Page 18

Chapter 18

Your daughter wants to marry me

Cooper

Callie was quiet during dinner, but she seemed comfortable enough. We’d gone out on the balcony to eat, since the weather was cooperating. Hailey was still jealous but seemed happy to mostly ignore Callie. Hearing more about Seb and Faith’s week with Braydon and Jayna reassured me that Mitchell was handling the overtime goal as well as could be expected. What we all needed after that was to get on the ice and put it behind us, but training camp didn’t start till September.

“How did that watch thing go?” Hunts asked as he helped himself to more rice. Faith had made a stir-fry, something I could eat while still training. Faith was also working out in preparation for the new hockey season in the fall.

I shrugged. “Fine. Pretty well as expected.”

Callie looked at me, questioning. I hadn’t mentioned the shoot to her, had I?

“What was this one?” Faith asked, nudging Hailey’s plate back in front of her. “You have to eat it all, Hailey.”

“New watch line they’ve called Playmaker.”

Faith laughed. “How can you show off a watch when you’re in hockey gear?”

“That doesn’t appear to be the kind of playmaking they were going for.”

She rolled her eyes. “So who did they pair you up with for this one?”

“Do you know a model called Monique?”

Her brows creased. Then she pulled out her phone. “She must be new.”

“I think so. They made her stretch out on a piano. A baby grand.”

Faith was tapping on her phone. “And what were you doing?”

“Holding a glass of whiskey while staring out the window, thinking important playmaking thoughts.”

She snorted. “Is this her?”

She held the phone out, with an array of photos of Monique. Callie narrowed her eyes at the phone before dropping her attention back to her plate. I wished Faith hadn’t done that.

“That’s her.”

“Was she nice?”

“Seemed very nice.”

“Did you go out with her?”

I shook my head, still a little confused by how I’d behaved that day.

“Oh, is she with someone?” It would drive Faith nuts if I pointed out to her that she was assuming Monique would have said yes.

“I hope not. Since she wanted to have dinner.”

“Just dinner, I’m sure.”

I smirked. “What can I say? Even your daughter wants to marry me.”

“But you didn’t?—”

Hunter interrupted his wife. “He said he didn’t go out with her. We don’t have to pry.”

Faith’s eyes widened, looking at her husband. Hunter looked at Callie and then back. I did not need Hunter and Faith thinking there was something going on between Callie and me. I glanced over at her, concerned that they’d make her uncomfortable. Or else they’d watch us, twist everything I did to fit that narrative, ask questions I had no answer to.

Fortunately, Hailey decided she’d been overlooked long enough and called my name. I helped her finish her veggies and the awkward moment passed.

* * *

I helped Faith clean up while Hunter took Hailey for a bath, and Callie, at our insistence, stayed out enjoying the weather. Faith had been studying me and Callie for the rest of the dinner, so I expected an inquisition.

“So this is the woman you’re teaching to play golf.”

“Again, yes.”

“And she’s a lawyer.”

“She’s still a lawyer.” I shook out a bowl before dropping it in the drying rack.

“And you hate lawyers.”

“I hate most of them. I will admit to some lawyers being acceptable people, despite their chosen occupation.”

“I assume she’s one of these exceptions.”

I rinsed off some cutlery. “Obviously.” Sometimes I forgot that was Callie’s job.

“But why are you doing this?” She shook her head. “If there’s nothing going on between you, why go to the effort?”

I pulled the plug on the sink and snatched the tea towel from her to wipe my hands. It wasn’t that there wasn’t something between us, just that we weren’t doing anything about it. Or had I been wrong, thinking I saw appreciation in her glances sometimes, when she didn’t have her bristles up?

“I didn’t say I wasn’t attracted to her, I said I wasn’t dating her. We have an arrangement. I teach her to get through her company golf tournament successfully, and she goes to my sister’s wedding with me.”

“That’s bullshit. You could get any number of women to go to the wedding with you. Or go on your own and seduce the bridal party.”

I leaned my hip on the counter. “I have no interest in seducing anyone at my sister’s wedding.” Not anyone who my family would have invited. “And it might not be as easy to find someone as you think. For a lot of reasons I don’t want to go alone, and I’m careful about who I take with me. Partly because asking someone to a wedding can give rise to certain expectations.” I glanced toward the balcony, where the one woman who wouldn’t was sitting.

Faith snorted. “And you’re sure Callie won’t get any expectations.”

“Not even if you put them on a platter with her name on them.”

* * *

It hadn’t been a perfect evening. Hailey was still jealous of Callie. I never brought dates over to Hunter’s place, so her jealousy was amusing. I wasn’t sure how much longer Kook would be able to maintain his popularity with the kid, but I’d enjoy it while I could.

Callie had been quiet, but I thought she’d mostly been comfortable. She appeared sincere when she thanked Faith and Seb for inviting her over. Callie had fit into our group surprisingly well. I hadn’t felt like the odd person out while my two best friends were all couple-y.

We were halfway to her place when Callie broke the silence.

“Your friends think you didn’t hook up with that model because of me.”

I shot her a glance. I’d picked up on that but hadn’t realized Callie had as well. “Does that bother you?”

She shrugged. “That’s not the reason, is it?”

“You made it perfectly clear when I first met you that sex was not on the table. I listened. You don’t feel like I’m pushing you for that, do you?”

From the corner of my eye, I saw her turn her head to look at me. “No, not at all. But…” She didn’t complete the sentence.

“I understand that you don’t want to muddy the waters with the arrangement we have. And we have become friends, I think. But you are an attractive woman, and I haven’t missed that.”

“Really?” She sounded shocked.

I wished there was more light so I could see her expression better. “Why would I lie?”

She was silent for a moment. “Thank you. Um, you’re also attractive.”

I held in a smile. I was confident in how I looked, and spent a good portion of my time keeping my body in shape. But it was nice to hear she appreciated the effort. “By the way, when do you have time to go shopping?”

“Shopping?”

“The dress for the wedding. There are a couple of other events we can’t avoid. Family dinner when we arrive, the rehearsal dinner, and the wedding itself.”

“Fuck. Golf clothing won’t cut it, will it? My suits for work won’t either.”

“Men will be in suits. Women will not.”

She let out a long sigh, like she was expecting suicide drills rather than a shopping trip. “Okay, let’s check our schedules.”

Callie might be dreading this, but it would be one of the highlights of my summer. She was going to enjoy this, and I would prove to her how attractive and sexy she was.

* * *

Callie

I had a lot of reasons to be grateful to Cooper. I was getting pretty good at golf after our trips to Briarwood and the driving range. I wasn’t getting holes in one or even making par, but the balls were going in the right direction, I knew what I was doing, and I could eat dinner in the clubhouse without having to mentally go through the list of things to do and not do. There had been a couple of surprises: I hadn’t expected that I would enjoy myself. It was a beautiful place. I’d been busy enough that taking time to stop and smell the roses—or in this case, the grass—wasn’t something on my to-do list. The people…well, mostly they were the kind I felt uncomfortable around. People who’d grown up with things and knowing how to act in any situation. That was not me.

And Cooper and I had become more than just acquaintances who could attend a family event together. We’d become actual friends. I had few enough of those that I valued him.

But after that dinner with Faith and Seb Hunter, and the talk in the car on our way home after, I was too aware of Cooper as a man. For just a moment, the thought that he’d turned down that model because of me had thrilled me. Despite what I’d said the night I met him—that I wouldn’t have sex with him—I hadn’t thought he was interested. Not with the opportunities he had. But what he’d said in the car… He didn’t appear to have any red hair or big boob fetish, and other than that, what did I really have to offer other than my brain?

Now, I had to focus to keep from noticing how broad his shoulders were, and the grace of his movements. Men and women watched and admired him. And I was no fucking better. It was like I’d eaten Eve’s apple, and suddenly Cooper was a sexy man who thought I was attractive.

Today we were going dress shopping, and if anything could calm down my libido, that would do it. Darcy warned me not to fuss about the cost. I promised only to be reasonable. I wouldn’t put it past Cooper to come up with something more expensive than the private golf lessons I’d wanted to win at the charity thing. If I was spending a fortune on a dress, I needed it to be something I could get value from in future as well.

I went down to meet him full of good intentions. But fuck, he was driving the Ferrari. Did he do Ferrari ads? They could just take photos of him sitting there, white shirt showing off his blue eyes and bright smile. I almost tripped, missing the step staring at him.

This was why he got paid money to be photographed. I couldn’t let myself be sidetracked by blond hair and dimples. I drew in a breath and got myself under control. At least the sports car meant we weren’t going to have too much crap to put in it later.

I’d debated for too long about what to wear, hoping to catch that look of approval when he saw me. When I put on the country club clothing, I felt good, but outside of those outfits I’d become self-conscious, even at work. I’d done some online shopping, found tops and things that were in the same colors as that country club stuff, so I thought I was getting better? I’d received two compliments on my clothes at work, which was definitely a first.

Ugh. Why couldn’t I just study a textbook for this?

Anyway, I went with one of the sports dresses just to make life simple. But I was on edge. There was no golfing to distract us, and I felt unsettled.

Cooper smiled as I opened the door and slid down into the seat, watching my hemline carefully. “Good morning, Callie. You look lovely.”

I almost smiled. Gah! He was just pleased that he’d managed to fix how I dressed. “I finally met your high standards?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Maybe I’ve been too critical.”

“Maybe?”

He frowned, studying me and not moving the car. “Think of it this way—if new tax legislation was coming out that would affect how someone set up their corporation, wouldn’t you say something about it if that topic came up in conversation?”

“No.”

“No?” His eyebrows were getting a workout.

“If I give advice and they mess it up and make it worse, they’ll blame me. Also, if I give it out for free, people will ask for more.”

He laughed. “Well, I don’t get paid to dress people, but I have a good eye. And it’s a simple thing that can help.”

Remember Callie, it’s not personal . Just his weird pet project to dress people up. “It’s also an expensive thing.”

He signaled and slid out into traffic. “If it’s too much, I’m happy to pay.”

No. We had to keep our boundaries. “I can handle it. It’s an investment, right?”

He nodded in approval. “It is. Especially at your firm. Why did you want to work for them? I would have expected you to be more comfortable in a less…maybe stuffy office?”

“They’re the best.”

“And that’s important?”

He didn’t understand, because he’d grown up with money. “If I’m partner, I’m invested in the firm, so I want to be sure it’s secure. That it’s stable and has a good reputation and will be around for a long time.”

“And being partner is important to you?”

“If you’re partner, they have a hard time getting rid of you.” I stopped, because that was a little more honest than I had intended to be.

“Like having a no-movement clause in a hockey contract.”

I appreciated that Cooper didn’t make a big deal out of what I’d revealed. “What’s that?” I was curious. This was a legal issue after all.

“A no-movement clause covers being traded to another team, and also being sent down to the farm team. It means they keep you on their NHL roster.”

“Are they common?”

He shook his head. “An organization has to have a lot of confidence in the player to offer that.”

I considered. “You have one?”

He smirked. “I do.”

“Because you want to stay in Toronto?”

He shrugged. “I wouldn’t necessarily be averse to moving, in the right circumstances. But this gives me control. And the team offered it, as an enticement.”

Thinking of Seb and Faith and Hailey, it was more of an enticement than he admitted. “How many years do you have left on your contract?”

“Three years. At that point, I might rein in my agent to ask less on the next contract, so that I could finish my career here. Not many players spend their whole career with one team, so maybe…”

That wasn’t information Cooper would trust to just anyone. I could only imagine the kind of contract negotiations his agent and the team would go through. “I won’t share that with anyone.”

“I didn’t think you would.”

But he’d given me something, after I’d revealed something, and I wanted to hug that thought tightly to my chest. That kind of honesty was more dangerous than his handsome face or fit body. It enticed reciprocal confessions and I did my best to keep my life private. I’d already told him I grew up in foster care. Hearing my story made people pity me, look at me differently. I didn’t want that, especially from him.

I was relieved when we pulled into a lane off Bloor Street and stopped behind a shop, in a stall marked Reserved . I gave him the side-eye. “Is this one of your sponsors?”

“Nope.”

He managed to get out of the car and come around to my side before I’d climbed out of the passenger seat. The damned car was too low. He held my hand as he helped me up. The back door of the shop opened, and another beautiful, put-together woman stood in the doorway. Déjà vu.

“Mr. Cooper?”

“Just Cooper, please.” He used his charming smile and I tried not to frown. He could smile at whoever he wanted to.

“This way, please. And you must be Ms. Smith?”

I sighed. Bad enough that I was expecting to spend a lot of money to get criticized and feel awkward and dense. I didn’t need to be the third wheel in a flirtation while I suffered through clothes shopping. But Cooper looked so pleased to have this chance to use me as his Barbie doll.

I forced a smile and said, “Yep. That’s me.”