“Yes,” she murmured, and the second he felt her warm heat, he let go.

“Julia, baby,” he murmured into her mouth. He put his hands on either side of her head and inched up to see her face. She stared at him for an endless moment, then her fingers tangled through his hair. She gave a throaty purr of contentment, and his heart filled with so much love. His brain raced. He could take her every night like this, yet never get enough of her.

He rolled off her, discarded the condom, and then covered her with a warm blanket. She sank into him, and they remained quiet for a long time, both lost in their thoughts. When he could finally breathe again, he rolled on his side. His heart turned inside out to see her so sated, so comfortable with him that she’d already started to drift off to sleep.

“Julia.”

He touched her face, pulling her awake. Her eyes met his, and the smile she gave him tugged at the center of his chest. He needed to tell her everything, and pray to God that she didn’t think he’d been keeping himself emotionally closed off because all he ever wanted was sex from her.

“Yeah?” she asked.

“We need to talk.”

Chapter Eight

Julia’s stomach turned upside down. She’d thought something significant had happened between them today. Thought Coop had opened up to her, showing her another side of himself, because he might want more. But now he needed to talk, and in her book, that meant one thing. It was over. God, how could she have been such a fool to think, even for the briefest of moments, that things could have ended differently? Then again, even if he had wanted more, she’d been playing a part, which meant he didn’t know the real her. If he’d fallen for anyone—again—it was her sister.

She braced herself. “What is it?”

He opened his mouth, but his cell phone rang. He leaped from the bed and grabbed it. What—or who—was so important that it couldn’t wait a minute?

Julia listened to the one-sided conversation, barely able to comprehend what was going on. When he finished talking, he shut down his phone and said, “I have to go.”

Before she could even ask what was going on, he disappeared into the bathroom. When he came out, he dressed quickly.

He turned to her, worry backlighting his eyes as he said, “We’ll talk later.”

She nodded, and he practically ran out the door. Stunned by his sudden departure, Julia climbed from the bed and numbly made her way to the shower. He was about to break it off with her. Should she just leave, get a lift into town until the next plane came?

After washing, she pulled on a dress and walked to her window to pull open the sheer curtain. But when she did, she spotted Coop and Tessa talking on the wraparound deck of the small cottage at the foot of the mountain. At least now she knew who was so important. Julia had no idea what they were saying, but she could tell by the tension in their posture that they were discussing something very important, something very personal.

Unease moved through her as the sting of jealousy hit her hard. Her heart began racing, aching painfully, but she quickly tried to shrug it off and reminded herself that she had no claims on Coop. They weren’t dating, and he was likely only seconds from reminding her this was a week of sex and nothing else.

Feeling slightly light-headed, she backed away from the window. No matter how much her brain tried to convince her that Coop didn’t matter, her heart knew he did. Cripes, she never should have gotten on that plane, or engaged in a wild week of sun and sex.

She’d pretended to be the kind of woman he wanted to get him to like her, but deep down she most definitely wasn’t the kind of girl who could love casually.

Needing to get far away from the place, she grabbed her purse and hurried downstairs, looking for a ranch hand who could drive her to town, or possibly get her a cab. But when she stepped onto the wooden deck, she ran into a big muscular wall—Coop.

He gripped her shoulders to still her. “Julia—” he began, then looked down at the way she was clutching her purse. Worried, he did a careful assessment of her face. Her stomach lurched. How would she ever go on without him? “Are you going somewhere?” he asked.

“I’m leaving. I’m going to stay in town until the plane comes.”

Visibly taken aback, his hands tightened on her shoulders, and his body stiffened. “What the hell?”

“It’s okay, Coop.”

“Like fuck it’s okay,” he bit out, his face tightening warily. “What, you were just going to leave, without telling me?”

“I have to go.” She tried to push away, but he wouldn’t let her go. “Coop—”

“You’re not making sense,” he cut in, a strain in his voice she’d never heard before. “After today…I thought…”

“You don’t owe me any explanation.” In the distance she caught a glimpse of Tessa. “What you do in your private life is none of my business. I knew what I was getting myself into when I decided to stay here.” Okay, she was rambling, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. What the hell happened to the calm, collected lawyer who always thought with her head and not her heart?

Coop got quiet for a moment, and then a muscle in his jaw rippled. “Did you, Julia? Did you really know what you were getting yourself into?”

“What? Yes, of course.”

Coop stared at her longer than was comfortable, then grabbed her hand and tugged. “Come with me.”

Her stomach tightened as he marched her toward the cottage, and she had to hurry her steps to keep up. “Coop, I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“There is someone I want you to meet.” The tension in his tone was replaced by sadness. A sadness so deep she felt it in her core. “Someone very important to me,” he added with a whisper.

The protest went out of her as he walked her across the field and eased open the door to the cottage. Julia’s nervous glance landed on Tessa, who exchanged a knowing look with Coop before disappearing into the other room. After the pretty brunette exited, the sight of the elderly lady sitting at one end of a floral sofa came into view.

“Coop,” Julia asked quietly. “What’s going on?”

Just then the woman turned her head, and Coop started for her.

“Mom, it’s okay. It’s me, Coop.” He hurried out and ducked in time to dodge the remote control aimed his way. He picked the remote up and set it on the sofa.

Her heart ached as she watched Coop drop to his knees in front of his mother. He took her hand in his and was speaking quietly to her, soothing words for her ears only. Understanding dawned quickly. This was the curveball life had thrown him. Her throat tightened, and her legs weakened beneath her. A few moments later, the woman blinked and turned to face Julia.

“This is Julia,” Coop said, standing back up. Warmth moved into his eyes when they met hers, and she nearly forgot how to breathe, the love she felt for him twisting inside her. “Julia, this is my moth—”

“Are you in Chase’s class?”

Julia looked at his mother, then back at Coop in search of answers. When he nodded, she took a tentative step closer.

“Yes, I am.”

His mother frowned. “Chase’s friends don’t come around much anymore, and he’s never brought a girl home before.”

“That’s because this one is special, Mom.”

Her smile returned, and with hands gnarled from arthritis, she waved Julia over. “Come let me have a look at you.”

Julia took a few measured steps toward the sofa, and as she neared, Coop held his hand out to her. She took the offered hand, and when she slid her palm into his, he gave a reassuring squeeze.

“Julia, I’d like you to meet Lois, my mother.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lois.”

“She’s a very pretty one, Chase. I can see why you like her.”