Plush Book 4: A Billionaire Romance (7 page)

I smiled, my stomach coming alive at the words. “You’re in for a treat,” I told Cooper, pointing at the stove. “My mom apparently makes the best fried chicken you’ll ever eat in your whole life—or so my dad says. I don’t do the chicken thing, but I’m sure you’ll love it!”

“Sounds good to me! The last thing I ate was a bagel sandwich at the airport,” Cooper said with a smile towards my mom—who, I could have sworn flushed slightly. I tugged on his arm and dragged him by the hand down the hall towards my old room.

I stopped short of opening the white door and turned to pin my back against it. “You have to promise you won’t judge me once you see inside this room,” I warned Cooper, my face stern.

He arched an eyebrow and reached past me, trying to grab the doorknob. “This is gonna be good…”

I smacked his hand. “I’m serious, Cooper. This was my room in high school, you know, like a hundred years ago.”

He laughed. “What are you worried about? Is it wallpapered with
Backstreet Boys
posters or something?”

I glared at him. “No. It’s just…well—” I huffed and flung the door open. I took three short steps into the room and flicked on the bedside lamp, illuminating the dark room. Cooper looked around and I followed the trail his eyes made as they landed on each new item. The walls were painted a dark eggplant color—a hard fought battle with my mom back when I was fourteen—and were littered with so many posters it was almost like a bizarre wallpaper job. In high school, I’d been very into punk music and most of the bands represented in the posters were no longer in existence, just a series of one-hit wonders, or local bands that had blown up pictures of themselves for sale at their concerts or open mic nights to scrape in a little extra cash. I smiled sadly at the fact that the room looked untouched. My parents had obviously been keeping the room clean and free of dust, but everything else looked just as it had when I’d left home.

“Well?” I prompted as Cooper soaked it all in.

He glanced at me and smiled. “It’s different, but I get it,” he said, finally passing his judgment over the space.

I smiled, but then nibbled my lower lip, wondering what he was really thinking. Although it wasn’t who I was anymore, it was a piece of my past, a piece I wasn’t entirely sure he could ever understand. I’d never seen Cooper’s childhood home, not even in pictures, but I imagined it would probably look more or less like a Pottery Barn catalog…not a rebellious teenager’s shrine to bad indie rock music.

“It’s fantastic, Allie. It’s you.”

I didn’t bother correcting him that it
used to be
me. My tastes had evolved significantly since my high school days.

“I forgot my backpack in the car,” I said, desperate to change the topic.

“I’ll go,” he said, vanishing before I could say anything else.

Alone in the room, it felt smaller, more constricted. I remembered the weekend I’d brought home the can of paint—the weekend after everything had gone to hell—it had been a discount can at the local home improvement store, mixed up by mistake, and the owner had given it to me when he’d caught me admiring the deep color. I’d taken it home, and had been halfway through painting over the existing soft lilac color of the first wall of my bedroom, when my mom had burst in and demanded that I stop. It had been a drawn out battle with my parents, and eventually they gave in and let me paint the rest, since I’d already wrecked the existing paint, but I’d been grounded for a month and had extra chores for even longer as a punishment.

I’d never told them why I’d wanted it dark like that. And I knew I never would.

I shoved aside all the memories and regrets and distracted myself by stalking into the attached bathroom and stripping off my clothes as the shower water heated up. I slipped past the shower curtain into the shower/tub combo a second before the door swung open and Cooper appeared.

“I’m almost done,” I called out, hurrying to wet my hair. I didn’t know why, but I needed space to breath, and sharing a room—let alone a shower stall—with Cooper would be more than I could handle. At least, at the moment.

The shower curtain pushed back and Cooper—in his entire naked splendor—stepped in to join me. “What’s the hurry?” He asked, a delicious grin spreading across his face. He lowered his mouth to nibble on my wet shoulder, but I jerked away.

“I have to go help with dinner.”

He clenched his jaw, and the irritation radiated off of him. I scrubbed a handful of shampoo through my tangled hair, ignoring the pain as I tugged at the strands. He reached for me, gripping his hands on my hips, and pressed me against the wall. “What’s wrong?” He demanded, his mouth stern, his eyes dark and searing.

“Nothing. I just need some space, that’s all,” I said, looking down between our two naked bodies, unable to hold his penetrating glare.

“Space?” He breathed, almost like a hollow chuckle. “Allie, you just spent two days on a solo motorcycle ride. How much more
space
could you possible need? What’s really going on?”

“Nothing,” I insisted, trying to sidestep out of his arms.

He firmed his grip on my hips. “Talk to me, Allie. Tell me why you’re pushing me away.”

I looked up, meeting his eyes again, and saw a flash of pain behind his dark stare as our eyes locked. My heart twisted in my chest and I wanted to tell him everything, but something was stopping me. “I’m just tired, that’s all, okay? I’m tired and sore and worried and stressed. That two day ride wasn’t exactly a vacation, you know? I was windblown, soaked to the bone, cold, and miserable the entire fucking time!”

“I know, baby, and I’m sorry about that. I wish you would have let me put you on a plane,” he said, his voice soft as he ran his finger along my jaw line.

I shook him off and glared up at him. “I know, Cooper. I should have taken a plane, should move in with you, should quit my job and just spend my days shopping and
lunching
or whatever the hell it is rich bitches do. You always know best, don’t you? You have all the answers to how I
should
be living my life, right?”

Cooper’s head pulled back, away from mine, only a fraction of an inch, but it was like I’d slapped him. “That’s what you think this is about? Me trying to prove something?”

“I think you’re unhappy because I don’t act like the perfect little debutante girlfriend and swoon every time you step in to fix my problems. I think the fact that I’m stubborn and do things my own way drives you insane and you keep trying to stuff me back into some mold I just don’t fit into.”

From the fire in his eyes, I knew he was preparing a retort, but I stepped around him, carefully setting my feet to not slip on the slick tub floor, and pushed past the curtain. I wrapped up in a towel and left the bathroom, shutting the door hard behind me. I dressed in record breaking speed and didn’t bother drying my hair before slipping downstairs to set the table for dinner.

Half an hour later, we were all gathered around the table. Everyone else dug into my mom’s fried chicken, and I loaded my plate with mashed potatoes, cole slaw, and tray of roasted veggies.

The tension between Cooper and I was still there, like a live wire, sparking and zinging through the air, but if Ben and my mom could feel it too, they did a helluva job covering it up. Thankfully, they carried the conversation for the meal, and although I remained locked in the same tense, frustrated mood, everyone else appeared at ease. Even Cooper, who charmed and smiled his way through as my mom told him the history of the small town, local gossip, and even about how she and my dad had met twenty five years ago. At the end of that story, she got a little misty, and abruptly got up and started clearing the table since everyone had stopped eating some time before.

Cooper and Ben hopped up to help, and I piled up the remainder and joined them in the kitchen. My mom shooed us from the kitchen as she filled up the deep sink.

“Mom, please, let me help,” I pleaded with her, grabbing for a sponge.

She sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Thank you honey, but please, go be with Cooper. I need a few minutes alone.” She looked over at me and through her glistening tears, offered a sad, half-smile.

I nodded silent understanding and set the sponge down. When I left the kitchen, Ben and Cooper were nowhere to be seen. I wrapped my arms around my waist, as though I could keep my stomach from churning. The dinner had been mouthwatering, and I’d eaten way too much, a choice I was now regretting as my full stomach mixed with my unsettled emotions.

I wasn’t ready to face Cooper yet, and I also knew trying to sleep would be pointless. My body was exhausted, but my mind had never been more awake, rumbling with thoughts and worries, so I went outside to get some fresh air. The porch light was on, and when I stepped onto the porch, I saw Ben sitting on the front porch swing, staring out over the yard. He didn’t look up when I opened the front door, and when I sat down on the porch swing next to him, he jolted.

“Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Is it okay if I stay here for a little while?”

He nodded and then looked back where he’d been staring before. I took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as the swing rocked us gently back and forth. When it stilled, I looked over at my brother and sighed, “I hate to even have to ask this question, but where’s Luke?”

Ben’s jaw clenched. “I called him as soon as I got the call from Mom, he didn’t answer—” I scoffed. “—and when he finally got around to returning my voicemail, the next day, he claimed that he’s tied up at some work conference and couldn’t get away.”

“Asshat,” I mumbled under my breath.

Ben nodded in silent agreement. “Basically. I kept thinking I’d get a call or text or something saying he’d changed his mind, and he was on the way after all, but nothing. Radio silence. I’ve texted him every time there’s been an update, so I mean, he knows what’s going on at least.”

I squeezed Ben’s hand. “That’s good. More than I would probably have done.”

Ben didn’t say anything, but kept a hold of my hand as he pushed off the deck and sent us rocking again. It was dark outside and the street was a murky black, only faintly illuminated by the single street light at the four way stop down the road. I wondered how many times Ben and I had sat just like this over the years. We’d always been fairly close, especially bonded in the times when Luke was out of control and battling with our parents. I’d always been a little bit of a wild child, but Luke consistently made me look like an angel, by comparison. I might have died my hair every color of the rainbow and had too many holes in my skin according to my parents and their friends, but I’d never done half the shit Luke had over his high school years. It really was a miracle he hadn’t landed in jail. Among the things that
could
have been on his rap sheet—shop lifting, underage drinking, street racing, vandalism, trespassing…and I didn’t want to know what else.

Ben, on the other hand, was the light to Luke’s dark. He was a straight A student, lead baritone in the school choir, didn’t have any ink or piercings, dated nice, pretty girls who kept their legs shut till marriage, and was always willing to help out anyone in town when they needed him. From the outside, it was a wonder we’d managed to stay as closely knit as we did, considering how much of a golden boy he’d been. In the past, it had always been something I’d used for ammo in my relentless teasing of him and his straight laced tendencies, but as we sat there, swinging in silence, I was simply grateful to have him beside me. I couldn’t imagine facing this alone.

“So, tell me about Cooper,” Ben said, breaking through the melancholy silence. He glanced over at me with a crooked smile and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What would you like to know?” I asked, grinning as I tucked my feet up underneath me. The night air was biting through my thin pajama pants, and I buried my toes under Ben’s thigh for extra warmth.

“Anything, really. He showed up this morning with a huge bag of snacks and drinks for us and helped us all day with whatever we needed, but he didn’t say much, other than to let us know that y’all are together.”

I smiled, running through the mental image of the scene Ben painted with his words, but it faded quickly as I remembered how awful I’d been to Cooper as soon as we’d gotten alone. I hadn’t even said thank you…I pinched my eyes closed for a moment, hating myself for my knee jerk reaction.
God, when had I turned into such a bitch
?

“It’s kind of a long story, which sounds ridiculous since we really haven’t been together all that long. Let’s see,
Reader’s Digest
version, he was a client when I was working at an ad agency. He got me a job at his company, Brighton Enterprises, when I was wrongfully terminated from the ad agency. And, I don’t know, one thing kind of led to another, and a few months ago, we decided to pursue our relationship.”

“Well, I know you didn’t ask for it, but you got your big brothers stamp of approval, Al. He seems like a really stand up guy,” Ben offered, smiling over at me.

I held his gaze, seeing so much of my father’s features reflected back at me. “I’m sorry I’ve been so out of the loop since I left.”

Ben looked away, the smile dropping from his lips. He nodded into the darkness, as though gathering his thoughts, before looking back at me. “I get it, Allie. I do. Growing up here was tough for you and I’m sure that it’s a lot easier to sever the ties and not have to think about all of it too much.”

I was thankful he’d left the details unspoken. “It’s easier, but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss you, and mom and dad.” My voice was so soft—my words barely a whisper, almost spoken more to myself than to Ben. He didn’t say anything else, but gave my hand, that was still clasped in his, an extra squeeze.

* * * *

Cooper was lying on the bed, his back propped up against the mountain of pillows my mom had laid out for us. He held a book in his hands, but his eyes were closed and his head was back against the upholstered headboard. Relief flooded over me as I closed the door as softly as possible, and began tiptoeing across the room towards the bathroom, making it halfway there before he jerked awake. “What time is it?” He asked, orientating himself.