Guilty Pleasures (The Ladies of The Burling School Book 3) Read online

  Before she walked up the wooden steps to her house, his fingers tightened on hers, stopping her momentum. “Do you have plans for Friday night?” he asked.

  Willow turned, her eyes bright with hope. “No,” she replied quickly.

  “I’m sponsoring an event for one of my grandmother’s causes. It’s formal,” he warned. “Would you accompany me and my grandmother?”

  Willow’s eyes darted to the house next door. It was dark now, but the porch lights glimmered cheerfully in the darkness. “Don’t you need to escort your grandmother?”

  “Yes. But the event starts at eight o’clock. She’ll leave by nine or ten o’clock. I’ll have to stay until the end of the evening.” He moved closer, resting his hands on her curvy hips. “I’d love to dance with you.”

  Willow’s eyes brightened further. “I love dancing,” she admitted, her voice soft and low. The darkness felt like a soft, enveloping blanket that loud sounds might disturb. Not because she feared waking up the neighbors, but because the night seemed…too precious for anything loud.

  “Good. Then I’ll pick up both of you at six and we’ll have dinner together. I’ve already arranged for someone to take my grandmother home.”

  Her smile brightened and she felt that warm glow intensify. “That’s very sweet of you.”

  “I’m not sweet,” he growled, pulling her hips against his own. She was startled by the evidence of his arousal. And intrigued. “It’s all part of my master plan to get you into my bed.”

  She laughed, but knew that he wasn’t joking. He was completely serious and that fact made her body sizzle. “Okay, you’re a horrible man. But I would be honored to accompany you and your grandmother on Friday evening.”

  “Excellent.” He paused, his eyes moving from her to the doorway. “I think you’d better get inside and lock your door. Once again, I find myself tempted to convince you to let me tuck you in.”

  She laughed, delighted with the whole night. “Thank you for a lovely evening,” she told him as she moved towards the doorway, watching him over her shoulder. “Dinner was delicious. Next time, I’ll take you out to dinner.”

  “Not going to happen. Go inside,” he growled again. Then he took a step forward. “Or I’m going to assume that you want me to tuck you in.”

  She laughed again and sashayed into the house. Cooper watched, his body aching to take her back into his arms. He knew he could convince her. What’s more, he could also ensure that she wouldn’t regret her decision in the morning.

  So, why the hell was he standing here on the sidewalk, watching her walk inside?

  The door opened and she turned to wiggle her fingers at him. He imagined those fingers holding him, her hands cupping and stroking him.

  She went into the house and he heard the snick of the lock.

  With determination, he turned and walked to his car, revving the engine slightly before he put it into reverse and drove away.

  There was still Friday night, he told himself. Friday, the ending would be different. He didn’t think he could let her walk away again. Tonight had taken all of his self-discipline.

  Chapter 10

  Willow paced back and forth across the foyer, her heels clicking against the wood. But she didn’t hear the clicking as she nervously smoothed down her red silk dress.

  “I shouldn’t have chosen the red one,” she muttered. “Red heads should never wear red!”

  More pacing. “And why in the world did I think that this dress looked good?!” She groaned. Walking over to the mirror, she looked at her reflection, cringing at her image. “This isn’t right!”

  Willow glanced at the clock. Just as she realized it was exactly six o’clock the doorbell chimed. It was an awkward sound and Willow mentally made a note to fix the doorbell. But since there were so many issues with this house, the doorbell was pretty low on the list.

  Swinging around, she stared at the closed door, her breath caught in her lungs as she wondered what to do. Panic reared its ugly head and laughed at her as she contemplated running back upstairs to change into something more demure.

  But before she could do that, Cooper looked through the side windows of the front door.

  He didn’t say anything, but his eyes skimmed over her dress…slowly moving from her hair piled high on top of her head, over her neck, pausing at her breasts, which were held firmly in place by a special bra because of the halter top of the dress, then moving down over her hips and legs to her toes peeking out from beneath the dress.

  Goodness, if he could make her body heat up this fast with just a look, what would happen when he actually touched her?

  A moment later, she knew the answer. Fire, she thought. Willow had been on enough dates to know that the fire Cooper generated within her was special. She’d never experienced anything like it and she couldn’t, wouldn’t, back away. She might regret it later, when she was alone and her heart broken, but she’d deal with that when it happened.

  As she walked over to the door to pull it open, she paused with her hand on the doorknob. Taking a deep breath, Willow steadied herself, trying to calm her pounding heart. “My heart isn’t going to be broken, because I don’t believe in love,” she reminded herself.

  With that warning echoing through her thoughts, Willow nodded firmly, feeing more balanced. When she opened her eyes again, she pulled the door open and…!

  Goodness, he looked…marvelous! Unaware of doing so, Willow allowed her eyes to travel over his immaculate tuxedo, the snowy, white shirt and the long legs encased in the tuxedo slacks with the crisp line down each front. He was…James Bond hot! Smoking hot! Not even Daniel Craig could compete. Cooper Adams was…breath taking!

  “Hello dear!” Bonnie called out, breaking the tension. Willow realized that she’d been staring at Cooper this whole time while he and his grandmother stood out on her front porch. She’d rudely ignored Bonnie and, realizing this, gasped in horror.

  “I’m sorry!” she yelped and moved so they could enter. “I was just…!”

  Bonnie laughed softly as she patted Willow with her wrinkled hand. “Honey, I’m not so old that I don’t know what you were ‘just’ doing. And I fully approve.” And she stepped back to allow Cooper to bend down, kissing her cheek lightly.

  “You look lovely,” he whispered into her ear.

  Willow blushed, glancing over at Bonnie who stood back, beaming.

  “Yes…um…well, thank you.”

  She stepped towards the staircase where she’d draped a red, wool pashmina over the bannister, then twirled to look for her red clutch purse. She found it…in Cooper’s hands. For a long moment, Willow stared at the purse, shocked at the sight of the tiny, feminine purse in his strong, tanned fingers.

  “Thank you,” she said, and cleared her throat because there was a catch to her voice that…well, it was a bit too revealing.

  “You’re welcome,” he replied, moving closer as he put a hand to the small of her back. “I love the dress.”

  Willow smiled up at him, and glanced over at Bonnie.

  “Oh, don’t worry about me,” Bonnie urged, correctly reading Willow’s expression. “You know I think it’s wonderful that there’s such intense chemistry between you two.”

  Willow glanced up at Cooper. He didn’t seem bothered by the fact that his grandmother was not only aware, but also approved of what was going on between them. In fact, he winked at her, taking the red wrap from her hands and draping it over her shoulders. “You probably don’t need this yet.”

  Willow pulled the edges close, feeling a bit exposed. “Thank you,” she told him. “I’ll wear it anyway.”

  “Are you ready? We have reservations at Kilgaro’s in twenty minutes.”

  “I’m ready,” Bonnie announced, then walked out of the house, leading the way down the stairs.

  Cooper took Willow’s hand and led her through the door, pausing only long enough for Willow to lock the door and drop her keys into the clutch. Then the three of them moved down the sta
irs towards the waiting limousine.

  The chauffer was waiting, holding the back door open. But it was Cooper who stepped forward, taking his grandmother’s hand and assisting her into the limousine. He turned to Willow and she swallowed, worried about taking his hand. But she wasn’t going to shy away. She wanted this. This was special. She’d dated enough men in the past to know that this kind of chemistry didn’t come along very often.

  It would burn itself out. Eventually. Then she would move on. It was hot and intense, so it couldn’t last. But goodness, she was going to enjoy it while it was here!

  Cooper must have seen the answering heat in her eyes because his fingers tightened on hers as he pulled her to a stop before stepping into the limousine. He didn’t say a word, but the look they shared made her body sizzle!

  It was Willow who broke the connection. A moment before she moved, she nodded, her eyes hopefully shining up her answer to his unspoken question.

  She didn’t pause to see if he’d understood, but instead, stepped into the limousine. For a moment she tried to shift so that her bottom wasn’t directly in his line of sight. But then she realized that there was no way she could avoid it, so she simply stepped in and sat down as quickly as possible. Surely by now, he’d noticed how round and…non-slender her bottom was. She wasn’t fat, but Willow had always compared her backside to Lana’s and Tamara’s. Lana was curvy, but in a completely different way than Willow. And Tamara didn’t seem to have an ounce of body fat on her slim body. Tamara ran for miles every morning, sometimes twice a day if she had the time and if her day’s stress levels were intense enough.

  But Willow wasn’t so much into exercise. Willow tended to just…keep busy, always moving. She probably should start an exercise routine. But it just wasn’t in her to do that. She’d even tried to do the ten-thousand-step-walking-thing. Unfortunately, she was too interested in craft projects. She’d go for a walk only to think up a new idea and hurry back to her studio to try it out.

  Hence, her lack of a small, cute derriere.

  Thankfully, her breasts were large enough so that part of her could, hopefully, compensate or distract from her bottom issues.

  When she looked over at Cooper, wondering if he’d noticed, she found him in deep conversation with his grandmother, laughing about something Bonnie had said. Because Willow had been too distracted by admonitions about her body parts, she’d missed the conversation.

  Her eyes locked with Cooper’s for a long moment and she knew that he’d recognized her distraction.

  Dinner was a wonderful affair at an elegant restaurant. As soon as the driver had pulled up outside the restaurant, Willow groaned, seeing the long line of patrons. But Cooper had offered an elbow to both Willow and Bonnie, then walked right past the lines. The maître d had recognized Cooper immediately and gushed as he’d led the trio to one of the best tables in the house.

  The meal was fabulous! The food was delicious, but it was the conversation that made the meal special. Willow watched with amusement as Bonnie and Cooper argued about everything. There were times that they didn’t even need to finish a sentence before the other knew what was being said and interjected their own opinion. It was almost as if the pair had their own special language.

  But instead of feeling left out, Willow felt as if she’d been included in a secret club. They laughed at something, then one would explain the joke, which always included some interaction between the two of them. Apparently, Cooper had been quite the prankster in school. “He was bored,” Bonnie explained. “And bored, brilliant students always cause trouble.”

  By the time they entered the ballroom, the event coordinator had everything well in hand. There were already about a hundred people milling about the ballroom as well as outside in the lobby. Waiters moved about, serving appetizers as the band played soft music, adding a background mood to the whole atmosphere.

  But what struck Willow were the beautiful trees. They were set up in huge pots, festooned with twinkle lights. The trees were everywhere! It was as if the guests had walked into a magical forest.

  Willow beamed as she looked out at the ballroom. “I never thought to ask what the fundraiser event was for.” She turned to Bonnie, who was also smiling her approval. “Trees? Or is your issue more broad and encompasses the whole environment?”

  Bonnie clapped her hands in delight. “Oh, Cooper! This is magnificent.” She turned to Willow. “I support many charities that work to clean up the environment, but this one in particular is to highlight planting trees. We’ve destroyed so many trees over the years while building up the cities and neighborhoods. This charity asks only that everyone plant a tree in their yard. We even give the trees away for free and ensure that the saplings are of native species.” She sighed and looked around with a smile on her weathered features. “This is wonderful!” she said, leaning her head against Cooper’s upper arm in a warm, gentle embrace that conveyed her approval and love.

  “You’re a wonderful person, Grandmother,” Cooper said, pulling her close and kissing her cheek. “I’ll go get you two some champagne,” he announced.

  “He’s such a good grandson,” Bonnie announced, smiling fondly in the direction of her departing grandson.

  Willow took the woman’s hand and led her closer to the band. “You must have done something right in raising him.”

  “Oh pish!” she laughed, her hand waving away the compliment. “That boy did exactly as he pleased. He was independent from the moment he moved in with me. The only thing I really did was to ensure there was food on the table, and lots of it.” She shook her head at the memories. “He could eat, that boy!” she laughed. “But seriously, Cooper knew what he wanted to do and was generally impatient with the world because no one could keep up with him. Even his math teachers were left in the dust as he raced through the math offered at his high school. By the time he’d reached his sophomore year, Cooper was taking college level math classes. He was just that good,” she explained, chuckling with pride as Cooper reappeared with two glasses of champagne in his hands.

  Willow looked up at him with admiration and…she didn’t realize it, but there was a heavy doses of lust.

  “What?” he asked when he handed a glass to each of them.

  “Nothing,” she replied, smiling up at him.

  “There was something.”

  Willow grinned. “Your grandmother was just telling me what a terror you were in high school.”

  He grumbled slightly and signaled to a waiter. “It wasn’t me that was the terror. It was my grandmother forcing me to study.”

  Willow looked over at Bonnie who rolled her eyes and, behind his back as he asked the waiter to bring him a bourbon, she shook her head, denying his claim. “All him,” she mouthed.

  “Come along ladies, I’ll introduce you around.”

  For the next two hours, Willow and Bonnie walked around the room on his arm. Cooper was the ultimate gentleman and introduced them to the people who swarmed him, eager for “just a moment”. By that point, about five hundred people had filled the ballroom. Every one of them vowing support for the cause.

  By ten o’clock, an hour after Cooper had predicted, Bonnie rested a hand on Cooper’s arm. “I’m ready to head home, dear. I’m going to catch a taxi to get home.”

  Immediately, Cooper shook his head. “I have a car waiting for you. The driver will take you home and ensure that you get into the house safely.”

  Bonnie smiled gently up at him. “Thank you for tonight, dear. I appreciate all you’ve done for this cause.” With that, she turned and headed towards the big doors that led out into the night.

  “Do you mind if I…?”

  “Go!” Willow urged, giving him a playful shove. “I’ll be fine.”

  He lifted her hand to his lips. “Thank you, I’ll be right back. I just want to make sure that she gets to the car okay.”

  Willow nodded, but he’d already hurried off to see to his grandmother. She watched, amazed that such a large, powerf
ul man took the time to make sure that his eighty year old grandmother was safe. Her father never would have done that, she thought.

  Willow pulled her eyes away from Cooper’s broad shoulders and sighed. “Stop comparing,” she muttered.

  “Now who would ye be comparing him te?” a deep voice with a heavy Scottish accent asked.

  Willow swung around to find a handsome man leaning against the wall. His Scottish brogue was thick, but enchanting. Coming from the United States, Willow admitted that she found European accents fascinating. Her boring, Texas inflection just couldn’t compare.

  “Oh, I was just…I was comparing…” she shook her head, not wanting to violate Cooper’s confidence to a stranger. Besides, she’d learned over the years that anyone could be a reporter. They tended to blend in. Not that they should stand out, necessarily. But she valued her privacy too intensely to risk saying something indiscreet to a stranger, for fear that her words would end up in the tabloids. Most of the time, those words were twisted into weapons against her father. Willow didn’t have any need to promote Jimmy Mills in any way, but nor did she want to hurt him.

  “I was comparing various issues over the years,” she said honestly but vaguely.

  “Dave MacTavish,” the man said, extending his hand to her even as he lifted his glass to his lips and drained the last of the excellent champagne.

  “Looks like you don’t have a drink,” Dave observed. “We can’t have that, can we?” He twisted his head, looking for a waiter. “I’ll have to remedy that situation.”

  Willow lifted her hand as well, to stop him from gaining the attention of one of the circulating waiters. “I’m fine,” she told the man. “I’ve had enough to drink tonight.”

  “Ah! American, eh?” he asked, his eyes twinkling merrily. “I don’t know whether to stereotype you yanks as crazy conservatives or insane liberals. Or perhaps the heavy-drinking, partying, Kardashian-watching gossip mongers be a better assumption?”