass, Cooper. You’re not his target audience.”

“Target audience?”

She stood up and planted her hands on her hips. “Yes. Target audience. In other words, the book wasn’t written for guys like you.”

I chuckled. “Clearly. For starters, he named his main character ‘Annabeth’.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“She’s clearly a virgin.”

Piper stared blankly at me.

I grinned. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

“So what if she is?”

I tossed the book back into her hands. “Boring.”

Piper clutched the book close to her chest, like it was a bag of family heirlooms. Interesting. Then she took a defiant step toward me. “You have no appreciation for fiction. Or art. Or creativity of any kind that isn’t making pictures in the sand with your own urine.”

I stroked my chin. “You know, you’re not wrong.”

“That’s gross.”

“No, what’s gross is that you’re going to waste your time reading a shitty book about a shitty girl with shitty problems. All because you’re swooning over a writer. What’s the big deal? He tells stories about high school girls. How is that a turn on?”

“It’s not,” Piper snapped.

“Then why are you cradling his book like it’s his fucking heart?”

Piper looked at the book in her arms and then back up at me. “Books are special to me. It has nothing to do with who wrote it.”

“Bound paper and glue are important to you?”

“Yes,” she growled.

“Why?”

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”

I folded my arms over my chest. “Try me.”

Piper prickled and shook her head once. Then she slid her feet into her sandals and went to brush past me. I blocked her way, and she tilted her head back to glare defiantly up at me. “Move.”

“Why? Can’t we just have a conversation?”

“You’re trying to provoke me,” she said.

“Me? Never. Although for what it’s worth, you’re really fucking sexy when you’re angry.”

Her nostrils flared. Maybe that had been the wrong thing to say. Then again, I was having a hell of a good time.

Piper’s eyes narrowed into slits, and she took an aggressive step forward. My size and weight didn’t seem to perturb her in the slightest as she clutched Aaron’s book in one hand and jabbed me in the chest with the other. “You know, I was just starting to think there might be an actual human being under this douche-bag playboy mask you insist on wearing. But lo and behold, there’s not. There’s nothing but a shallow, weak, ignorant, pigheaded, cruel boy underneath all the bravado.”

“Ouch.”

“Oh, fucking bite me, Cooper. This is what you wanted, isn’t it? To rile me up? To make me feel insecure for enjoying a book?”

I shrugged one shoulder. “I didn’t want anything. I was just—”

“I’m done being manipulated. I thought—I thought—” She shook her head and let out a frustrated sigh. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Say it.”

“No.”

“You scared?” I challenged.

She squared her shoulders. “I thought we were actually starting to get to know each other. I thought you were trying. But clearly that’s beyond you.”

Piper moved to brush past me again, but I stepped in her path. “Listen, I wasn’t trying to make you this upset. I just—”

She jabbed me in the chest again. “You’re only backpedaling now because you pushed too far. You’re not going to talk your way out of it this time. I’m done with you.”

“Piper—”

“I said I’m done.” She seethed. “I don’t care how much money you have. I don’t care how lavish your parties are or how big your house is. And I don’t care that you’re a Rockefeller. You’re a jerk, Cooper. Nothing more. I can’t believe I thought I was going to be able to make this work. So congratulations. You win. I’m out. And you—” She raised her hand to jab me again.

I caught her wrist. She stared up at me, and I stared down at her, and the world faded into white noise around us.

“Enough,” I growled.

She tried to pull away, but I held fast.

“You made your point,” I said.

“Let me go.”

“Are you going to poke me again?”

Her lips twisted into a snarl. “I’m going to kick you in the balls if you don’t let me go.”

I released her. She held her ground, glaring up at me like a feral cat, and then her eyes flicked to my lips.

So I wasn’t the only one feeling the tension. The heat.

I couldn’t kiss her. It was wrong. She was furious. And I was angry, too. She’d said a few choice things that hit me in all the wrong places, but fuck, having her rise to the occasion like that was a turn on. It didn’t make sense in my head, but regardless, my cock was aching for her.

No, I thought sharply, willing my body to obey my mind. Kissing her now was crossing a line.

Piper’s lips parted, and she breathed heavily. Her eyes lingered on my lips, and she stayed where she was, not retreating. The air between us only grew more electric. I could have sworn I could hear it popping and sizzling all around us.

She pinched her bottom lip between her teeth.

Fuck me.

Piper dropped her book on the lounge chair. My pulse fluttered in my throat. She stepped closer.

“We shouldn’t,” she whispered.

“You’re right.”

“But…”

“But what?”

She closed her eyes and dropped her head.

I reached out, drawn in by the swell of her lips and her breasts and her hips, and I rested a finger under her chin. Her eyes fluttered open, and her cheeks turned pink.

“Cooper,” she breathed.

“Hush,” I demanded, and then I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers and she closed the space between us.

CHAPTER 13

PIPER

Push him away.

My brain was struggling to send messages to my body. I knew this was a mistake, but try as I might, I couldn’t separate my lips from Cooper’s.

His tongue slipped beneath my teeth.

A soft moan escaped me, and Cooper pulled me in closer. The air around us buzzed and seemed to light on fire. The heat might have just been the afternoon Nassau sun.

Or it wasn’t.

Cooper was dangerous levels of sexy. I couldn’t decide if I hated him or needed him. He’d pushed me far past the point of anger, and now he had his tongue halfway down my throat.

Who the hell did he think he was?

Right. A Rockefeller.

Not only was I sucking face with a man who’d had me spiraling into a blind rage seconds ago, but also a son of one of the wealthiest families in the world.

No pressure.

Cooper pulled away. “Stop thinking.”

How?

He pushed my hair off my face and moved back in for more deep kisses. His touch trailed down my cheek and then my neck to linger at my collarbone. He ran his thumb over the strap of my pink swimsuit that was secured behind my neck and then snapped it playfully.

Damn him for making me smile in a moment like this.

Damn him for everything.

And damn me for not having enough willpower to stop this before we took it too far.

Cooper slid his fingers under the strap and worked his way to the nape of my neck, where he slowly began drawing the bow apart. The beads on the end danced between my shoulder blades, and my skin responded with goosebumps.

The bow came undone. Cooper released the end, and the two straps fell forward and, with it, the cups of my bikini.

“Damn,” Cooper breathed, soaking in the sight of my nakedness. “You’re sexier than I imagined.”

I wanted his flattery to not work on me. But it did work. I smiled, took the hem of his shirt, and began working to undo the buttons. I took my time, slowly inching upward until the final button was left. I popped it open with my thumb and looked upon his bare torso like it was the first time.

In reality, I’d been staring at his body all month. But now it was mine.

Pressing my palms to his chest, I ran my hands over the swell of his muscles. Cooper cupped my breasts in his hands and bowed his head to devour my mouth with more kisses. When he parted, his eyes bored into mine. “We should go inside.”

I nodded. Words were not presently at my disposal.

Cooper eyes flicked over my shoulder to the beach down below. People passing by wouldn’t be able to see my nakedness, but if someone got the idea to come up the stairs into his yard, they’d have a full view of us preparing to get busy. I knew for a fact that Cooper was too protective of a man to let anyone else see me in my present state.

And I didn’t want to be seen either.

“Lead the way,” I said.

Cooper took my hand in his, and we turned toward the house. I hurried after him on the tips of my toes across the hot patio. I kept my right arm pressed across my breasts, just in case someone saw, and once we slipped inside and he closed the door, I let my arm fall away.

He led me into the living room, spun me around so my back was to his sofa, and then pushed me down by my shoulders.

I landed sitting on the edge of the sofa in front of him. He stayed on his feet, staring down at me.

“Should we go upstairs?” I asked, casting a wary glance over my shoulder at the backyard.

“Nobody can see you in here,” he said. Then he reached for his belt and began undoing it.

I stared at the bulge growing in his shorts and licked my lips. “You’re sure?”

“Positive. Just stay low.”

Stay low? Was this who I was now? The girl who was going to fuck a near stranger on his sofa in front of a bunch of wide-open windows in a mansion on the beach?

Yes. You are.

Cooper pulled his belt free of the loops and discarded it on the floor. I ran my tongue along the inside of my teeth and watched as he slowly undid the fly of his shorts. He was watching me. I didn’t care.

He dropped his shorts. There was nothing underneath. I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Cooper was very well endowed.

Very well.

My breath hitched in my throat as he took hold of his cock and rubbed himself a few times. Part of me had wondered if his ego was overcompensating for a small prize in his pants. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

He was huge. Dangerously huge.

I looked up at him and found him smiling at me.

“Something wrong, babe?” he asked, cocking his head to the side innocently.

“No.”

“You’re sure?”

I bit my bottom lip and nodded.

Cooper chuckled and leaned forward, bracing himself on the back of the sofa and pinning me between his arms. I leaned back as he pressed in closer, caging me in. I was overwhelmed with his scent: firewood, musk, and sunscreen. Glorious. Masculine. Summertime.

“Don’t be scared, Piper. I’m going to take good care of you.”

I hoped he couldn’t see me shaking. In an effort to look like I was keeping my shit together, I closed my hands over both my breasts and pushed them together playfully. “You’d better.”

Cooper grinned. And then the time for talking ended.

Cooper descended upon me, planting one knee between my thighs as he ravaged me with kisses. While his tongue explored my mouth, he untied the bows of my bikini bottoms on my hips. He ran his fingers along my lower stomach, tracing the line of my swimsuit, and then pushed down until his hand rested between my legs. He cupped my pussy and let out a deep, masculine groan.

How long had he been waiting for this? Probably since the minute I showed up. There was no denying how good it felt to be desired like this, and I desired him, too.

I ran my hands up his back and over his shoulders. He took it as an invitation and rubbed his fingers slowly over my pussy, massaging my clit gently and attentively. I worked to keep it together, to stop myself from sighing, but I didn’t last very long.

After a minute or so, my hips were rolling of their own accord. Cooper smiled into our kiss and eased a finger inside me. “You’re so fucking wet,” he said. His voice was deep and husky with need.

I reached for his cock and stroked him slowly.

He slid another finger inside me. I moaned desperately beneath him. Cooper nipped at my lips and flicked his fingers in a come-hither motion, nearly pushing me over the edge. Right when I thought I was going to lose it, he slowed, smiled against my lips, and chuckled. “It’s not that easy, baby girl. You have to earn it.”

I shuddered.

“That’s it,” he cooed. “Hold it.”

It was cruel torture. Delicious cruel torture.

“Do you have a condom?” I asked. My words were pinched and clipped. I could hardly get them out without moaning and melting into a puddle of desire at his fingertips.

“So quick to skip to the end, babe.”

“I need you,” I whispered.

Cooper paused. His eyes searched mine. Then a smile curled his lips, and his mouth crashed against mine. I worked him over in my hands, and he pushed his fingers deeper inside me. I moaned into his mouth and rolled my hips. He obliged my hunger with deep thrusts until I couldn’t take it any longer. My muscles tightened.

“That’s it,” he said, sliding his cheek along mine to whisper in my ear. “Come for me.”

And I did.

He clamped his free hand over my mouth as I cried out with pleasure and succumbed to my orgasm. Little stars exploded in my vision, and I felt like I was floating. I came hard and fast, and Cooper only slowed when my body relaxed.

Then he kissed my cheek, my jaw, and let his hand fall from my mouth. “You’re so fucking hot, Piper. Fuck.”

“Condom,” I whispered shakily.

“Don’t move.”

I didn’t plan on it. Even if I wanted to, I suspected I would have a hard time walking after that orgasm. I stayed where I was and waited, and Cooper disappeared up the stairs to return seconds later. He was bold, walking around his house completely naked. His confidence was real and not a farce, and that only turned me on more.

“Turn around,” Cooper demanded.

I did as I was told but, apparently, not well enough because he wrapped an arm around my hips and hauled me higher, up to my knees. Then he pressed a hand into my lower back, forcing me to arch my spine.

“Stay there,” he said.

I watched over my shoulder as he tore open the condom wrapper, discarded it on the floor, and rolled it over his length. He moved his hips forward and ran his cock against my sloppy wet pussy.

Cooper grabbed my ass and squeezed hard. I whimpered, and he gave me a rough slap that made me yelp and then giggle in the aftermath. He was rough and in charge. And I liked it.

A lot.

He eased himself into me one inch at a time.

I brought my arms up to the back of the sofa and gripped the cushions as I braced myself. I’d never been with someone so big, and I couldn’t deny that I was a little worried. I sucked in a sharp breath and muffled a moan of pain into the pillows.

Cooper didn’t force me. He pulled out and worked himself slowly, warming me up, getting me relaxed. I melted against the sofa, and my grip loosened. A sigh left my lips as he ran his hands up to my waist and held on to me as he fucked me nice and slow.

“Yes,” I breathed.

He leaned over me. His breath was hot against the back of my neck. “Does that feel good, baby?”

I nodded and pressed back against him. He chuckled against my skin before pressing his teeth to my shoulder. Then he took a fistful of my hair and pulled hard. I gasped as I was forced to stare up at the ceiling, and he didn’t wait for me to get my bearings. He pushed in deep.

A cry escaped my lips that was half pleasure, half pain, and when he thrust hard and wild behind me, the pain slipped away entirely.

Cooper pushed me forward as he rocked against me. I was going to come undone far too fast. My world spun as my breathing quickened. I moaned and sighed, and he tightened his grip on my hair before slapping my ass hard enough to sting.

Then he pulled me up against him so my shoulder blades were even with his chest. I was on display for anyone who might come into his yard. And I didn’t give a damn.

He reached around in front of me and rubbed my clit. His hips never slowed. I turned my face to the side, straining against his hold on my hair, and I reached behind me to draw him down to me for a kiss. He obliged, and when I could barely hold on to my second climax, he pinched my bottom lip between his teeth and let out a primal sound in the back of his throat.

My self-control shattered.

I cried out as I came. Cooper dropped his head to nibble at my neck and shoulders, and his climax was quick to follow. He swelled inside me, and the intensity of my orgasm doubled. He pushed me forward roughly and bucked wildly against me as he came.

When he finished, I didn’t want the moment to end. I was still desperately hungry for him, and for the first time all month, I didn’t feel so alone.

Cooper slapped my ass. “On your feet, princess. We’re taking this party upstairs.”

A smile pulled at my lips as he grabbed my upper arm and hauled me off the couch.

CHAPTER 14

COOPER

I glanced at the time on my watch. Nearly eight o’clock.

Things would be well underway at the far end of the beach, about a mile walk across the sand. If we left now, we’d be there at the perfect time, but Piper was taking her sweet-ass time getting ready.

I marched up the stairs to her bedroom door and knocked. “Woman! It’s a beach party, not a cocktail party. What the hell is taking you so long in there?”

“Five more minutes!”

“Make it two.”

“Kiss my ass, Cooper. I said five.”

Unable to stop myself from smiling, I conceded. “I’ll meet you out by the pool. But hurry up. I’m starving.”

“You’re always starving.”

“Sue me,” I said, but there was no malice in my words, just humor.

Piper and I had spent the previous night well. And by well, I meant we spent it hot and sweaty and tangled up in each other, and I’d worked her over.

Hard.

I could still hear her soft moans, feel her nails pressing into my back, smell her shampoo and perfume and—

“Should I bring anything?” Piper called through the door.

I rolled my eyes. “Just your sexy ass and a pair of comfortable shoes. Pool. Two minutes.”

Lingering at the door only left room for her to delay further, so I left and hurried down the stairs to go outside and stand by the edge of the pool. Patience was not my strong suit. Never had been.

Growing up as a Rockefeller meant I got what I wanted, when I wanted it.

I smirked to myself. Being a Diaz wasn’t much different. I knew the body and the money were the catalysts of my indulgent lifestyle, and that was fine by me. It was still on my own terms.

But things were different with Piper. This was a strange place for me, spending the next day with the same woman I’d bedded the night before. I was used to having women dash off of their own volition or having to push them out the front door at the crack of dawn.

I wasn’t relationship material. I was the opposite. I was the guy fathers hated to think of their daughters falling for.

Which, of course, meant daughters fell for me all the time.

But Piper was different than the girls of my past, and that unsettled me. I wanted to spend time with her today, and I’d spent the entire day looking forward to the party this evening.

Having her on my arm when we arrived was going to turn some heads to be sure, but I never shied away from a little extra attention. I thrived on it. Piper wasn’t keen on being the girl at the party everyone wanted to talk to, but I was going to stick to my word and stay with her all night.

Unless I was getting us drinks. Or taking a piss. Other than that, I’d be on her like glue.

And then, I’d do the same when I got her back to my place and stripped her out of whatever outfit was taking her so fucking long to put together.

Five minutes passed, and I was considering marching back up the stairs to drag Piper out of her room and to the party in whatever state she was in. Then she came through the sliding glass door and stepped onto the patio.

She was well worth the wait.

She’d put on a little yellow sundress with lace around the hem. Her gold sandals were flat and sparkly and complemented the outfit nicely. Her hair was braided off her shoulder, but a few pieces hung around her face. My attention was instantly drawn to her full glossy lips.

“Sorry I took so long,” she said.

“Don’t be.”

Piper smiled and batted her long dark lashes at me. “Are we going, or what?”

We made our way down to the beach and walked on the hardpacked sand along the edge of the water. Piper carried her shoes in one hand so she could put her feet in the ocean, and she didn’t pull away when I took hold of her free hand. Instead, she offered me a warm smile.

I found myself smiling back. What the fuck was happening to me?

This wasn’t part of my MO. Not even close.

But damn it all to hell, for once in my life, I didn’t want to be the guy who gave the girl a hard time. I wanted to be the guy she smiled at the way Piper had just smiled at me.

“So, who’s all going to be at this thing?” Piper asked when we’d put about a quarter mile behind us.

“Mitch and Luke will be there.”

“No Davis?”

I shook my head. “Not that I’m aware of. Aside from that, it’ll mostly be locals. There are always tourists that show up on the arms of locals, of course. People staying at the resorts and what not who want a real taste of island life.”

“Of course,” Piper said, nodding. The right strap of her dress slid down her shoulder. I put it back into place for her. Her skin was hot from spending all day in the sun. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“So you know a lot of these locals who will be at the party?”

“Probably all of them.”

She blinked dubiously at me. “Oh. Well, that’s not intimidating at all.”

I chuckled. “Don’t be nervous. This is island life. Everyone here is pretty chill. And tonight is a really relaxed vibe. Everyone just wants to dance and have a couple drinks and eat good food.”

“That’s my definition of a perfect evening.”

“Mine too.”

She squeezed my hand before nodding down the beach. “Is that it there?”

I followed her gaze to the end of the beach, where the party had already begun. The only sources of light were that of the bonfire and the six or so food trucks scattered across the beach. Their open doors shone bright light onto the sand, where people lined up to order food while others clustered around coolers full of drinks.

Piper swallowed beside me. “There are a lot of people.”

“The turnout is usually two hundred or so.”

“Damn.”

“You’ll be fine. Trust me. Besides, you’re showing up with me. You’ll be a sensation within fifteen minutes.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.”

I flashed her a devilish smile. “Good. That’s not what I was trying to do. Put your big girl panties on, babe. We’re going in.”

Piper didn’t let go of my hand as we finished our walk down the beach and left the hardpacked sand in favor of the soft stuff, where the party was underway. A group of people were clustered near the bonfire, strumming guitars and playing bongo drums. One guy was blowing into a harmonica, which was a new but pleasant addition to the music on the beach, and a young woman was singing upbeat melodies to accompany the tune.

Piper gazed around in awe of the place. “Okay. I didn’t expect it to be so cool.”

I clapped my hands together. “All right. It’s pretty chill. Anything in the coolers is up for grabs. There’s a pop-up bar over there. See the white truck?” I pointed to the truck I was talking about, and Piper nodded. “That’s where you can order cocktails. If you go up and order on your own, tell the guy you’re with me. He won’t charge you.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because I bought him that truck.”

“Oh,” Piper said. Then she smiled. “Okay. When do we get to swim?”

“Later. Far later. When the bonfire is almost out.”

“Why so late?”

I waggled my eyebrows at her. “Because nobody wears their clothes.”

Piper gasped. “Cooper! I’m not skinny dipping with a bunch of strangers!”

“Why not? That body of yours is banging. Why not show it off a little?”

She rolled her shoulders. “Absolutely not.”

“I think you need a drink. Or three.”

She shot me a look out of the corner of her eyes but followed me farther up the beach to the white truck I’d pointed out moments earlier. The bartender and owner of the truck was named Gordon, but he only answered to Gordie, which suited him better anyway.

Gordie had moved to Nassau after suffering a mental breakdown from working in a corporate sales job for too many years and not taking enough vacation time. I’d stumbled upon him here on this beach three years ago, and the two of us had sat in the sand and watched the sun go down. He’d told me about how he’d bought a one-way ticket to the first tropical destination a flight was available for. When I asked how long he was staying, he’d very calmly said, “Forever.”

It made sense to me. Nassau was the most magnificent place on earth. I had no intention of ever leaving either.

But he needed help getting on his feet. He wanted something casual, and when he attended his first food truck party on the beach, he commented that all that was missing was a bar on wheels. So I bought him his wheels, funded his licensing, and made it happen.

Some people might say it was out of the goodness of my own heart, but in reality, I just really liked the idea of there being a bar at these monthly gatherings.

Gordie appeared at the window on the side of his truck, wearing a big smile and the same red bandana he always had tied around his forehead to keep the sweat out of his eyes. It got hot doing this gig.

He turned his smile from me to Piper and then licked his lips. “Good evening, Coop. Who’s this you have with you?”

“This is Piper,” I said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Piper, this is Gordie. A local attraction.”

Gordie reached through the window to shake Piper’s hand. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, miss. Can I get you a drink? Anything you want. On me.”

Piper scanned the menu—correction, she scanned the list of available drinks Gordie had scrawled in a list on the side of his truck in black sharpie. He reapplied the list every few days as the sun faded the ink. She pursed her lips and then pointed at one near the bottom. “A Bahama Mama please.”

“You got it,” Gordie said. “And you, Coop?”

“The usual.”

Gordie set to work in his truck, and Piper and I put our backs to it to look out across the beach. Her eyes went to the water, and I was about to tease her some more about skinny dipping, but the words died on my lips.

Three men around my age were walking up the beach from the water. There were beer cans in their hands, and they walked with a slight swagger in their step.

I put an arm around Piper’s waist and leaned in close. “You see those three guys coming up the beach?”

“Uh huh.”

“Stay away from them.”

She looked at me. “Are you worried they might be competition for you?”

If she was talking about any other guys, I might have laughed at her jab. “No, but I’m serious, Piper. They’re bad guys. They have their hands in a lot of wealthy pockets, and they’re involved in the local drug ring. They’re not usually at these kinds of things. Just keep your distance. Please?”

Piper’s eyes wandered back to the three men, who were playfully shoving each other. The people around them gave the trio a wide berth.

“Okay,” she said softly. “I’ll stay away from them.”

CHAPTER 15

PIPER

“Drinks up,” Gordie called from over my shoulder.

Cooper and I turned to collect our drinks from the bartender. He waved us off and out of the way for the next customers, who stepped forward with eager smiles and bubbly laughs. Cooper took my hand and pulled me off to the right, toward the bonfire and away from the men coming up the beach he’d warned me to stay away from.

My eyes kept wandering over to the three men as Cooper led me to the fire.

From looking at them, you would never think they were trouble. In fact, they looked pretty harmless. They were laughing obnoxiously and stumbling around, but that was obviously due to one too many drinks, and they weren’t alone in that aspect. Tons of people had already consumed a lot of alcohol. Raised voices and wild laughter rang across the sand, signaling a night well underway.

Nothing about them looked intimidating. Each of them wore swim trunks and loose button-up shorts. They were barefoot, and so was almost everyone else on the beach. The beers in their hands were clenched like vise grips, and some of it sloshed over the sand whenever they stumbled.

I imagined if I was here with Janie and we were single, we wouldn’t have turned our backs if the three approached us.

They were handsome. All three of them.

Their smiles were broad and white, their skin tanned from life in Nassau, and their bodies? Well, let’s just say Cooper had a little bit of competition on this beach.

“Piper.” Cooper’s voice pulled my attention back to him.

His eyes practically bored holes into me, and I blinked innocently. “What?”

“I want you to meet some people.”

Relieved he wasn’t going to give me shit for staring at the guys, I smiled, and he stepped aside to gesture at a young woman and man sitting on a piece of driftwood near the fire. She smiled up at me and got to her feet to extend her hand. “Hi, Piper. My name is Max. This is my brother, Drew.”

“Hi,” I said, shaking her hand. She had a tight grip that matched her appearance.

Max was a stocky girl with broad shoulders and a boxy frame. She looked like she might have been a fighter or a swimmer, or maybe both. Her blonde hair was cut in a short pixie cut, shaved in the back and longer on top. It was messy from her constantly raking her fingers through it.

Drew, her male counterpart who looked almost identical to Max, except for the six inches of height he had on her, also stood to shake my hand. “Nice to meet you, Piper.”

“You too,” I said, feeling a little relieved to at least know the names of someone at this party other than Cooper.

Max dropped back into her seat and patted the wood beside her. “Care to sit?”

I sat beside her. Cooper swung around my other side and started chatting with Drew, who stayed on his feet.

Max nudged me with her shoulder like we were long-lost best friends. “So, how’s the month going?”

I shrugged. “It’s going.”

She cracked a wry grin. “I’ll be honest with you. I was pretty shocked when Coop told us what was going down this month. This isn’t exactly his speed, you know?”

“One woman?” I laughed. “Yeah, I picked up on that.”

“I’m sorry you’re stuck with him all month. He can be an absolute shithead sometimes.”

“Sometimes?”

Max chuckled. “Yes, sometimes. The other times, he can be a very stand-up guy. Unfortunately, there just aren’t many opportunities for you to see that side of him when he’s constantly partying and, well, walking around with his chest puffed out.”

I looked up at Cooper and thought of our night together last night. My skin prickled with heat, and I cleared my throat before averting my gaze. “He’s like a peacock, isn’t he?”

“Very much so,” Max mused, bracing herself with her hands planted on the wood behind her. She tipped her head back to gaze up at the stars. “But he walked in here holding your hand. I’ve never seen that before.”

“Seen him holding someone’s hand?” I asked suspiciously.

“Yep.”

“How is that possible?”

“Beats me. Come on. Drink that drink. I’ll get Gordie to make you something better than that fruit punch.”

Cooper put a hand in the small of my back as Max and I danced near the fire. It was well into the evening, and the drinks she’d been having Gordie make for me made me feel amazing. They were just a little stronger—nothing risky about them according to Cooper—but she knew how to have a good time and spread them out over the evening for the best kind of buzz.

The sand between my toes had cooled over the course of the evening, and the stars twinkled overhead. I ached to go in the ocean. To put my feet in the water.

“How are you doing?” Cooper asked.

I turned and smiled up at him. God, he was so sexy. That crooked yet concerned little smile of his made my heart flutter. I pressed my hands to his chest. “I’m doing great. Max is awesome. And these drinks are awesome. And this party is—”

“Let me guess. Awesome?”

I grinned. “Yeah.”

Cooper chuckled. “I’m glad you’re having fun. Maybe we should press pause on the drinks? I’m going to grab you a bottle of water.”

My mouth was suddenly parched at the mention of water. “Oh. Yes please!”

Max, who’d been dancing with her back to the fire, spun on the spot to face us. “I’m coming with, Coop. Don’t go too far, Piper. I’m not done with you yet.”

I flashed her a smile, and Cooper shook his head at Max as she hurried up the sand to Gordie’s truck.

“I like her,” I said.

Cooper laughed. “Of course you do. Everyone likes Max. And Max likes everyone. Especially you. You’re the apple of her eye tonight.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s into you, Piper.”

“Oh,” I said, a little surprised.

“You weren’t picking up on what she was laying down?”

I shook my head. “Nope. I thought we were just dancing.”

“You were,” Cooper said simply. “She won’t act on anything. She knows you’re with me. But she can enjoy your company. And hey, if you decide you want to try something new tonight…”

“Very funny,” I said sharply. He rewarded me with a smile that made my knees feel rubbery. I looked over his shoulder at the ocean. It seemed to glitter under the stars as the gentle waves kissed the beach. I bit my bottom lip. “Meet me down at the water. I want to put my feet in.”

Cooper cast a glance over his shoulder to the shore. “All right. I’ll be right there. Don’t go in, okay?”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re drunk.”

“I’m not drunk.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Don’t go in.”

“Okay. Okay.” I nudged his hip with mine. “Are you actually looking out for me?”

“Get your ass down to the water. I’ll be right there.”

Grinning like an idiot, I spun away from him and crossed the sand to meet the water. I dropped off my gold sandals and abandoned them higher up the shore before hurrying forward to let the water wrap around my ankles.

I let out a content sigh.

Up until this year, I’d never seen ocean like this. Now, I couldn’t imagine life without coming to visit beaches like this. There was nothing that made me feel more at peace with the earth than standing in the ocean and listening to it; to the hush of the waves, the trickle of the water running through my fingers, the breaking of the waves in the distance against the reef.

It made perfect sense why Cooper loved it here so much.

“Paradise,” I breathed.

“Hey there.” A male voice broke through my serene moment.

I opened my eyes and looked to my right, wondering if it was Drew or Mitch or Luke, and my stomach rolled over when I realized it was not.

It was the three men Cooper had warned me to stay away from.

My mouth went even dryer than it already was, and I dared a glance over my shoulder toward Cooper, who was still in line at the bar truck. I willed him to look this way, but he did not, as he was deep in conversation with Max, who was laughing at something he’d just said.

Shit.

“You’re new around here,” one of the guys said. He was the tallest of the three, with thick shoulders and tattoos all over his arms and at the collar of his shirt. I suspected his entire torso was swimming with dark ink. His hair was as black as his tattoos, and his eyes were a piercing blue. “Are you staying at one of the resorts?”

I shook my head and desperately tried to get my tongue to work. “I’m here for the month.”

“Where are you staying?” the second asked. He also had tattoos, but not nearly as many as the first. There was one on the side of his neck in a pattern I couldn’t make out. His hair was buzzed short, and he had several piercings in one ear.

“With a friend,” I said, hoping they would leave it at that.

“A friend, huh?” the third asked, stepping forward between the first two. He was the most menacing of all. From a distance, the three of them had looked ordinary. Safe. But up close, I could see signs of things Cooper would be wary of. Crooked noses from a history of breaks. This one had a scar running through his right eyebrow that prevented any hair from growing. His cheeks were hollow, the inside of his arms were all beat up from years of injection sites, and his muscles were sinewy. He looked like the sort of man with a lot of power and strength.

He also looked a little deranged.

His eyes were the lightest shade of blue I’d ever seen. It gave him a catlike look that made me uneasy, and his stare ran over me from top to bottom with agonizing slowness. His thin lips curled in a smile. “Your Coop’s girl. Aren’t you?”

How did I answer that? If I said yes, would that put me in a worse spot than saying no? Did they have it out for Cooper? Would me confirming that I was with him mean they would leave me alone?

I suspected there was no right answer where these three were concerned.

I put my back to them and waded out farther in the water until it was around my knees. “I’m staying with him until the end of the month. And then I fly home.”

“Where are you from?” the one with the tattoos asked.

“New York.”

“Where in New York?”

“The city.”

He chuckled and patted the buzzed head guy in the chest. “She’s being evasive. Cute, isn’t it?”

I put my back to the ocean to face them. “Look, I don’t—”

Cat Eye wandered out in the water after me. My heart leapt into my throat as he reached for me, and I recoiled, wrapping my arms around myself as I took three hurried steps farther into the water. He stopped, and a wicked grin spread across his face. “Where you going, sexy?”

“Don’t touch me,” I spat.

My buzz was gone. My ears were ringing with one word and one word only: Danger.

“Don’t be like that,” Cat Eye said, his lips still twisted in a malicious smile. “Come here. We just want to get to know you better.”

“I’ll scream,” I threatened.

The other two flanked Cat Eye on either side. Their smiles were as wicked as his, but he was by far the creepiest. His eyes traced the lines of my body before lingering on my breasts. I suddenly wished I’d worn something that covered more skin than this little yellow sundress. “You can’t scream if you’re underwater, can you, Coop’s girl?”

I filled my lungs with air to let loose a terrified howl, but just then, water sprayed up behind the three men, and one of them went down face first into the ocean.

“Cooper,” I said, the word rushing out of me in a sigh of relief.

His stare locked onto mine for a brief moment. His expression was hard. His jaw was tight, and his mouth was pressed into a thin, angry line. Both hands were curled into fists, and he looked like he was about to explode as the man he’d knocked down, the one with the tattoos, sputtered and came up for air in an explosion of water.

I swallowed.

I shouldn’t have gone in the water.

CHAPTER 16

COOPER

The sky was dark. The ocean was dark. Everything was dark.

But all I saw was red.

“You’re not welcome here,” I growled. It was a battle just to keep my voice even and low. All I wanted to do was rip their ugly heads off their bodies and hurl them onto the bonfire.

They deserved it.

Piper was scared. I could see it written all over her.

She’d gone out deeper into the water to get away from them. I’d watched the whole thing transpire as I raced across the sand from Gordie’s truck, abandoning Max mid conversation. I’d watched, the anger burning a hole through my gut, as Piper wrapped her arms around herself and waded in up to her thighs.

And the fuckers had followed her.

She still hadn’t moved. She was in the water, about six feet away from us, and her arms were still wrapped tightly around herself. Her eyes were wide and fixed on me, but I kept my attention trained on the three men.

Around here, they were known as the Raptors. A lame, childish, stupid nickname in my opinion, but it was how people referred to them, due to their wicked natures. Not only were they known for causing a scene like this one, but they were dangerous, sometimes coming to parties like this with concealed weapons.

And they were drunk. Which made everything worse.

Maz, the one with the tattoos I’d just knocked down, slicked his wet hair back and laughed in my direction. “Coming to the aid of your woman, Coop? This is a different look for you.”

“Leave,” I spat.

“We just got here,” Tom said, splaying his fingers innocently. He’d shaved his head since the last time I saw him, and his usually hidden piercings were now on display.

The last one, the meanest and least trustworthy of the three, Lennon, rubbed his hands together. “I sure am glad you’re here tonight, Coop. It’s been a while.”

I resisted the urge to crack my knuckles. “Not long enough.”

Lennon threw his head back and laughed at the night sky like the madman he was. The others looked to him and followed suit, their cackles breaking over the water. I shared a look with Piper, who stared wide eyed back at me and mouthed the words, “let’s go.”

But it wasn’t that easy. There was no way these clowns were going to let me walk away. Especially if I had something they wanted.

Something like Piper.

Of all the times to get in a fight with these guys, tonight was not the night. I had no backup. Nothing to use against them besides my fists and my alcohol-muddled brain.

They would have to do.

Maz twisted his neck from side to side and rolled his shoulders. “Last time we saw you, your boys were with you. Where they at now, Diaz?”

Not here, I thought bitterly. At least, I was fairly certain neither Luke nor Mitch were here. They were probably going to arrive later.

And at that point, I might be floating facedown in the ocean with lungs full of saltwater. The Raptors did stupid shit when they were sober, and they had no limits when they were drunk and strung out on coke like they were now. They were a damn plague on this island.

“Piper, get the hell out of here,” I said.

Tom laughed and shook his head. “She stays here.”

When Tom made to move closer to her, Piper backed away and skirted around us to make for shallower waters. Good. At least she had the sense not to keep going deeper. That would only get her trapped. She needed to make for land, and then she needed to join the crowd. There was strength in numbers.

“Leave her alone,” I warned.

Tom scoffed. “What are you going to do about it, tough guy?”

There was no getting out of this one. And I couldn’t very well make it any worse than it already was. So I cracked a smile of my own. “I’m going to knock some of your teeth out and make a necklace out of them. I’m sure someone would pay a pretty penny for it.”

The three laughed.

Piper moved toward me. “Let’s just go, Cooper. Please?”

“He’s not going anywhere, sweet cheeks,” Lennon said. “I suggest you sit back and enjoy the show. Then it’ll be your turn. Don’t worry. We’ll be gentler with you.”

Piper reached for me.

And then everything exploded in a spray of ocean water.

Piper shrieked and stumbled back as Lennon and Maz came for me at the same time. She landed on her ass in the water as I blocked Maz and sent my knee into his gut. But I took a hard hit to the jaw from Lennon’s knuckles.

It wasn’t the first time he’d nearly knocked my lights out in one punch.

Fucker.

I staggered, braced myself against the fall, and regained my balance as the beach tilted sideways in my vision. To buy myself some time, I put more space between us, massaged my already aching jaw, and yelled at Piper to get up on the beach.

She went, but Tom went to go after her.

I caught him around the waist and brought him down into the water. His cry was silenced as I submerged him and held him down. Lennon moved in for a second hit. I ducked underwater to avoid his right hook, still holding Tom under with both hands and a foot planted in his chest. I broke through the surface as Maz closed in to tighten ranks with Lennon.

Tom struggled beneath me. I wasn’t letting him up. Not until I had to.

Lennon’s laugh split the air. “I always forget how much fucking fun you are, Coop.”

“Let him up,” Maz said, desperation touching his voice. At least one of them had enough common sense to notice their third was drowning.

“Back off,” I growled, my hair hanging wet in my eyes. Two drops of saltwater fell from the end of my nose.

Lennon slammed his right fist into his left palm. “Tom’s always been good at holding his breath.”

They came for me again.

I had to back up and let Tom up. He came up in a rage, gasping for air and flailing about, trying to land a hit on me, but I’d already put enough space between us. Lennon, however, was already on me.

I took another hit to the jaw and tasted blood. Lennon’s laugh thundered in my brain as he grabbed the front of my shirt with both hands and yanked me down to drive his knee into my chest. The impact knocked the air from my lungs, and I wheezed in pain as he gathered a fistful of my hair and threw me past him, face first into the water.

I landed on my hands and knees and forced myself to breathe out, the fastest way to recover from being winded. Then I pushed myself up to one knee.

“Cooper!” Piper’s cry made me snap into action.

I rolled to the right, toward the shore, and Tom went barreling past me in a spitting rage.

Then I turned and faced the three of them, bracing myself for how much worse this was about to get. They squared their shoulders and faced me, and then Lennon’s gaze slid over my shoulder. “So you’re not alone after all, huh?”

I looked over my shoulder. The motion made me dizzy. But what I saw was a huge relief.

Mitch, Luke, Drew, and Max had all come down the beach and were standing at my back. Max, despite her size, was fierce as hell and not afraid of anyone or anything. She lifted her chin and planted her hands on her hips as she glared at Lennon. “On behalf of everyone on this beach, get the fuck out of here, you degenerates.”

Lennon winked at her. “You want to tag along, Maxine?”

Max stepped forward until she was shoulder to shoulder with me. “If you’d prefer to stay, that suits me fine. I’ve been itching to break that nose of yours.” She cracked a smile and paused for dramatic effect. “Again.”

Lennon’s eyes narrowed. “Bitch.”

The others came forward too until we formed a line of defense against the shore. Mitch put a hand on my shoulder, and I silently thanked him for giving me something stable to lean into. My head was spinning, and my chest ached horribly. I wanted to sit down—or pass out—but didn’t dare show any weakness in front of Lennon. He’d get some bad ideas and try to take all of us on.

It had happened before.

Lennon’s jaw flexed. His gaze wandered over to Piper, who had retreated to the shore. She was soaking wet and her dress clung to her, showing every line of her body. Lennon winked. “Maybe next time, babe. At least we got a bit of a show. Right, boys?”

The three of them turned to walk around us, but they moved toward the side where Piper was standing.

“Other way,” I hissed.

They paused.

To my surprise, they switched directions and moved up to the beach on our other side. We stayed where we were, turning only to watch them leave up the beach toward the parking lot, where they immediately descended into their usual fuckery of knocking over garbage cans and laughing obnoxiously as they howled at the moon.

As soon as they were gone, I let my shoulders relax. “Fuck me.”

“Cooper,” Piper breathed my name in a panic and came rushing through the shin-height water to me. She raced around in front of me and ran her fingers over my shoulders and then cupped my face in her hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t go looking for them. I was minding my own business and—”

“I know,” I said, closing my hands over hers. “It’s all right. It’s not your fault.”

She swallowed hard, and her eyes glistened. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m all right.”

Mitch clapped me on the back. “He just needs to walk it off, right, Coop?”

I nodded.

Mitch let his hand fall from my back. “Luke and I can walk you two home, just to make sure the riffraff doesn’t come looking for round two. You should go lie down, Coop. Lennon’s an ass, but he hits like a fucking boxer.”

I rubbed my aching jaw. “Tell me about it.”

Piper put her fingers under my chin and lifted my face toward the moonlight, squinting her eyes to study the bruises I was sure were already forming. She winced. “These look bad.”

Luke, Max, and Drew crowded around us. All I wanted was to get the hell out of there. But I owed them. “Thanks for the backup, guys.”

“You know I’d never turn down a chance to get in Lennon’s face,” Max said. “Sorry we were late noticing what the hell was going on.”

“Better late than never, right?” Luke said.

I nodded. “I’m calling it a night. Piper and I are out of here. Thanks again.”

Piper grabbed her shoes while the others waved goodbye, and Mitch and Luke walked along the beach with Piper and me to make sure we got back to my place in one piece. Piper hovered by my side the whole time, peering up into my face and the bruises that were, according to her, turning a darker shade of purple by the minute.

After saying goodbye to Mitch and Luke at the bottom of the stairs leading up to my yard, Piper sighed. “We’ll put some ice on it. Then you can lie down.”

“I’m fine, Piper. Honestly.”

“I feel bad.”

“There’s nothing to feel bad about. If it happened all over again, I’d do the same thing. I couldn’t let them get away with talking to you like that.”

She paused at the top of the stairs with her sandals in her hand and wiggled her toes in the grass. “But you can talk to me like that?”

“I’m not that bad,” I said defensively.

“No,” she mused. “I suppose you’re not.”

I chuckled. “I like when you call me on my shit, babe.”

Piper stretched to the tips of her toes to press a warm kiss to my lips. “Then I’ll keep doing it,” she whispered.

And just like that, my aches and pains were gone.

CHAPTER 17

PIPER

I put my phone on speakerphone as I lowered myself down to the edge of the pool and sat with my legs in the water. When Janie answered, her tone was chipper. “Pipes. How are you? Is Cooper still being a dick?”

I was glad he wasn’t around to hear that part. Currently, he was in his gym, pumping iron, looking hot as hell. And as per usual, he was completely on display for me and for those down at the beach below.

I looked away before I started salivating.

“Hi, Janie. No, actually. Things have… changed.”

“Have they now?” Janie’s tone took on a curious note.

Changed was an understatement. They’d done a one eighty.

“He’s not what I originally thought,” I said.

“I’m shocked. I thought you hated his guts. How have things changed so quickly?”

“Well,” I said slowly, trying to decide where to start.

But Janie beat me to it. “You fucked him, didn’t you?”

“Janie, that’s not why things are different. I’m not that shallow.”

“But you did fuck him. Yes?”

I sighed. “Yes.”

“Piper!”

“What?” I cried defensively. “It was a heat of the moment situation and—and—and I don’t regret it!”

Janie laughed on the other end. “That bastard always gets what he wants, doesn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“How did it happen?”

“We were fighting.”

“This is getting more and more confusing with every word out of your mouth. One minute, you’re fighting, and the next, he has his cock in your—”

“Things got steamy, okay? Haven’t you ever been in one of those situations where you’re so mad but so turned on at the same time?”

“Erm, no,” Janie said flatly.

Then you’re missing out, I thought. But I didn’t say it. Instead, I swung my legs in the water and stared out at the ocean. “Well neither had I until the other night. And Janie, it was without a doubt the best sex of my entire life.”

She was quiet for a beat. “Better than the other guys?”

I hated admitting it out loud like this. “Yes.”

She whistled. “Damn. Hello, Rockefeller.”

I couldn’t help but smile as I dropped my gaze to the pool and blushed. “You can say that again.”

“All right. Hello, Rockefeller.” She snorted.

I rubbed my temples before putting my hands behind my back on the sun-heated patio. With a content sigh, I leaned back, closed my eyes, and lifted my face to the warmth of the sun. “He’s different than the others, Janie. Like, there’s not this deep connection between us. Not like—”

“The others. Yes, I get it. Carry on.”

“Right. But even though that piece is missing, I can’t help but be totally into him. It doesn’t make sense. It feels wrong in a way and right in so many others and—”

“Girl, he’s a bad boy. What can I say? Sometimes, that’s what you need to light a fire in your belly, you know?”

“But I’m not that kind of girl.”

“So what? You’re allowed to have a bit of fun, Piper. Not every guy you see has to be someone you fall head over heels for. What’s wrong with one of them being a wild ride? Literally and figuratively.”

“I guess there’s nothing explicitly wrong with it. I just feel… guilty.”

“Guilty? What the fuck for?”

“For fucking Cooper when I don’t love him.”

“Oh my God, Piper. Seriously?”

“I can’t help it,” I said, sparing a glance in Cooper’s direction. He had his back to me, and he was performing perfect chin-ups with a wide-set grip. The muscles in his shoulders flexed. His triceps and biceps strained. Sweat made his skin glisten.

“You don’t have to love someone to enjoy yourself with them. It’s totally harmless letting your hair down with Cooper. Besides, what girl in her right mind wouldn’t want to know what it’s like to sleep with a Rockefeller?”

“Don’t say that,” I muttered. “It gives me the creeps. He’s not a Rockefeller.”

“Uh. His birth certificate says otherwise.”

“I know. I meant he’s changed. He’s not his family name. He’s someone else now.”

“Are you romanticizing the player, Piper? This is dangerous territory.”

“No, I’m telling you the truth. I’ve seen the real him over the last few days, and he’s a better man than everyone gives him credit for.”

“So his bravado and general shitty-ness is an act?”

I smiled in spite of myself as Cooper dropped from the chin-up bar. His chest heaved as he took deep breaths, and I remembered the fight this past weekend. “Yes. It’s an act.”

It had been a long time since I was that scared, since the fire at Wyatt’s ranch.

That had been terrifying in other ways. I’d been scared for Wyatt. Scared for his home and his animals. I hadn’t known what would be waiting for me when I reached the blaze, and when I found him at the mercy of the Buck brothers that night, that fear had quickly morphed into fury.

But things on the beach were different.

I’d been afraid for Cooper, certainly. But I’d also been afraid for myself. Once the three men were through with Cooper, I knew they would have turned their sights on me, and I would have found myself in a hell of a lot of trouble very quickly.

If Cooper hadn’t come to my aid, I might very well have been smuggled off the beach by those assholes and then… Well, I didn’t like to think too far down that road.

“He got hurt because of me on Saturday,” I said, tearing my gaze away from Cooper as he dropped out of sight to do some floor exercises.

I could hear Janie chewing on the other end and realized it must be close to lunch time. That explained my growling stomach. “What do you mean?”

I nibbled on the inside of my lower lip for a minute before launching into a play by play of what went down at the beach party. Janie listened silently and refrained from eating. She didn’t ask any questions, and once I was done, she breathed slowly into the line. “Jesus, Piper.”

“I know.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

“You’re sure? That’s scary. Did you call the cops?”

“No.”

“You should.”

“This is his home. I don’t want to stir up more trouble when I’m the one leaving in two weeks. That’s not fair that he has to deal with the repercussions in my absence.”

“They could have assaulted you, Piper. And they did assault Cooper.”

“I know, but—”

“This isn’t an ‘I know but’ situation, Pipes. Fuck these guys. If Cooper hadn’t been there… God, I hate to think of what might have happened. You should call Jackson Lee, too. He might have some advice. Or be able to reach out to the local police.”

“I’ll talk to Cooper about it first.”

“Sooner, rather than later, Pipes. If shit like this isn’t reported right away, it tends to get dismissed. And you’re already past the ideal timeframe.”

I sighed. I should have left this part out of it. “You don’t have to worry about me, Janie. Everything is under control. I’m safe. Cooper’s fine. I can handle this.”

Janie resumed eating her lunch. “I know you can, Pipes. But you shouldn’t have to. I’m sorry that happened.”

“Thanks.”

Janie was quiet for a minute, and I gazed at the pool water reflecting the sun below me. When she spoke, she changed the subject. “Have you talked to your family lately?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m tired of lying to them.”

“Shouldn’t you at least check in?”

“Probably. And I will. Eventually.”

Janie laughed softly on the other end. “It’s your call. Just don’t wait too long, okay? I’m sure they want to hear from you.”

She was right. I was dropping the ball.

I heard Cooper’s bare feet slapping on the patio as he made his way down the length of the pool toward me. I scooped up my phone and took it off speakerphone before lifting it to my ear. “I gotta go, Janie. Sorry. We’ll talk soon?”

“Sounds good. Go get your Rockefeller D.”

“Shut up,” I whispered. Then I ended the call and tossed my phone onto the lounge chair behind me.

Cooper stood above me with his hands on his hips. He was shirtless and in his exercise shorts. His body was covered in beads of sweat and a drop of it dripped off his bruised jaw to land between his feet on the pavement. “Who was that?”

“My friend Janie.”

He nodded as if he knew her. “You know, you’re looking far too dry for such a hot day.”

“Sorry?”

He cracked a grin.

“Wait,” I said, scrambling to get to my feet.

I was too late. Cooper scooped me up like I weighed nothing and, in one smooth motion, swung me out over the pool and released me. I shrieked and heard his booming laugh right before I plunged under the surface and was engulfed in cool, refreshing pool water.

I spat water out of my mouth when I resurfaced. “You ass.”

Cooper pointed his hands over his head and dove in after me. He swam up beside me, grabbed my ankles, and then came up beside me for air. “I couldn’t help myself. I like you better when you’re wet.”

“Clever,” I said, trying to hide my smile and my reddening cheeks.

“Come here,” he said, reaching for me. He pulled me into him. I didn’t resist. I floated through the water until my breasts were crushed against his chest. He slicked my hair back and ran his thumb along my jaw. “Were you watching me workout?”

“Maybe.”

I liked the way his tattoos looked under the water. It was like they had come to life and were crawling all across his skin.

He pressed his thumb to my bottom lip. “I was watching you, too.”

I ran a hand down his chest, pausing to rest my palm against the bruise right above his ribcage. It had caused him pain over the last couple of days where he’d taken that knee fighting on the beach.

“Hey,” he said softly, calling my attention back up to him. He stroked my cheek. “It’s in the past.”

I nodded and closed my eyes, leaning into his touch.

And then he kissed me. And like every other time this happened, my body responded of its own accord. I opened up to him, draped my arms over his shoulders, and hoped the moment wouldn’t end for a long, long time.

CHAPTER 18

COOPER

Mitch cracked open my fridge and helped himself to a beer. He pulled out a second one for me but put it back when I shook my head. Then he cracked the top and took a sip, pausing to wipe a bit of dribble from his chin.

“Where’s Piper?” he asked as he came around the kitchen island and then joined me in the living room. He dropped heavily into the opposite end of the sofa and took another greedy gulp of his beer.

“Showering.”

“Ah. Yes. How’s she doing?”

“Good, I think,” I said.

He arched an eyebrow.

I chuckled and rubbed absently at my chest. Even though it had been almost a week since the skirmish at the beach party, it was still tender. “She’s good, man. Really good.”

“And things between you guys?”

How did I answer that question?

So much had changed since she first showed up at my place on the first of the month. Mostly my mindset. At that time, I’d been consumed with winning this thing. And my definition of winning was just being the guy she chose at the end. The guy who beat out all the others.

The top dog.

That wasn’t the case now. Winning held weight.

If I won this year’s Casanova Club, that meant Piper and I were getting engaged. And I knew one thing for absolute fucking certain: she deserved better than the likes of me.

Which meant I had already concluded that there would be no winning this.

“Things between us are complicated,” I said finally.

Mitch nodded. “I imagine so. It’s not every day a girl gets to date twelve guys and pick her favorite contender, is it?”

“No. No, it’s not. Hold up. I’ve changed my mind about that beer.” I swung up out of the sofa and fetched myself a can of beer before sitting back down. I took a few gulps to catch up with Mitch. “She’s not going to pick me.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Let me clarify. I won’t let her pick me.”

Mitch licked his lips. “I’m confused.”

“Same, man. Same.”

We both sat in sullen silence for a minute—well, my silence was sullen. I didn’t know what Mitch was thinking.

Then he asked, “Why wouldn’t you let her pick you? I thought this is what you wanted? I thought you were going to show those other posers—”

“Things change.”

“Apparently. Did Lennon hit you that fucking hard the other night?”

I chuckled. “No. This has nothing to do with that.”

“Then what’s the deal?”

I shrugged. “Piper started this because she’s looking for a husband. And she deserves someone by her side with the same values and goals. Someone who will build a life with her. Start a family with her. You know I don’t want any of those things. And I can’t ask her to put her priorities on the backburner for me. Besides,” I paused to drink more, “she’s already in love with someone else.”

“What?”

“I’ve known it for a while.”

“Which guy?”

“Does it matter?”

Mitch shrugged. “I don’t know. Does it?”

“No.”

Mitch eyed me like he suspected I was lying, but in truth, I didn’t give a damn which man had her heart. Whoever he was, I was sure he was one of the good ones. Piper wouldn’t have fallen for someone like Easton. He was too shallow. Too much like me.

Maybe it was the cowboy. I could see that. And I knew most women had a thing for a southern drawl and a guy who looked good in denim and plaid. I had to give it to Wyatt. He looked and sounded the part. The first time I’d met him, I knew he’d be real competition.

Or it might be the writer. She’d been parading around with enough of his books for me to lean that way.

And then there was the fucking Canadian. Too polite and too nice not to like him. Bastard.

None of the others stood out to me. They weren’t as memorable. But that didn’t mean they didn’t stand out to her.

I heard music playing upstairs and knew Piper was out of the shower and putting her makeup on. She loved listening to tunes while she got dolled up. I was smiling to myself, picturing her dancing around her room barefoot and in nothing but her panties and bra, when there was a knock at the front door.

“Be right back,” I told Mitch, leaving my beer on the coffee table.

Whenever there was a knock on my door, it was either Mitch, Luke, Davis, or a lady friend, but I’d told all my lady friends my house was strictly off limits this month. So I’d come to the conclusion that it must be one of my buddies.

It was not.

On my threshold were two police officers in uniform. One man. One woman.

The man hooked a thumb in his belt. “Mr. Diaz?”

“That’s me,” I said, looking back and forth between the two of them. “Can I help you?”

“We’d like to ask you a few questions,” the male cop said. “Is now a good time?”

“Yeah. Sure.” I stepped aside to let them come in and wracked my brain over what this could be about. “Come on in. We can have a seat in the living room if you’d like.”

The female officer brushed past me. “This shouldn’t take long, Mr. Diaz.”

“You can call me Cooper.”

She stared evenly at me. “I’ll stick with Mr. Diaz.”

Tough crowd, I thought as I led them across the foyer and into the living room. When we emerged, Mitch stood up, his face a mask of concern. “Everything all right here, Coop?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Just have to answer a few questions. You should go. I’ll call you later.”

“What’s this about?” Mitch asked.

The male officer took a seat on my sofa, and his partner sat beside him. “This is between us and Mr. Diaz, sir.”

Mitch frowned. “All right. I’ll get out of your way.”

Mitch and I exchanged an uneasy look before he slipped out the back door.

The female officer’s eyes slid to the two cans of beer on my coffee table. “Just a typical Friday afternoon?”

Judgement. Cool. Because I wasn’t used to that.

I sat down across from them. “Just two friends catching up over a beer. Now, what’s this about?”

The male officer couldn’t have been past his mid forties. His blond hair had long since started to turn gray and was cropped short. He had square features, a large nose, and a steady gaze. The nametag on his uniform read “Jenson”. He leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “We received a call that there was a physical altercation at the beach on Saturday night. Were you there?”

“Yes,” I said.

The female cop, whose tag read “Rico”, lifted her nose at me. “So you were involved in a fight with three males on Saturday?”

“Yes, but—”

Rico held up her hand. “Please, Mr. Diaz, wait until we’re finished. So you confirm that you were involved in a fight with Lennon Roe, Maziar Kessinger, and Thomas Vice?”

This wasn’t going well. I nodded.

“We need verbal acknowledgement, Mr. Diaz,” Rico said flatly.

She was not my number-one fan, clearly. I knew I wasn’t the law’s favorite person on Nassau, but I wasn’t as much of a villain as the three who’d picked a fight on Saturday.

“Yes, your statement is accurate,” I said.

Rico shifted with satisfaction. “Why did you attack Lennon Roe?”

“Wait, hold on—”

“Are you changing your statement?” Rico asked, cocking her head to the side. Her short dark hair fell across her forehead.

“No, I’m—”

“If you’re not changing your statement, please answer the question, Diaz,” Jenson said. His tone was sharp and impatient. His eyes bored holes into me, and I glared right back at him.

Then over their shoulders, I saw Piper coming across the foyer. She shared a look with me, frowned, and then came to sit beside me. The officers stared blankly at her as she put her hand on my shoulder.

“What’s going on?” Piper asked.

Rico looked like she wanted to throttle Piper right then and there. “We’re having a private interview with Mr. Diaz, miss.”

“She can stay,” I said.

Piper smelled like coconut and roses. “Is this about those assholes on the beach the other night?”

“Yes,” I grated. “Jenson and Rico here think I started it.”

“That’s bullshit,” Piper said.

Rico rolled her eyes.

Piper straightened up. “Don’t roll your eyes at me. I was there. The fight started because of me.”

“Come again?” Jenson asked.

Piper licked her lips. “Those three goons, the Raptors, whatever the hell they’re called around here, were harassing me. And when I tried to get away from them, they tried to physically stop me. Cooper intervened. He asked them to leave. They refused. Then they threatened us, and it quickly became clear that we weren’t getting away in one piece. So Cooper did what he had to. To protect me.”

“Convenient,” Rico muttered under her breath.

“I beg your pardon?” Piper quipped. She was fearless. I supposed a good girl like Piper who’d never had any tangles with the law had no reason not to trust police officers. She leaned forward. “I suggest you do your job properly, Officer Rico, and leave your bias at the door. There were dozens of witnesses on that beach who can all attest to what actually happened. And for the record, if charges are pressed against Cooper, I’ll testify in his favor. In the truth’s favor. Now, unless you have any relevant questions for Cooper, I’m going to steal him away from you.”

Both officers stared at Piper with slack expressions. I wanted to kiss her right then and there.

Piper bristled under their lack of professionalism. She pushed herself to her feet. “Would you like me to escort you out, or do you remember where the door is?”

Jenson got to his feet, and Rico was quick to follow. He hooked his thumbs in his belt. “Very well. Thank you for your time, Mr. Diaz. We’ll be in touch. Please be available for follow-up questions. Both of you.”

“Bye,” Piper said, crossing her arms over her chest.

The two cops left without another word.

I raked my fingers through my hair as Piper lowered herself back down to the sofa and put her hand on my knee. “Are you okay, Coop?”

I liked that she’d started calling me Coop. “Yeah. I’m not very well liked by the police force here. My party-boy reputation paints me in a bad light in their eyes. Thanks for having my back.”

“Screw them. They don’t know you.”

“And you do?” I asked.

Piper held my gaze. “I’m starting to.”

CHAPTER 19

PIPER

I’d spent all of Sunday putting off calling my brother.

But it was officially seven o’clock, Cooper had ordered Thai food for dinner, I was starving, and I knew once I ate and wound down for the night, the last thing I was going to want to do was talk to Phillip about Mom and Dad.

It was now or never.

My phone taunted me from my nightstand as I braided my freshly washed hair off my face. Once I secured the ends with a hair tie, I swept the phone up off the nightstand and called my brother. If I hesitated, I wouldn’t call, and if I didn’t call, I’d have to go through this all over again tomorrow.

Phillip picked up almost right away. “Piper? Is that you? And to think, I’d almost forgotten I had a big sister.”

“Hey, Phillip. I’m sorry. I know it’s been a while.”

“Three weeks, Piper. It’s been three weeks.”

“You could have called too, you know?”

Phillip laughed. “Yeah. And interrupt you in the middle of doing who knows what with some dude? Pass.”

“Gross.”

“Tell me about it.”

I sighed and flipped my braid over my shoulder. “How are you?”

“Tired.”

“I know,” I whispered.

“Yeah. Funny thing is, I don’t think you do know, sis. It’s brutal here. And I don’t think I can keep doing this for another five months. I’m running on empty.”

I rubbed my forehead. I had no answers. No solutions. No ways to make this any easier on him. Phillip had been working so hard the last six and a half months to make this work for me. And now that we were past the halfway mark, I completely understood how he couldn’t keep going.

“Is it the restaurant?” I asked.

“It’s everything. The restaurant. Taxes. Fucking debt collectors. Dad’s heart. Mom’s anxiety and stress levels are through the roof. I don’t know where one mess starts and the next ends. Everything has just bled into each other.”

“I should be there.”

Phillip let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “No. You shouldn’t, Piper. You’re the only one who stands a shot at making this better. The rest of us are just chasing our tails in circles. Anyway. Forget about it. How are you? Better question, where are you?”

I didn’t want to tell him I’d been spending my month laid out on a beach getting a tan. But I did anyway. “I’m in Nassau.”

“The Bahamas?”

“Yes.”

Phillip groaned. “Want to trade places?”

“I don’t think Cooper would appreciate that very much.”

“Is Cooper the July guy?”

“He is,” I said. I sat down on my bed. It creaked softly beneath me. “I’m having a good time here. Things weren’t so smooth in the beginning. I thought I was going to bail and come home. But we’ve turned the corner.”

“You were going to bail on the Bahamas?”

“No, I was going to bail on the guy who happens to live in the Bahamas.”

“He was that bad?”

I smiled. “You have no idea, Phillip. He kept calling me ‘babe’ right out of the gate.”

Phillip snorted. “What a tool.”

“He’s better now. Less insufferable.”

“That’s good.”

I ran my hand down my thigh and played with a loose thread at the hem of my dress. “How’s Dad?”

Phillip didn’t answer right away. There was a long pause, and I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until he started speaking. I exhaled slowly. “He’s all right, Pipes. His checkup went well with the doctor, but they’re not happy with his blood pressure and his stress levels. The doc told him to consider taking some time off from work, and Dad almost blew his top. I had to get him out of there. I thought for a second he was going to throttle the doc with his bare hands.”

“So, the medication they thought he’d be able to stop taking after the surgery?”

“He’s still on it,” Phillip confirmed.

“Shit.”

“I know. It’s expensive. And the bills just keep pouring in. If not for Aaron, I can’t imagine how much worse things would be.”

I thought of Aaron and how he’d paid for my father’s surgery. My chest grew warm and tight all at once, and my throat burned. “He’s a life saver.”

“Literally,” Phillip said. I could hear the smile in his voice. “I liked him.”

“Me too.”

“Too bad you can’t end up with him in the end. Too bad our family is so fucked with money. You deserve to be happy, Piper. You deserve a guy like Aaron.”

“Please, Phillip,” I said, my heart aching. “Don’t say stuff like that. I can’t take it right now.”

“Sorry.”

His intentions were good, but I couldn’t stomach it. Mostly because I wanted the same thing. I wanted a husband at the end of this. But that wasn’t, and never had been, on the table.

I bit my bottom lip. “I think I’m going to tell Mom and Dad about what I’ve really been doing.”

“What?” Phillip asked sharply.

I nodded to myself. “I have to. They need to know this money is coming. Do you really think they can keep going at this rate, aimlessly working to pay off a debt they know full well is impossible to even make a dent in?”

I heard my brother swallow. “No, I don’t. But this is going to hurt them, Piper. It might not go well.”

“I don’t expect it to. But the truth needs to come out. I can’t keep lying. They’re going to find out eventually. Right? Why not now?”

Phillip didn’t have anything to say to that.

I licked my lips. “Will you be there with me when I do?”

“Promise.”

A little bit of relief washed over me. “Thank you.”

“But you fucking owe me, Piper.”

“I already owe you.”

“You bet your ass you do. This shit isn’t easy. Putting up with Mom and Dad and all the other crap. I’ve woken up smiling after dreams about the restaurant burning down. How messed up is that?”

I found myself laughing and nearly crying all at once. “Pretty messed up.”

“Right? Fuck. And one of these days, it’s going to be ours, Piper. Then what do we do?”

I considered his question for a moment. But only a moment. “We sell it.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, I’m not going to be like them. I’m not going to flush every penny and dime I’ve worked hard for down the toilet for a place that has been nothing but bad memories for me. For you. They remember the good old days. We don’t. We can make our own legacy. Start fresh. We can honor them in other ways that aren’t Piper’s Paradise.”

“I never thought about it that way.”

Probably because he didn’t hate the place as much as I did. But he was well on his way. The dreams were just the beginning.

I pushed myself up off the bed. “I have to go, Phillip. But I’ll see you at the end of the month. And we’ll talk to Mom and Dad. Well, I’ll talk. You just have to sit there and hold my hand under the table.”

“You got it, sis.”

“Don’t go off the deep end and set fire to the restaurant, okay? We can get through this.”

Phillip’s laugh was lighter than it had been at the beginning of our call. Clearly, we both needed this conversation. “I won’t. Take care of yourself, sis.”

“Always.”

My body was lighter, and my head was clearer after talking to my brother. I kicked myself for not calling him sooner as I made my way downstairs to join Cooper, who was just standing at the kitchen island with his back to me. The bags of Thai food sat at his back, and he was on the phone. His voice was low, annoyed, and when he hung up, he cursed under his breath.

Then he turned around and saw me standing there.

“Hey,” he said before setting to opening the Thai bags.

I could tell he didn’t want me to ask about whatever the phone call was about. But I wasn’t the kind of girl to let something like that lie. “What was that about?”

Cooper shrugged. “The cops called to let me know there won’t be any charges pressed for the fight on the beach.”

“Obviously. They had no grounds. No proof. Because it wasn’t your fault.” I smiled and leaned over to rest my elbows on the table.

But Cooper wasn’t smiling. His forehead was creased, and he practically scowled down at my red curry dish as he popped the lid off.

“Why aren’t you happy about this?” I asked.

“It’s nothing.”

“Coop. Come on. We’re past the bullshitting stage, aren’t we? What’s up?”

He lifted his gaze to mine. “It’s probably nothing.”

“But?”

“But in my experience, bad guys like Lennon don’t press charges so they can settle the score on their own.”

“Oh,” I breathed. Now I was the one with the creased brow. I didn’t like the sound of that. Not one bit.

“I don’t want you to worry about me,” Cooper said, coming around to my side of the island. He put his hands on my upper arms and smiled down at me. “I’m a big boy. And I won’t be caught unaware like at the beach. I’ve tussled with them before, and I’m still standing.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek. “I don’t like it.”

He chuckled softly. “You don’t have to like it. I don’t like it either, if I’m being honest. But it is what it is. I’ll fill Mitch and the boys in, and we’ll keep our wits about us. Okay?”

“I leave in a week,” I said slowly. “I’m going to worry about you.”

Cooper’s gaze softened. He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine in the softest kiss we’d ever shared. When he pulled away, my eyes were still closed, and I was reeling in the aftermath of the tenderness of it all.

“What was that for?” I whispered.

“Nothing. It’s just, that’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. That’s all.”

CHAPTER 20

COOPER

Piper had a flower in her hair.

It was pink, a couple shades lighter than her dress. Her cheeks were flushed from the last few days in the sun or because I’d just told her she looked beautiful, and her big brown eyes were fixed on the band in the corner of Bassau.

They were a local group here on the island, and they toured different bars every night to sing their melodies. Some were covers of famous songs, others were ones they wrote, but they were all upbeat and worthy of dancing to.

And damn, Piper was worthy of dancing with.

Her eyes glittered like dark diamonds as they caught the lights twinkling above. Her foot tapped in beat to the song as the ukuleles and harmonicas and guitars filled the place with music. The singer cooed into his microphone and made eye contact with Piper, and she blushed an even deeper shade of pink and tucked her hair behind her ears bashfully.

How the stars had aligned to put me across the table from her on a night like tonight, I had no idea.

But they had.

And I’d be a fool not to take advantage of every minute I had left with her.

The end was fast approaching, and it would be the end for us. I knew we weren’t a match. She knew it too. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t something between us. Maybe if we’d met last year on this same beach and fate had given her patience to deal with me, something more might have come from our meeting.

Perhaps she and I could have been something. But that wasn’t in the cards. She was destined for someone else, someone very lucky.

And that was all right.

I pushed myself to my feet. “Want a drink?”

Piper nodded and rested her chin in her palm. “One of those coconut things, please?”

“Of course,” I said. That was what I would have ordered her anyway. She’d enjoyed them too much the last time we were here for me to forget.

I wove through the crowd up to the bar. The place was jumping tonight. Bodies were packed in close quarters, taking up the dance floor, and several tables had been pushed against walls to clear more space. I pushed my way up to the bar, nodded at Bass, and ordered a beer and a coconut drink.

At the end of the bar, just an arm’s length away, was a polaroid camera.

I frowned at it and then looked up at the ceiling.

The polaroid photos had been strung up with the lights long before I first came to Nassau. The first time I’d come to this place, I’d snapped a picture with Mitch, and we’d jokingly hung it up amongst the others. I’d found it once before but hadn’t gone looking for it since.

I grabbed the camera and tucked it under my arm. Seconds later, Bass handed me my two drinks. I thanked him with a nod and made my way very carefully back to the table I shared with Piper. People cleared a path for me when they saw the drinks in my hands, and I made it back in one piece to set the drinks down.

Piper picked hers up and pursed her lips around the straw.

She didn’t notice I had the camera, and she was too absorbed in the music to pay much mind as I made sure there was film in it. Then I put a hand on her shoulder, bent over to press my cheek to hers, and held the camera in front of us.

“Smile.” I grinned.

Piper still had her lips around the straw.

I turned to the side to press a kiss to her very pink cheek as I snapped the picture. We were blinded by the flash, and she blinked. I dropped down into my seat across from her and retrieved the printed-out polaroid. I fanned it gently.

“I wasn’t ready,” Piper said, still blinking furiously.

“Candid is better.”

She paused. “Yes, it is.”

“How’s that drink?”

“As good as all the others. I’m going to miss them. You can’t get anything like this in New York.”

“I imagine not.” I laughed, leaning back in my chair to lift my beer to my lips. I was very aware of her watching me as I turned to look at the band. “Good, aren’t they?”

“The band?”

I nodded.

“Yes,” she said, a smile pulling at her lips. “They play nice songs.”

“Want to dance?”

Her eyes widened a little. “I don’t know if I’ve had enough drinks for that, Coop.”

“You don’t need any drinks to dance. I’ll lead.”

“Our drinks.”

“You have until the end of the song.” I winked.

Piper accepted my challenge. She swayed in her seat to the music as she sucked her drink back. During the chorus, she would close her eyes and hum along, and all the while, I watched her, trying to capture every second, every movement—all of it—in my mind. When she was gone and the Casanova Club for the year was over, this would be a moment I would look back on with fondness.

I hoped she would too.

When the song ended, Piper still had a good quarter of her drink left. It wasn’t her fault. The drink was served in a full-sized coconut after all. It was massive.

“Give me a minute,” she said as I stared expectantly at her and drummed my fingers on the table.

“I’m not getting any younger. And we’re losing floor space. Ah! And this is such a good song!”

Her brow furrowed. “I don’t think I know it.”

“You will when it gets going,” I said.

The tune picked up. Piper’s foot tapped along to a beat she claimed not to know, and she drained the remnants of her drink before slamming it down on the table with a victorious grin. “Shall we dance?” she asked.

I stood and offered her my hand. “Please.”

She smiled and put her hand in mine. I guided her to her feet, and before I had a chance to head to the dance floor, she paused and picked up the polaroid photo. A smile stretched her cheeks wider than I’d ever seen.

“Let’s see it then,” I said, peering down at the picture over her shoulder.

The image was perfect.

Her eyes were wide as she looked up at the camera. The hot pink umbrella in her drink made her slight sunburn a little less obvious. There was a twinkle in her eye anyone with any sort of sense would say was photoshopped.

But I knew for a fact it wasn’t.

“Should we hang it up?” I asked.

Piper ran her thumb gently over the picture and nodded. “Yes, I suppose we should.”

I put a hand on her shoulder and rubbed her smooth skin with my thumb. “You can keep it, if you’d like. There are no rules against that.”

For a moment, I thought she might take me up on the offer. Then she shook her head. “No. One day, I’ll come back here, and I’ll come looking for this. Besides, it’s tradition, isn’t it? And good luck?”

“That’s what they say.”

“Then we should hang it. Where’s a good spot?”

“Right in the middle of the dance floor.” I gently pulled her out to the middle of the bar. She followed me, still wearing that gorgeous smile, and we stopped right smack in the middle of the floor, not caring that strangers were bumping into us as we danced.

I reached for an empty clip, and Piper handed me the picture. I pinched it in the clip and returned it to the wire, placing it just right so one of the lights shone on the image.

Piper was radiant under the twinkle lights above. She clasped her hands together and sighed contentedly. “Perfect.”

I took her hand and pulled her into me. She braced herself against my chest and gazed up at me as the singer of the band began singing a familiar Elton John tune. She had more freckles than she did when she first arrived in Nassau. They suited her.

Good old Bahamas. Everything was more beautiful here.

She leaned in and surprised me by resting her cheek on my shoulder. “Tonight is perfect, Coop. Thank you.”

I was overcome with the urge to kiss the top of her head, but that wasn’t something Cooper Diaz did.

Fuck no.

That was something boyfriends did—husband-material boyfriends, at least.

I wasn’t that guy. I simply wasn’t. I was the guy who fucked you out of your damn mind and slapped your ass and pulled your hair. And that wasn’t a bad thing. Girls needed that as much as they needed intimacy.

But I’d never craved the intimacy.

Until her.

Damn it. She was making me soft. I didn’t like that. I had a reputation to uphold. And every face in this place, minus the tourists, knew that reputation.

Did it matter?

She was going to be gone in six days. She’d be on her way into another man’s arms, and I’d be here, probably kicking myself for not following my impulses. Because that was my nature. It wasn’t about kissing her head or showing vulnerability. It was about following my desires.

That was who Cooper Diaz was.

So I dropped my head, closed my eyes, and pressed my lips to the top of her head.

She nuzzled closer to me. What a glorious feeling. I wrapped an arm around her back, felt the heat of her bare skin against my palm, and opened my eyes to rest my cheek on top of her head and sway gently back and forth to the song thrumming through the soles of my shoes.

Everything the Casanova Club had put me through was worth it for that moment.

Piper ran her hand across my chest and slipped it under the open buttons of my shirt. “My feet hurt.”

I arched an eyebrow at her.

She gave me a devious little smile. “I think we should go back to your place.”

“Do you, now?”

She nodded and pinched her bottom lip between her teeth. Either she’d figured out how hot and heavy that got me, or it was something she did without knowing. Either way, it drove me wild.

“I do,” she whispered, leaning in close. “But you’d better act fast. Before I change my mind.”

“We don’t want that,” I said.

We slipped off the dance floor. The music poured out behind us onto the beach. Piper kicked off her sandals and, like clockwork, raced to the ocean.

And even more predictably, I followed.

CHAPTER 21

PIPER

I was still riding the high of our chemistry on the dance floor and the sweet candid polaroid Cooper had snapped back at Bassau when my feet hit the ocean.

I spun back to him as he raced to join me, his hurried steps spraying saltwater up my legs and the skirt of my dress. He wrapped his arms around my waist and scooped me up, spinning me in a circle before setting me back down and brushing loose strands of hair back from my face. Then he held my cheeks in his hands and smiled down at me.

“You’re a wonder, Piper James. And I’m gonna miss the hell out of you when you leave.”

I grabbed the front of his shirt. “Don’t go spoiling the moment with soft sentiments, Coop. That’s not like you.” I silenced his laugh by pulling him down to me for a kiss. His hands left my cheeks, and he plunged his fingers into my hair at the nape of my neck to hold me to him.

Memories of our wild night came rushing back as his fingers tightened in my hair.

Yes. I need this.

His tongue in my mouth tasted like beer and salt. I draped my arms over his shoulders, and he hugged me around the waist. This embrace was new territory for us. It was vulnerable and intimate, and for a moment, I floundered in the newness of it all.

Then I felt his cock hardening against my belly and smiled.

“What?” he asked, breaking our kiss to look down at me. His eyes caught the reflection of the moon on the water at our feet. He was beautiful. There was simply no other word for it.

“We should take this back to the house before we let things go too far.”

“You don’t want me to fuck you right here on the sand?”

I hesitated.

Cooper laughed. “I’ve corrupted you, haven’t I?”

I tried to hide my blushing cheeks. “Maybe.”

He pulled me more firmly against him. “Victory is mine.”

“Just kiss me, you jackass.”

His chuckle brushed against my lips before we kissed again. I took him in and soaked in the pressure of his body upon mine and the water gently lapping at our ankles. My body filled with peace and hummed with desire. I wasn’t going to be able to last much longer before I asked him for more, and by that time, I wanted to be somewhere far away from prying eyes.

Cooper apparently wanted the same thing. “Let’s catch a cab home.”

I nodded and slipped my hand into his. Cooper and I abandoned the water in favor of the dry sand and made our way back up to Bassau, around the front, and out into the parking lot, where we waited for a taxi.

I thought, ignorantly, that we would spend the twenty-minute cab ride home chomping at the bit, aching to touch each other. But I thought wrong. Cooper wasn’t the sort of man who liked to wait.

He’d barely managed to tell the driver his address before he ran a hand up my thigh and under my skirt.

I muttered under my breath for him to wait.

“Give me a little taste,” he said, kissing my shoulder.

“Patience.”

“No.”

“It’ll be worth the wait,” I promised.

The driver minded his own business as Cooper leaned in close to graze his lips across the sensitive skin near my ear. “You bet your ass it will be. I’m going to get comfortable between those thighs of yours.”

I shuddered at his touch as he ran his fingers down my shoulder and across my collarbone. “Cooper,” I whispered sharply, desperate for him to stop and keep going all at once. A tight ache blossomed below my belly and threatened to spill over when he traced the neckline of my dress.

He chuckled softly. “You’re in big trouble, Piper.”

Yes, I was.

Cooper and I stumbled through his front door after the cab dropped us off. I struggled to slip out of my sandals, which were half full of sand, and Cooper tore his shirt off over his head.

He made his way up the stairs, and I followed close behind. As soon as we reached the top, he rounded on me, took me by the hips, and spun me to the side to push my back flat up against the wall. He pinned me there with his knee between my thighs as he worked to undo his pants. He left them like that, half-flipped open, and then descended upon me to cover every inch of my bare skin with kisses.

I sank my fingers into his hair as he dropped to his knees.

Cooper ran his hands up the back of my legs and pushed my dress up to my hips. Then, like a man possessed by desire, he lifted my right leg and draped it over his shoulder so I could balance myself.

Everything unfolded so quickly. He grinned up at me as he tugged my panties to the side. “Hold your dress up.”

I did as I was told. Cooper’s tongue flicked over my clit.

I sucked in a sharp breath and pressed my head hard against the wall as quivers of pleasure raced through my veins. He hooked his arm under me and pulled my hips to him. I trusted him to keep me balanced and didn’t fight it as he held me tighter and moaned against my pussy.

He lapped at me until my knees threatened to buckle. Then slowly, he eased a finger inside me.

My eyes rolled back in my head. The combination was intoxicating. His tongue flicked and licked while he fucked me with his fingers, and then right when I thought I was going to come unhinged, he paused to draw my clit between his lips and suck hard.

I came apart at the seams.

“Cooper!” I cried out his name and clutched at his shoulder to stay on my feet. The muscles in my thighs sang under the strain of my orgasm, and my knees went out from under me. Cooper kept me on my feet and swept up to his. He scooped me up, spun us around, and marched through his bedroom door.

He dropped me on his bed and set to taking off his pants and boxers.

I hurried to pull my dress over my head, then struggled to take my bra off, which for some reason was caught on one of the clasps behind my back.

Cooper flipped me over and snapped my bra off for me. Then, with me still lying facedown on the bed, he yanked my panties down.

One of the straps snapped against my hip and tore.

Cooper chuckled and tossed them on the floor. “Our first casualty.” He climbed on top of me, pinning my legs under his, and grabbed my ass with both hands.

“They were my favorite,” I pouted.

He leaned over as I peered over my shoulder at him. “You can keep them to remember me by.”

I giggled and tried to turn over. Cooper wouldn’t let me. He ran one hand between my thighs and up, cupping my pussy, and then slid two fingers inside me.

I moaned into the bedding beneath me as he fucked me hard and fast. I could hear how wet I was getting and how breathless he was becoming, and the combination pushed me to the brink of another climax.

“Hold it,” he growled.

I couldn’t. It was too intense. Control was slipping through my fingers.

“Hold it,” he said again, this time pressing forward and bracing himself with his free hand planted on the bed beside my head. I reached up and grabbed his wrist.

“Please,” I whimpered. Every muscle in my body strained against the release. I fought hard, valiantly, but knew I was losing the battle.

Cooper’s soft chuckle filled the room. “All right, baby. Come for me.”

I came instantly.

Cooper’s chuckle turned into a groan as I came on his fingers. He gave my ass a hard slap before getting off of me and moving to his nightstand. “Stay where you are. I like your ass on display like that.”

I had no intention of moving. He watched me as I wiggled my ass in the air for him and lifted my hips off the bed. “Like this?”

“Don’t tease me, woman.”

“I’ll do whatever I damn well please,” I taunted.

He fetched a condom from the top drawer and came back to stand between my legs. I arched my back as he rolled the condom on, giving him a spectacular view, and he ran his hand between my thighs. “Stay like that,” he commanded.

I did.

Cooper leaned in. The bed creaked beneath us as he slid his cock inside me.

I gripped his sheets as he filled me up, and I held on to the cry that threatened to escape me. His size was overwhelming.

“Good girl,” Cooper said through clenched teeth.

There was something about his primal nature that set my blood on fire. I liked that he took charge, that he told me what to do, that he called the shots. And I liked that he knew how to handle his size to get the best results.

He was a selfless lover—that was for sure—and I was reaping the benefits.

He filled me up, and I took all of him. He waited a beat for my body to relax. Then he rewarded me with deep, slow thrusts. Each one pushed a moan from my lips I couldn’t contain. My grip on his sheets tightened, and I muffled my desperate sounds in the blanket and breathed in his scent.

Cooper quickened his pace and rocked against me. His thighs slapped against the backs of my legs, and he held my hips as he fucked me.

Then, right when I was about to lose it, he pulled out, flipped me onto my back, and pushed my legs apart. He dropped his hips once more and pressed into me. I had no blankets to muffle my cry this time. I moaned his name at the ceiling, and a grin stretched his handsome face.

“That’s it, baby. Say my fucking name.”

He dropped down and planted his hands on either side of my head. The angle allowed him to push in deeper, and I clutched at his forearms and held his gaze as he fucked me. Every sound I made had his smile broadening.

My toes curled and my back arched. It took everything I had not to scream out in euphoria and descend into sex-induced madness. I tightened my grip on his arms as he drove his cock deep inside me.

I broke.

Cooper dropped low to crush his lips to mine, soaking up the sounds of my climax. I couldn’t breathe and didn’t want to as he thrust wildly until his arms shook and his jaw clenched and a groan of pleasure escaped him.

The kiss softened when he was done, and I wanted nothing more than to stay in this safe place between him and his bed. The outside world was far away, and my brain was buzzing blissfully after the orgasms.

If I was lucky, he’d treat me to a couple more before we drifted off to sleep together.

Who was I kidding?

I’d get that lucky.

One round didn’t appease his needs.

Hell, neither did two.

CHAPTER 22

COOPER

I woke at sunrise.

Piper was still asleep beside me, tangled up in my sheets with her hair splayed all over the place, lips parted, eyes flitting back and forth behind her eyelids in dreams.

I smiled and watched her in the golden hour of the morning.

Our night at Bassau couldn’t have been better. It couldn’t have ended better, either. We were closing in on our final days together, and there was this growing apprehension in my gut. It was madness to feel such a thing, especially for me.

Perhaps it was because all of a sudden, it felt like there was so much unknown in my life.

Being with Piper had opened my eyes to the simple truth that I might not want to spend the next decade of my life partying and fucking and partying some more. Sure, for now, it was good, but later? After a few more years? I might want something more.

I might want a girl like Piper at my side.

Hell, I might even want a family.

I smiled to myself and rubbed at my eyes. How had one girl managed to turn everything on its head in such a short amount of time?

Before her, I’d been content with the idea that it was just going to be me for the rest of my life—well, me and whatever female companions I wanted to take to my bed on any given night. That was my idea of paradise and of a life well lived.

Now it felt… kind of lonely. Shallow.

I rolled onto my side to face her. Her hands were tucked under her pillow, and one knee was raised while her other leg was straight. The blanket was draped over her hip, but the rest of her was on display. I followed the gentle sloping curves of her body with my eyes and sighed.

I missed her already, and she was still here with me. How fucking unfortunate.

Without thinking, I reached out and ran my fingers through her hair.

Piper’s eyes fluttered open, and I paused with my fingers all tangled up in her dark brown locks.

She smiled. “Good morning.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s all right. This is a nice way to wake up.”

My heart constricted in my chest. I couldn’t agree more. This was a very nice way to wake up. “Did you sleep well?”

“Like a baby.” She stifled a yawn and rolled onto her back, where she reached her arms over her head and indulged in a full-body stretch. Her breasts swelled as she arched her back, and I found myself suddenly thirsty as I gazed upon them and the lean lines of her tummy.

She was a goddess made for early mornings like this when the sunlight was just right.

After her stretch, she rolled back to her side and pulled the blankets up to cover herself. A shame. Then she rubbed at her eyes. “How long have you been awake?”

“Not long. A few minutes.”

“What were you thinking about?” she asked.

I considered lying. But after how far we’d come, there didn’t seem to be much sense to that. “I was thinking about you having to leave soon and how different everything feels now.”

“Oh,” she said, a frown touching the corners of her mouth.

“It’s all right. I’m glad for it.”

She gave me a coy little smile. “Glad I’m leaving?”

“No,” I said hurriedly. “Glad to have had you at all.”

She giggled. “I was pulling your leg, Coop. I feel lucky to have had our month together, too. Honestly. It was a rough go in the beginning, but I don’t know. Everything came full circle in the end.” She propped herself up on her elbow. “For the record, I’m going to miss you too.”

“You’d better,” I teased. You won’t. You’ll forget about me as soon as the next man sweeps you off your feet. It’s better that way, anyway. “Are you looking forward to going home and seeing your family?”

Piper looked down and fidgeted with the edge of her pillowcase. “I’m nervous, actually.”

“What? Why?”

She sighed and rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling. “I’ve decided I’m going to tell them the truth about what I’ve actually been doing this year.”

“About the Casanova Club?”

She nodded. “Yep.”

I could see the turmoil in her eyes and in the tension in her jaw. “It will be okay.”

She smiled at me. “I hope so. I should have just been honest with them from the get-go. Even if they were upset, it wouldn’t have been as bad as having to tell them I’ve been lying to their faces for seven months.”

“They’ll understand. Sometimes, you have to do things for yourself, you know? I should know. I’m the poster child of self-indulgent behavior.”

Piper giggled. “Stop it. You’re too hard on yourself.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Don’t blow smoke up my ass. You and I both know it’s true.”

She turned back toward me. “But your family didn’t need you to be there for financial reasons. I abandoned mine to go on a serial-dating escapade for a year when they’re on the brink of bankruptcy.”

“Money isn’t everything.”

“No,” she said slowly, “it isn’t. But when you have none, it feels like it is. I don’t know if they’ll forgive me for this. I’m terrified they’ll resent me for it.”

“They’re your family. They’ll come around. I’m sure of it.”

Piper nodded but didn’t look convinced. If anything, she looked like she might be about to cry. I reached for her and pulled her into my chest. She wrapped her arms around me and rested her cheek on my chest.

“I’m sorry you have to go home and have a hard conversation,” I said.

She held me tighter. “Thank you.”

“Having the hard conversations are important. I didn’t give my family the chance. I threw in the towel, changed my name, and got myself exiled in the process. You can do this. It’s worth it.”

She pulled away to look up at me, her brows knit together. “Exiled?”

I nodded. “I’m not welcome back, where my family is concerned. And it’s probably for the best. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss them. Well, parts of them. The bullshit that went along with being their son wasn’t worth it in the end.” I traced her jaw with my thumb. “But you only get one family, babe. And yours must be pretty fucking great to have raised you.”

She giggled and pressed her cheek into my palm. “They are pretty great.”

“Then you’re making the right call. I’m sure of it.”

“Do you ever wish you could take it back?” she asked.

“Take what back?”

“Changing your name?”

I pursed my lips and considered her question for a moment. Did I ever find myself wishing I could still be Cooper Bronwyn Rockefeller again? “No,” I said, certainty ringing true in my voice. Then I chuckled. “If you think I’m a mess now, you should have seen me back then when I had access to even more money.”

“I don’t think you’re a mess, Coop.”

“Then you’d be the first.”

She shook her head. “No. I don’t think that’s true. I think your friends see the real you.”

“I’m not a Rockefeller.”

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Piper said, her eyes searching mine. I could have gotten lost in the sea of deep brown. “I’m saying I think you’re hiding from who you could be. Who you want to be. It’s easy to party and have fun and be that guy. It’s infinitely harder to be the guy who declares to the world that he wants something and then goes for it. Especially when he doesn’t know what it is he wants.”

I studied her. “When did you turn into such a smart ass?”

She smiled and shook her head at me. “You know I’m right.”

I didn’t fight her. Her words rang true despite me wishing they didn’t.

Piper ran her hand along my chest, tracing the swirling tattoos on my skin. “All of this is temporary, Coop. The parties. The girls. All of it. At some point or another, it’s all going to change, either by your doing or by something external, and you’re going to have to figure out what your next steps are.”

I almost told her I wished she was my next step. But I caught myself and bit down on my tongue.

Piper gazed at my tattoos. “Whatever happens, you’re going to be great, Coop. And you’re going to be okay. I can feel it in my bones.” Her eyes swept up to mine and filled with warmth as she smiled. “Do you believe me?”

No. “Yes.”

Piper’s smiled broadened, and she leaned in and gave me a kiss. “Good.”

She rolled over to sit up and swing her legs over the side of the bed. I watched as she stood up, stretched once more, and walked languidly to my bathroom door. She paused and looked back at me, catching herself on the doorframe. “Would you care to join me for a shower?”

I wrenched my blanket off to the chorus of her bubbly laughter. I staggered out of bed with the sheet still caught up around my knees, pitched forward, caught myself on the end of my mattress, and straightened.

Piper was laughing delightedly. “Come on, Casanova. I don’t have all day.”

“Yes, you fucking do,” I said, hurrying after her into the bathroom.

I pushed her up against the shower door before she had a chance to open it, and I kissed her greedily. She lifted her leg, running her smooth skin along mine until I caught her knee and held her leg up. I pushed greedily for more as my cock hardened between us.

She ran her fingers up my ribs and around to my back. Her touch was exquisite and a painful reminder that it was fleeting.

But for now, she was mine. Today, and for the next few days, I would have her as many times as I could, and I would drink in every ounce of her that I could.

With any luck, maybe that would make goodbye easier.

CHAPTER 23

PIPER

“Hold on, Piper. Your father is right beside me. I’m putting you on speaker, okay?”

“Okay, Mom,” I said as I rolled up one of my summer dresses to tuck it neatly into the corner of one of my suitcases. I waited patiently as she struggled, like always, to put the phone on speaker. I managed to roll up two other pieces of clothing before her voice filled the speaker again.

“Okay, we’re both on, Piper.”

“Hi, Dad.”

“Hi, sweetheart. It’s good to hear your voice. How are you?”

How was I? There was no easy answer to that question.

The most overwhelming feeling in my chest was worry. Worry that everything was going to take a bad turn when I got home and told them the truth. Worry that I was going to hurt them, hurt us, and never be able to put things back to how they were supposed to be.

Secondly, I was confused because I didn’t expect to feel this sad about leaving Cooper. Less than thirty days ago, I had been hellbent on storming out of here and leaving him in my rearview mirror. Now, my heart ached at the thought of leaving him behind.

And lastly, I was tired. So. Fucking. Tired.

“I’m good,” I said. “I’m going to be home soon. I was hoping we could get together for dinner or something on Wednesday? I won’t have much time, but I miss you guys. And I want to fill you in on what’s been going on in my life.”

I heard my mother clasp her hands together. It was something she did when she was delighted. “Oh. That would be lovely, Piper. I’ll make lasagna. What do you think?”

“I was thinking I would bring dinner over.”

“You don’t need to do that,” my dad said, his tone sharp.

They were so sensitive when it came to money. I didn’t want to add any more of a financial burden than they already had by having my mom going out to buy all the ingredients to make lasagna. I also wanted them to be able to relax for an evening after closing the restaurant and just be. Besides, I was going to drop a bomb on them, and it hardly seemed fair to have them make dinner.

“I know I don’t,” I said, choosing my next words carefully. “I just haven’t been home in so long, and I’m craving butter chicken from that little Indian takeout place by my apartment. Can I bring it over? I’ve been thinking about it for weeks.”

My father didn’t answer right away. “I suppose that would work.”

“Sounds delicious, Piper,” my mom chimed in.

“How long are you home this time?” my dad asked.

Victory. “Not long. Just two nights.”

“Again?” my father asked, skepticism coloring his tone. “Is that Aaron fellow coming with you?”

I rolled my eyes. “No, Dad. He’s not. And you don’t need to worry about him. He’s just a friend. Okay?”

My father grunted. “I don’t know. I think he wanted to be more than just your friend.”

“He was very handsome,” my mother said.

I chuckled softly. “Yes, he was.”

And so is Cooper.

I smiled inwardly. Cooper was the sort of man who, if he showed up on my arm to a family dinner, would certainly give my father a heart attack. And knowing Cooper, he’d be looking to ruffle some feathers, too. I could see the whole interaction going down in my mind, Cooper smirking over his cup of wine, my mother blinking in horror at him after he said some dirty joke, Phillip dying of laughter, and my father turning redder than the marinara sauce on our plates.

Yeah, Cooper would not be meeting the James family. Ever.

“He wasn’t that handsome,” my father said in a scolding tone.

My mother laughed. “Say what you will. That boy could be in Hollywood.”

I listened to them bicker about Aaron’s good looks and hoped none of this changed after I told them who Aaron really was.

It was going to be tricky to explain, and I would need support. Thank God for Phillip. As I listened to my parents continue to argue over Aaron, I realized I was going to need more than just my brother in my corner.

“I have to go, you guys,” I said, zipping up my suitcase. “Janie is calling me on the other line. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Wednesday,” my mother said, her voice full of joy.

“Yes, can’t wait,” I said.

I ended the call with a sigh and hung my head.

I’m the world’s worst daughter.

After packing up the rest of my items I wouldn’t need either today or tomorrow, I called Janie. She’d just be getting off work, so I wasn’t sure if she would answer.

She did. “Hey, Pipes! The countdown is on! You’re home in forty-eight hours!”

I grinned. “Hey Janie. I know. I can’t wait to see you.”

“Likewise. What’s on the docket this go around? Ice cream? Brie? Wine? What sort of coping situation should I set up? Are you heartbroken? Relieved? Tell me everything.”

How did I answer that? I licked my lips. “I think I’ll be okay.”

“You think?”

“Yeah.” I ran my fingers through my hair and went to my bedroom window to look down at the pool and the beach below. I’d been hoping Cooper would be out there, but I was fairly certain he was down in the kitchen, attempting to make us dinner. I wasn’t sure how well that was going to turn out, but I admired him for trying. “Yeah, I’ll be okay.”

“Huh. All right then. That’s good to hear. How are things going with Cooper?”

“Good. Really good. Better than I thought they would. And I’m going to miss him.” And the sex. I was most definitely going to miss the sex. I sighed and put my back to the window. “I need to ask you a favor, Janie.”

“Anything.”

“I’m going to dinner at my folks’ house on Wednesday. I was hoping you’d come with me?”

Janie didn’t hesitate. “Of course, I’ll come with you! What’s for dinner?”

“I’m going to pick up butter chicken from that place around the corner from our apartment.”

Janie let out a hungry moan. “Ooh. Yes. I haven’t had that in forever. Works for me.”

“Janie?”

“What’s up?”

I sighed. “I’m going to tell them everything.”

“Everything? What do you mean?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose and went to the bed to sit down. “I’m going to tell them about the Casanova Club and the money and the men. All of it. I can’t keep lying to them. It’s putting a strain on our relationship that just isn’t worth it.”

“But your dad’s heart?”

“He can handle it. After all, I’m doing this for them. For all of us. Right?”

“Right,” Janie said slowly.

I winced. “Is this a terrible idea?”

My best friend was quiet for a minute. “No, it’s not. It’s the right thing to do. I think your father’s pride might get in the way for a while.”

“How long is ‘a while’?”

“A couple months. Maybe more? You know him better than I do. But I can see how he might feel betrayed. And confused. And probably pissed that you’ve already fucked seven different guys in the span of that many months.”

“Janie.” I groaned burying my face in my hands. “Don’t say shit like that.”

She snickered. “I can’t help it. It’s not like I’d say that in front of your parents.”

“Thank God. Because you’re there to support me, not hammer the cross into my grave.”

“I’ve got your back, Pipes. Don’t worry. It’s gonna be hella awkward. But if we get a glass of wine in our bodies first, we can do this. Together. Okay?”

I breathed a sigh of relief, and tears stung my eyes. “Okay.”

“Good,” Janie said, her voice radiating confidence I wished I felt. “Sorry, Pipes, but I gotta go. I’m in line to order some dinner, and I’m up next.”

“Okay. I’ll see you soon. Janie?”

“Yeah, Pipes?”

“Thank you. Again. For everything. I don’t know how to pay you back.”

“Bitch. This is what best friends are for. You don’t have to pay me back.”

“I love you.”

“Love you too. Now go soak up your last hours with your hunk.”

She hung up on me.

I smiled down at my phone and sighed. No matter how rough this all went, at least I had Janie in my corner.

And my brother.

And seven single, wealthy, gorgeous bachelors.

How the hell had my life turned into such a wild ride?

I thought of the other men on this journey with me. It would be so easy to pick up the phone and call one of them and pour my heart out. To tell him everything I was thinking and what I was about to do with my family.

“They love you,” he’d say. “And they will understand. Time heals all wounds.”

Oh, how I wished I could call him.

But even if I could, I couldn’t tell him the truth. I couldn’t tell him I was only in this for the money to save my family.

Because that would be a bigger betrayal than lying to my parents about the Casanova Club, and I’d break his heart.

Before I went too far down that train of thought, I left my bedroom to head downstairs to join Cooper in the kitchen. The smell of burning vegetables reached my nose when I hit the top of the stairs, and I smiled to myself.

At least he was trying.

CHAPTER 24

COOPER

“So, I guess this is it,” Piper said, clasping her hands in front of her and looking up at me from beneath her dark, dramatic eyebrows.

The white luxury SUV at her back hummed quietly, and the driver, a severe-looking woman with short blonde hair, was scowling at us from the driver’s seat, dripping with impatience.

“I guess so,” I said.

Piper chewed the inside of her cheek as I bent and picked up her bags. I toted them to the back of the SUV and rapped my knuckles on the trunk. The driver opened it, and once it was hovering over my head, I loaded Piper’s bags in the back, making sure they were spaced evenly so nothing would be damaged.

She watched me with a knowing smile the whole time.

“What?” I closed the trunk with my hip.

“Nothing.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Liar.”

Her smile tugged at her lips. “It’s just that at the beginning of the month, I had to carry all my bags out to your yard. And now, here you are, doing all the heavy lifting for me. Thank you, Coop.”

I winced at the reminder of how I’d treated her in the beginning. “I’m sorry about all that.”

“Don’t be. It’s in the past. And you more than redeemed yourself these last couple weeks.”

I rubbed the back of my neck, unconvinced. “If you say so.”

Piper came to me and pressed her hands flat to my chest. “You did. I mean it. I had a really good time with you. Despite all the ups and downs.”

The warmth of her palms on my chest was torture. Soon, she’d be gone, and I’d be left here with the tingling sensation of her touch on me.

That didn’t matter. What mattered was that we were in our final minutes of our time together, and there were things I needed to say to her. Things she needed to hear.

“Piper,” I said, putting my hands on her shoulders.

“Yeah?” She blinked her big doe eyes at me, and I willed myself not to kiss her and spoil the moment with lust.

“I owe a lot to you.”

“No, you don’t owe me anything. I—”

“Let me finish.”

Piper clamped her mouth shut and nodded for me to continue, a playful twinkle in her eye.

“I want to thank you for reminding me who I am. I think I lost sight of the big picture and got so caught up in parties and women and having fun that I… I lost myself somewhere along the way.” I ran my hand through my hair. “Fuck, I hate how cliché that sounds.”

She tightened her hands into fists in my shirt. “Please keep going.”

“Diaz is the name I’m going to continue to wear. Because that’s who I am now. But I’m more than the nightlife and the booze and the good times. I want more. Someday.”

“Someday,” she mused.

“I’m glad for the time we had together. I just wish I was better suited for you.”

“Coop, you’re—”

“Don’t try to appease me,” I said, hating how desperation colored my voice. “I know we’re not a match. I’ve known since the very beginning, and like everything else, I turned a blind eye to it. But it’s all right, Piper. I swear to you. It’s all right. You’re meant for so much more than this. Than me. You deserve a man who has already sorted through all his bullshit and his baggage and is at peace with himself.”

Her eyes glistened, and she dropped her gaze to our feet.

I pressed two fingers under her chin and tilted her head back, forcing her to look me in the eyes. “You’re a dream girl, Piper James. Don’t let anyone ever tell you any different. You’re going to make one of these bastards—bachelors,” I amended with a smirk as she glared at me, “very lucky. And he’d better make you happy and do everything in his power to show you every day how fucking special you are.”

“Cooper,” she said softly, like a sigh, and I found myself staring longingly at lips I could have kissed for the rest of my life.

“I know,” I said, forcing myself to smile. “I know. Just choose the guy who does right by you, okay?”

She nodded as her bottom lip trembled.

I chuckled. “I’m not trying to spell it out for you because you’re a big girl. But for fuck’s sakes, don’t pick the football player.”

She cracked and laughed at that. The sound eased the heaviness in my heart as she shook her head at me and ran her thumbs under her eyes. “Don’t worry, Coop. Easton is not on the table.”

“Thank God,” I said.

She rolled her eyes at me. “Why’d you have to go and make me cry? I thought you, of all people, would be able to say goodbye without getting all sentimental.”

“Same,” I said. “I’m surprising myself constantly these days.”

The driver gave the car horn two little beeps and rolled down the window. “You have four minutes, Miss James, or I’m leaving without you.”

“Charming,” I muttered.

Piper rolled her shoulders. “You have no idea. She’s the same woman who drove me here.” Piper leaned to the side to look at the driver through the passenger window. “On it. Thank you.” Then she turned back toward me and smoothed out the collar of my shirt. “Stay out of trouble, will you?”

“Me? Trouble?” I scoffed. “What would ever make you think I’d get into trouble?”

She bit her bottom lip and shook her head at me. “Trouble is your middle name, isn’t it?”

I shrugged. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“I mean it, Coop. I’m going to worry about you. I can’t help it. Those guys down at the beach, Lennon and the others, I don’t want them to come mess with you. I don’t want them to hurt you.”

I caressed her cheek. “Piper. I’m a Rockefeller. Trouble will always find me. And when it does, you know what I’ll do?”

She closed her eyes for a moment and leaned into my touch. “You’ll meet it with a grin?”

I couldn’t help but smile at that. “You know me so well, Dream Girl.”

“Don’t.”

“I can’t help it.” I stroked her cheek one last time. “You’d better go, babe.”

She smiled, kissed my palm, and then fixed me with a smoldering stare. “Don’t call me babe.”

I threw my head back and laughed. Piper took a step back, and I let her go. She moved to the back door of the SUV, tugged it open, and paused to turn back to me, a sad smile lingering on her lips. “See you around, Coop.”

“See you around, Piper.”

She slid into the car and pulled her dress in around her legs. She was about to close the door when I caught it by the frame. “Wait.”

She tilted her head back when I went in for the kiss. The driver groaned impatiently in the front seat. I didn’t give a damn, and neither did Piper.

I kissed her deeply, hoping it conveyed all the things I was feeling: gratitude, joy, grief, and passion. She kissed me back, reached up to run her fingers through my hair, and let out a content sigh when I pulled away. Her eyes were heavy. “I have to go.”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll see you.”

“Yeah,” I said again, giving her one last smile before closing the door of the SUV. And on us.

I stepped away, and the SUV pulled away down the street. Endings were always so anticlimactic. And depressing.

I went back into my house feeling heavy and hollow all at the same time. I crossed straight through to the backyard and went to stand at the fence at the top of my stairs leading down to the beach.

The ocean always made things better. Even this.

As I stood and gazed out at the water and the sand, I reflected on my month with Piper. She’d changed me—that was for damn sure—and in a sense, I suspected I might have changed her too. I had no regrets, and despite how strongly I felt for her, I knew we weren’t a match. And I knew she was going to find her happy ending with someone else.

Surprisingly, I was more than okay with that. In fact, I wanted that for her.

I smiled to myself. Maybe she’d invite me to her wedding. I’d make sure it was a good fucking party.

My attention was drawn to motion down on the beach. Two young women in similar blue bikinis were jogging along the shoreline, kicking water at each other. If I strained my ears, I could hear their bubbly laughter on the ocean breeze.

I was going to change. I was sure of that.

But I didn’t have to change right away, did I? There was still some wiggle room to enjoy myself and this beach and those girls. I was a Rockefeller, after all.

With a foolish grin, I set off down my stairs and jogged across the beach toward the two young women. They were nothing like Piper, but that was the best part.

Nobody was ever going to be like Piper.

CHAPTER 25

PIPER

I had three missed calls from my brother on Wednesday evening.

I knew what he was calling about.

He wanted to make sure I was still coming to dinner, and if I was, whether or not I was still planning on talking to our parents about what I’d really been up to this year.

Janie drummed her fingers on the counter at the window seat of the Indian restaurant as we waited for our order. “You should just call him back and give him the heads-up. He’s probably shitting himself.”

I frowned down at my phone. “He should know I’d never bail like that.”

Janie shrugged. “He’s just concerned. Call him.”

I sighed. She was right. It wasn’t fair to leave him hanging. “I’m going to step outside, okay?”

Janie nodded and ushered me out with a wave of her hand. I made my way outside to stand on the sidewalk and called my brother back. The summer air was warm, but not nearly as pleasant as the weather in Nassau.

I wished I could be back there on the beach with Cooper, pretending none of this had to be done. But alas, we can’t always get what we want.

Phillip answered the phone. “Jesus, Piper. Where the fuck have you been? I thought you weren’t going to show.”

“We’re not late. Stop being such a spaz. We’re picking up dinner, and we’ll be at the house in twenty minutes tops.”

“Good,” Phillip said.

Pedestrians bustled by, and I retreated to stand with my back against the window of the restaurant. “How are they today? Good moods?”

“As good as they can be, I guess.”

That was better than nothing. “Okay. Try to keep them that way. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“See you soon, Pipes.”

I hung up right when Janie came out of the restaurant with two paper bags full of food. “Let’s go. This food is getting colder by the minute.”

There was no sense in telling her there was a slim chance I wasn’t going to eat. My stomach had been coiling in a painful knot all morning, just thinking about having this conversation with my parents, and I hadn’t been able to eat anything all day.

As the hours ticked by, I kept telling myself that this would all be over soon. The truth would be out, and they would understand, and everything would be fine.

I didn’t believe my own lie for a second.

We got into Janie’s car and put on our seatbelts. I cranked the radio as she reversed out of her space, and I couldn’t even muster the energy to tap my foot to the beat.

I could feel Janie watching me.

“What?” I asked, rolling my head to the side to look at my friend.

She shrugged and kept her eyes trained on the road. “Nothing. I just wish you didn’t have to do this.”

“Me too.”

“You’re sure you want to? It’s not too late to back out.”

“I have to tell them, Janie,” I said. It was true. All these little lies were piling up, and it was only going to get harder to come clean.

Not only that, but the lies were putting distance between me and my family. Not only did I have to physically be away from them all year, but with them not knowing I was the Casanova girl for the year, I felt like I was missing out on conversations with them. When I was struggling, I could have called my mom. Could have heard my father’s reassuring voice in the background offering his two cents.

I’d stolen that from all of us by deciding to keep this a secret. Now was the time to make it right and set things back on the right path. It was going to be hard. And maybe a little messy. But I had to do it.

Janie tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “I’m with you.”

We spent the rest of the short drive listening to music. She left me to my thoughts, and I left her to the driving. We pulled into my parents’ driveway far too soon, and I hesitated getting out of the car. Janie ushered me out by scolding me for making her wait even longer for dinner, and we walked up the drive together.

She knocked on the front door when my nerves started getting the best of me. “Here we go.”

My brother opened the door and invited us in. His hair was a little longer and messier than I remembered, but his smile was the same, warm and comforting and happy. He pulled me in for a hug, patted my back, and then held me at arm’s length. “You ready to do this thing?”

I nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Good,” Phillip said. “Let’s get it over with.”

I clenched my jaw and forced a smile as we made our way into the house to find my mom and dad sitting in the dining room. My father was reading a magazine while my mother had her phone in front of her. She had her reading glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, and she was squinting through them at her phone screen.

When she saw me, she sprang to her feet, hurried around the table, and threw her arms around my shoulders. “It’s so good to see you, sweetheart. You look lovely. So tanned!”

“Thanks, Mom.” I smiled.

My father was next to greet me. He enveloped me in a big bear hug, and I wrapped my arms around him. He smelled like garlic, coffee, and whiskey. I breathed in his familiar scent and relished the moment of our embrace, wondering if this was the last I’d experience it for a while.

Janie said hello to everyone and held up the food. “Shall we eat?”

We formed a mini-assembly line in the kitchen and helped ourselves to a little of everything. Once everyone’s plates were full, we took our seats at the dining-room table.

I stared down at my butter chicken and rice and naan bread.

There was no way I was going to be able to put any of that in my body until I got the truth out. It was like I needed to make room for one by giving up the other.

“Mom? Dad?”

My parents looked at me.

I ran my hands down my thighs and bit the inside of my cheek. “I actually came home to talk to you guys about something.”

“Oh?” my dad asked, cocking his head to the side as he finished chewing a piece of naan bread.

My mother dabbed at her lips with a paper napkin. “What is it, dear?”

I should have written all this down. Or I should have rehearsed what I wanted to say. But I hadn’t done either of those things, and now, I was going to have to wing it.

I swallowed. “I need you to wait until I’m done before you say anything or ask any questions. Okay?”

They exchanged a look. Janie and Phillip had fallen very quiet and very still.

My mother frowned. “All right. Is everything okay, Piper? You’re scaring me.”

“Yes. Everything is fine. I just… I haven't been completely honest with you guys, and it’s time I come clean about what’s been going on with me.”

My father put his utensils down. His eyebrows drew together. “Is this about that Aaron character?”

“No, Daddy,” I said hurriedly. “This isn’t about anyone but me.”

He nodded. “All right. Go ahead then. Tell us.”

I pressed my lips together and looked at my brother. He nodded, encouraging me to carry on. And so did Janie. She gave me a tight-lipped smile.

Even if my parents were furious, at least I’d have them by my side.

I lifted my chin and faced my mother and father. “I lied about where I’ve been all year.”

They stared blankly at me.

Just say it, Piper. Tell them.

I could barely keep my voice even. “I haven’t been in school.”

Silence. Heavy, awkward, tense silence. My pulse thundered in my ears as my palms began to sweat.

It’s all right. It will all be all right.

My father was motionless. “If you haven’t been in school, where have you been all year, Piper?”

I looked down at my hands in my lap. “That’s the complicated part. And the part I need to explain.”

“You have the floor,” my father said. His voice was hard.

I looked up at him and shrank under his stare. Then I reached deep down inside myself, plucked my voice out of the depths of my fear, and hardened my resolve.

“Have you heard of the Casanova Club?”

The End

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ali Parker is a full-time contemporary and new adult romance writer with more than a hundred and twenty books behind her. She loves coffee, watching a great movie and hanging out with her hubs. By hanging out, she means making out. Hanging out is for those little creepy elves at Christmas. No tight green stockings for her.

She’s an entrepreneur at heart and loves coming up with more ideas than any one person should be allowed to access. She lives in Texas with her hubs and three kiddos and looks forward to traveling the world in a few years. Writing under eleven pen names keeps her busy and allows her to explore all genres and types of writing.

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Cooper: The Casanova Club #8

Copyright © 2019 by Ali Parker

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

The novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and plot are all either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons – living or dead – is purely coincidental.

First Edition.

Editor: Eric Martinez

Cover Designer: Hang Le from Designs by Hang Le https://www.facebook.com/designsbyhangle/

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Contents

Find Ali Parker

Description

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

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