“Go on,” he said gently. “Take it.”
She did, holding it as if she couldn’t believe it was really hers. She lifted her head, and pressing one hand to her heart, bowed deeply before him. “Shokran jazeelan,” she said in a choked voice. “Thank you.”
Damn. If he wasn’t careful, he’d be bawlin’, too. Not Piper, though. He’d swear not even a gallon of pepper spray could make that woman cry.
Faiza no sooner followed Berni into the bedroom than Piper threw herself smack into his arms. If it hadn’t been for his quick reflexes, she might have sacked him again. Not that she’d sacked him the first time, but try telling her that.
“You’re the best!” she exclaimed. “The absolute best man in the world!”
She curled her arms around his neck, nestled her head under his chin, and he forgot all about sacks. Despite the disparity in their sizes, her body fit perfectly against his. Her breasts flattened against his chest, her hips rested against the front of his thighs. His hands automatically went to the small of her back. She squeezed him hard, and he went hard in return, as randy as a kid copping his first feel.
She looked up at him, big blue eyes all gooey with gratitude and utterly oblivious to the physical effect she was having on him. It took every morsel of his self-discipline not to curve his hands around that ass, but after last night, he knew if he did he’d get a punch in the gut. Or worse.
How had this unnatural power shift happened? She was hugging him as if he was her best buddy. As if that kiss in the hallway hadn’t happened. As if she’d frickin’ forgotten all about it!
He steeled himself, took her by the arms, and firmly set her a safe distance away, all the while praying she wouldn’t look down and see exactly what she’d done to him.
He wanted her to be at least a little hurt by his rejection, but she only registered happiness. “I knew you could do it! Oh, Coop, you’ve changed her life forever.”
He glowered at her. “Stop jumping around and tell me your plan for getting her out of here.”
His grouch didn’t faze her. “I’ll give her a few days to settle in and make plans with her aunt. Then-”
“Not a good idea.” He increased the distance between them, which put him next to a dusty silk flower arrangement, and told her about the prince and the ring, making sure she understood how many holes there were in her original plan. “The prince has a big ego and a small army to go with it. It might take him years to figure out he’s been tricked, or he might already realize it. Best to get her on the first flight out of the city tomorrow. Better yet, fly her out of Milwaukee. It’s not that much farther than O’Hare, and there’s no sense in taking unnecessary chances.”
“I’m not putting her on a plane.”
“You damned sure are. I’m paying.”
She brushed him off. “There are no direct flights, and she’s been traumatized enough. Thunder Bay is right across the border from the North Shore of Minnesota. I’m driving her.”
“Why would you even think of doing that?” he exclaimed.
She looked at him as if he were the lowest worm on the planet. And there it was again. The feeling that he wasn’t man enough to meet some kind of challenge that existed only in her mind.
“Because it’s the right thing to do,” she said.
He huffed and puffed, feeling more and more like a blustering idiot. Finally, he made himself shut up. “Fine!” he said, exactly like a sulky teenager. “Have it your way.”
But even as he stormed out, he knew what he had to do.
10
Her car wouldn’t start! Of all the mornings for this to happen, why did it have to be today? Faiza sat in the passenger seat, clutching her precious passport and darting nervous glances at the cars traveling past Piper’s old condo building. If it weren’t for Coop and his counterfeit Super Bowl ring, Faiza’s employers would almost certainly ignore her defection. Still, Piper couldn’t fault Coop for what he’d done. She’d imagined his celebrity status would be enough to get the prince to hand Faiza over as a gift, but Coop understood wealthy egotists better than she did. A bad miscalculation on her part.
While Faiza gnawed at her bottom lip, Piper poked around under the hood of her Sonata, but it wasn’t until she inspected the fuse box that she saw the problem. A couple of the fuses were missing. Who the hell had-?
A car stopped next to her, window down. “Get in.”
It was Coop, sitting behind the wheel of a silver Audi sedan and looking like the king of the city. “You did this!” she exclaimed. “Where are my fuses?”
“I’ll give ’em back when I’m ready,” he drawled.
He got out of his car and opened the passenger door of her Sonata. “Good morning, Ms. Jamali. I’m driving you ladies to Canada today.”
“No!” Spending hours in a car with him would take too much work on her part. She didn’t want him to be decent. She wanted him to keep on being the self-absorbed, arrogant, entitled jock she’d invented in her head when she’d first started to follow him.
But Faiza was glad to see him and eagerly transferred cars, leaving Piper with no option other than to follow. He overrode Faiza’s protests about sitting in the Audi’s front passenger seat and relegated Piper to the rear. She snatched up the seat belt. “Not only am I perfectly capable of driving to Minnesota by myself, but I guarantee I’m a better driver than you.”
“How do you figure?” he said as he pulled away.
“I’ve been following you, remember? You’re hard on the brakes, you tailgate when you get frustrated, and in general, you’re too aggressive. I, on the other hand, am trained in evasive driving, ambush avoidance, and offensive contact driving.”
“Impressive, but I don’t get speeding tickets. I happen to know you can’t say the same.”
“Only because there’s not a cop in the state of Illinois who’s going to give a ticket to the great Cooper Graham. But let’s see how the Wisconsin Highway Patrol feels about you when we cross into Packers territory.”
“Even there,” he said smugly. “When you’re a big-name athlete like yours truly, you can get away with just about anything.”
“Life is so unfair,” she muttered. “And where’s your Tesla?”
“In the garage. It has to be recharged about every three hundred miles, so road trips require some planning.”
“Whose car is this?”
“Mine.”
She forced her teeth to unclench. “How many do you have?”
“Only two. Unless you count my truck.”
“Why do you need a truck?”
“Haul stuff. Every man needs a truck.”
She sighed and started picking the fuzz off her sweater.
As they drove toward the Wisconsin border, Faiza told them about her conversation with her aunt the previous night. Coop used all the charm he never bothered to expend on Piper to chat with her. Faiza maintained her modesty, not looking directly at him, but she clearly adored him. Only as he ventured into politics did Faiza grow fiery.
“The word Islam means ‘peace, purity, submission, and obedience,’” she said. “What has terrorism to do with any of those things?”
They talked more about the Middle East, about food and music. Near Madison, they ordered lunch at a Burger King drive-through. Faiza was enchanted with the idea of getting a meal through a window. Coop refused Piper’s money, as well as her offer to take over the driving. “If you get any ketchup on my seat covers, I’m leaving you by the side of the road,” he said.
Faiza took his threat seriously and promised she’d be very careful. “Not you, Faiza,” he said. “Only her.”
“You do not like Piper?” Faiza sounded genuinely distressed.
“It’s complicated,” he said. “You see, Piper’s crazy in love with me. I have to keep her at a distance.”
Piper snorted.
“Oh, no,” Faiza cried. “Piper is not crazy. She is very intelligent.”