Page 8 of Summer Nights (The Kingston Brothers #3)

Chapter Seven

Ivy

By the time I ironed out the details of the offer with Dalton, the sun had started to set. I was surprised to discover that Cooper was in the kitchen.

"You're still here?"

Cooper lifted his gaze from his phone. "Brady had somewhere to be. I can take you home."

Dalton nodded. "Ivy's going to put in the offer, and then we have to wait for the response."

"You anticipate multiple bids?" I asked Ivy.

"This one isn't on the market yet, and the owner is motivated to sell quickly. I think there's a chance she'll take this one without soliciting more offers."

"Even if this doesn't work out, we'll find you something," Cooper said to Dalton, and my heart contracted.

I admired how Dalton's brothers rallied around him, helping him find a house, and offering to do the work so that he could have a fully renovated house before the baby came. It would be amazing to lean on siblings. At least my brother and sister would have that.

I could take care of myself. Isn't that what I'd been telling myself forever? The Kingston brothers were the exception to the rule. I'd never have what they did, and I shouldn't want it.

I'd worked too hard to let it all go for the promise of an extended family or a relationship with Cooper. Those kinds of things never worked out anyway. People broke up and moved away.

"I'll be in touch as soon as I hear anything," I said to them.

"Thank you. I wouldn't even have a shot at this house if it wasn't for you."

I was known for knowing everything that was going on around the island when it came to real estate. I'd networked extensively so that when sellers were even thinking about putting something on the market, I was one of the first to hear about it. "I'm just doing my job."

"Thank you, Ivy," Cooper said, and I nodded, my throat feeling a little tight.

He thought I was doing his family a favor, and I was. But I wasn't part of his family, and no matter how attractive it was, I wouldn't give into the fantasy of something more happening between us.

Happy endings didn't happen for girls like me.

"I'm going to call the listing agent," I said, disappearing into the living room to make the call.

Cooper walked Dalton outside, and I fully expected they'd leave. I was used to being in houses alone.

I told the realtor that the offer was in her inbox and to call me as soon as she knew anything. "The buyer is having a baby and wants to get settled as soon as possible."

"I'll let my clients know."

"He's related to Kingston Construction. They want to update everything." That was my hint that they wouldn't back out of the deal if something came up at the official inspection. I wasn't worried about that anyway because Cooper had already taken a look at the house.

"Good to know. You know my clients are eager to sell. I'll get back to you as soon as possible."

When I turned, Cooper stood in the doorway watching me. I was a little surprised that he was still here. "I appreciate that." I hung up and asked, "What are you still doing here? I thought you left with Dalton."

"I didn't want to leave you alone in the house."

I shook my head. "I'm used to it."

He stepped closer to me. "I wanted to talk to you."

"I thought we already talked." Cooper unsettled me, and I wasn't sure what to make of him yet. I should be pushing him away because he got to me like no one else ever had. But my body had other ideas.

Now that we were alone in a house, my skin was humming with anticipation. Would he want to continue our pattern?

"We're alone in a house." His voice was low.

I raised a brow. "You want to christen every house we're alone in?"

"That's a tempting idea. But this will be Dalton's house."

"You're awfully confident about that. You don't even know what the offer is."

"I know that you will do everything in your power to ensure Dalton gets this house."

There was something about his tone and his words. He believed I'd take care of his brother. "Why are you so confident about that?"

He brushed the back of his knuckles over my cheek, and a tingle ran down my spine. "Because I know you, and you're good at your job. And you'd do anything for your friends and family, but you're not sure if they'd return the favor."

I sucked in a breath, not quite believing he'd been so honest. And I couldn't formulate a response because he was spot on. He understood me, and that was the scariest thing of all.

"I want to fuck you against this wall. But I'm not going to do that here." He raised a brow. "Unless you want to come back to my place. I can show you the kind of house you should be living in."

I gave him an exasperated look. "I know what real estate is available on the island."

"Come home with me, Ivy." His voice was gentle, pleading. "We don't have to do anything. I just want to show you the house."

"I sold you that house. I know what it looks like."

He sighed. "You haven't seen what I've done with the place."

My eyes widened. "Did you renovate the bathrooms and the kitchen?"

He nodded. "I did."

"I would like to see that." I spoke too soon, forgetting my rule about never going to a man's house. It was too intimate.

He placed a finger on my lips. "No take backs."

Then he turned away and headed toward the door. "You coming?"

"It doesn't sound like I have a choice."

"You always have a choice," Cooper countered, and the tender way he said it did something to my heart.

My throat tightened to the point that I couldn't respond.

He held the door open for me, and I moved past him, breathing in his familiar scent. The one I'd come to associate with hot sex. Would we have sex at his place? The idea unnerved me.

I waited for him to back his truck out, and then I followed him, wondering what the hell I was doing. I was breaking all my rules with Cooper. I should have run the first time he made a move.

I shouldn't have had sex with him a second time, and I never should have agreed to follow him to his house.

He turned on his signal at the red light to go to his house.

If I went straight, I'd be in my condo and kicking off my heels in a few minutes. But I wanted to see what he'd done with the house since he bought it.

I saw the work he did on other people's homes. But this renovation would tell me about his style. What he thought was important.

When the light changed from red to green, I turned on my signal, and I wondered if Cooper knew I was thinking of leaving.

He turned into his lane and parked by the garage. I pulled in next to him. His driveway was lined with foliage and palm trees. It gave it a private and serene feel.

His house was on stilts to counteract storm surges from hurricanes.

He waited for me on the porch and unlocked the door. "You thought about going home, didn't you?"

I sighed as I stepped into the house. "I'm not going to lie to you."

"I'd prefer you didn't."

My heart beat hard. "It would be easier if I went home."

"I'm sure it would be. But rewards come from doing the hard things."

I tipped my head to the side. "Is there a sexual innuendo in there somewhere?"

He chuckled. "I guess there is, but I didn't mean it as one."

"I wanted to see your house." It was partly true. A stronger part of me wanted to spend more time with him, and it had nothing to do with his house.

He nodded.

I was grateful he'd let me have the out for now. I had a feeling if we continued whatever this was, he'd want more. He'd want things I couldn't give him. I wasn't a forever kind of girl. I didn't have anything to offer him.

I'd been let down so many times, I couldn't trust that anyone would be there for me. Not even Cooper Kingston.

He'd let me down too. It was only a matter of time.

It didn't matter how much I lowered my expectations; people never failed to disappoint me. He wouldn't be different. And if he was, I was in big trouble. Because I didn't know what to do with someone like that. I'd never encountered anyone who stuck around.

Sure, my mom was physically present. But not in a way that mattered.

There was an office to the right as we walked into the space. A formal living room on the left. The kitchen was open to the family room with large windows facing the backyard with the pool and tall palms.

"What do you think?" Cooper asked, and I knew he was talking about the kitchen. The one room in the house that I judged all homes by.

The lower cabinets were blue with brass hardware. The upper cabinets were white. The appliances were top-of-the-line. "You like to cook?"

"I'm not a chef, but I like to eat."

I ran a hand over the cool white marble countertop on the gourmet island. "You know this is gorgeous."

"You like it?"

"It's what I would have picked. Then there's this view." I sighed as I turned to face the windows. From here, we could see the ocean.

"Why do you live in a condo again?"

I laughed. "I'm not sure. There were reasons. Reasons I can't think of right now."

"You're a successful realtor. You sell multimillion-dollar homes. Don't you want oceanfront?"

"Doesn't everyone want that?" I was desperate to show him that I wasn't weak. That there wasn't some deep reason why I hadn't bought a beach house yet. "I'm too busy buying everyone else their dream home. I don't have time."

Cooper snorted. "That's bullshit, and you know it. You get advance notice of every house on the market. There's no reason why you couldn't have put in an offer on one."

I had wanted this one. I never told Cooper that, and I never would. I figured if I couldn't have it, then he should.

When I didn't answer, he sighed. "Come see the deck."

"You know I've seen all of this, right?"

"Humor me." He held out his hand, and I hesitated for a second before placing mine in his. I never held hands or let a man put his arm around me in public. I kept my distance both physically and emotionally. It was necessary, especially with him. But I was powerless to deny him.

He'd placed comfortable wicker furniture on the deck with blue cushions. But he guided me to the railing where we could hear the waves and smell the salt air.

"This is the dream." This was my dream.

We were quiet for a few seconds, both of us enjoying the view. Gray clouds were moving past, a misting of water hitting the ocean but not us. Not yet. Soon there would be a deluge. A typical summer storm in Florida.

"Why do you feel like you don't deserve this?" Cooper asked softly.

He stood with one hip leaning against the railing, then turned to face me. His hand still held mine, and it was decidedly intimate.

I drew in a breath, not accomplishing anything but breathing him in. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"There has to be a reason why you haven't allowed yourself to have this yet. What is it?"

"The condo's enough for me." I pressed my lips together.

"Is it because you grew up in a trailer? You don't feel like you deserve something better? Are you worried your mom would be upset?"

"Why would she care?" I was fairly positive she didn't know where I lived now. She'd mentioned something about one less mouth to feed when I'd moved out.

"If it's not your mother, then it's you."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't psychoanalyze me."

"I didn't mean to. I just want to understand you. I want to know you."

I shook my head. "Trust me. You don't."

I never thought about why I hadn't bought a home yet. Every time a house came on the market, I knew someone who'd love it. "I liked this one."

Cooper had been looking over the water. His head whipped back. "You liked this house. Mine?"

"And you bought it." I shrugged.

"Why didn't you buy it for yourself?" His voice was careful, measured.

"It was perfect for you," I said simply.

"But what about what you want?"

"My business is about my clients, and this had everything you wanted. What kind of a realtor would I be if I bought your perfect house for me?"

"I can't believe that you didn't say anything. I wouldn't have been upset. I would have been happy for you."

"Maybe I wasn't ready. Maybe you're looking for something that isn't there. There's no big reason. I just haven't felt like doing what I need to do to buy a place." I'd saved more than enough for the down payment. But I was scared to spend it.

"You want to see my bathroom? I haven't done the guest bathroom yet."

"Yeah, I'd love to." Cooper had incredible taste. I was excited to see what he did with the space.

He opened the slider, and I stepped past him. "I remember it had a lot of white tile."

Cooper grimaced. "That bathroom was stuck in the late nineties. The first thing I did was rip it out."

I followed him up the stairs to the second floor and down the hall to the master.

"I knocked down the wall to the guest bedroom and expanded the space."

I stepped into the room which now had a sitting area in front of wall-to-wall windows opening onto a deck. "You added this deck."

"It runs the length of the second floor."

My heart rate picked up. He had a futon chair out there to sit and enjoy the sunset. "It's gorgeous."

"The bathroom's through here."

The room was massive with a tub in front of a large window with a view of palm-tree leaves. It felt like a tropical paradise. The shower had three shower heads, and I couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to share those with Cooper.

"What do you think?" Cooper asked me.

"It's gorgeous." It would feel luxurious to live here.

Cooper grinned. "Would you change anything?"

He respected my design choices and wanted to know if he'd made the right decisions. "Not at all."

"I was worried it would feel like a bachelor pad."

"I don't think so. Unless you put a pool table in the dining room."

Cooper chuckled. "Have you seen that?"

"I've seen one in the foyer."

He raised a brow. "As soon as you walked into the house?"

"It was like they couldn't carry it any farther and dropped it as soon as they got it through the door."

"That's ridiculous." He smiled at me, and I felt something pass between us. A connection.

This space was a mature adult's space, complete with every amenity you'd want. "You did good."

Cooper grinned. "After listening to everyone else's design choices, it was nice to make my own decisions. I just hoped I hadn't screwed up and inadvertently lowered the value of the house with my style."

"Not at all. I can run the numbers for you if you want, but I'm positive you significantly increased the value."

He couldn't have just brought me here to see his renovations. He had to have an ulterior motive. I wasn't sure what I should do. Hooking up with a man in his home was relationship territory. Especially with this man.