Chapter Fifteen
Cooper pulled his Mercedes into the driveway. Christmas lights cast a soft glow in the front yard. It was the one thing I loved about the house. Rainbow kept the lights up all year round because Meadow loved Christmas. With her still in Tibet, Rainbow felt close to her whenever she saw the lights.
“It’s exactly the same,” Cooper muttered.
My eyes flicked to him. He hadn’t said a word since he’d led me out of the club. I was a jumble of emotions. I was torn between wanting to tell him off and at the same time wanting to beg him to look at me. He kept his eyes on the road, hands gripped to the steering wheel, his face a mask. It wasn’t until we crossed the bridge that his face twisted as if in pain.
“You’ve been here before?”
“I lived in town when I was younger, before moving to Boston.”
Rainbow failed to mention that to me. I wondered if Rainbow knew Cooper more than she was letting on. I’d have to ask her when exactly she moved into town.
“Oh, you have family here?”
“My family—” He paused, swallowing thickly. His face softened and, in that moment, he looked like a boy, so sad and innocent. I wanted to take him in my arms and soothe the grief that filled his face. “Let’s get you inside.”
In a blink, the boy was gone, and Professor Butthead was back. The man was giving me whiplash.
Dashing out of car, he went to my side and opened the door. “Come on.”
“I can walk perfectly fine,” I growled, ignoring his extended hand. To prove him wrong, I took a couple of steps on the graveled driveway, my heels wobbling, and immediately proceeded to fall face first.
“This is so not my night.” I stayed on the ground. If I didn’t move, maybe Cooper would just go away and spare me the, “I told you so.”
“Are you okay?” He squatted beside me.
“Yes,” I mumbled into the dirt.
“Then why aren’t you moving.”
“It’s safer if I just lie here.”
“You can’t lie there all night.”
“Sure I can. You can go home. Don’t worry about me. I’ll just lie here and pretend the world doesn’t exist. I can lie here all day and maybe even for the rest of the semester. Maybe Penny will take pity on me and bring me some food.”
“Who’s Penny?”
“Rainbow’s pet chicken.”
Surprised by his laughter, I looked up. The man was actually smiling and laughing. His face was breathtaking. I felt that sudden pull to him again. “That sentence didn’t make any sense at all. Are you sure you live here?”
“Yeah.” I flipped over, sitting up. “Rainbow is my aunt. She owns the house with Meadow.” I let out a breath. I needed to get inside. He was being way too nice, and when he was nice, it made him even sexier. I was already confused, and he was making it worse. If I didn’t leave soon, I was going to fall for my chemistry professor and hard.
“Here let me help you.”
“No, I can—”
He lifted me as if I were as light as a feather, and then I was suddenly on my feet, looking up at him. Shadows danced across his face. The mask was gone, and gentle blue eyes gazed down at me, so open and raw. It was as if could see the real him underneath the brutal exterior, the real Cooper who volunteered to teach math to high school kids and held babies against his chest.
His gaze drifted to my lips. My heart pulsed frantically as he lifted his hand, brushing my cheek with heart-aching tenderness. His scent, his touch, those eyes . . . was seeing the real Cooper, and I was falling. Falling into love, falling into him, falling into his gravity.
“Nicole,” he whispered.
I titled my head, waiting for him, wanting his kiss so badly I could taste him.
He ducked his head, inching toward me. He ran his thumb across my bottom lip, tugging it. I held a waiting breath.
“No. It’s not you.” His eyes hardened as he pulled away. “You can stop the act, Ms. Ashford.”
No way! Are you freakin’ kidding me? He’d done it again!
“You think I’m making this up? This . . . this . . . whatever is going on between us.”
“Let’s get one thing straight, Ms. Ashford. There is nothing going on between us, and there never will be. I don’t date students.”
I snorted. “Is that right? I happen to know for a fact that you do.”
“Don’t pay attention to gossip.”
“What gossip? I have eyes.” And it was hard for anyone to miss Gianna or Flapper Girl clinging to him. Though I wasn’t sure about Flapper Girl being his student.
“Not everything thing you see is what you think it is.”
“Yeah so what about your date at Jitters? She seemed really anxious to make sure she had you all to yourself.”
“What are you . . .? Oh, my date . . .” his lips quivered.
“It’s not funny,” I snapped. “The woman attacked me!”
“She tends to do that when she thinks someone is after my money. She’s very protective that way.”
“I don’t give a flying monkey about your money . . . or you for that matter.”
He leaned in close to me, eyes blazing. My breath quickened. “You play a very convincing charade, Nicole Ashford. If Nicole is your real name.”
Was there a Nicole conspiracy theory or something running around? Flapper Girl had said the same thing.
“I’m not acting! And Nicole is my real name.”
“It’s a shame that your mother doesn’t see your potential. If she did, she would’ve never put you up to something as low as this.”
I sucked in a breath. “You know my mother?”
How did he know her? And how could he possibly know that I was her biggest disappointment?
“I thought I did. You look exactly like her.” His eyes softened as he scanned my face. Then he shook his head as if trying to convince himself of something. “But you’re not her. And I don’t know her, not anymore.”
“Look I don’t know who you think you are talking about my mother like that. I’ve barely talked to her in the last couple years, and she’s never mentioned anything about you to me. She’s too busy with her career.”
“So she abandoned you too?”
The loud crack of my hand slapping against his cheek echoed in the quiet night.
Stunned, I froze, my hand still in midair.
Without another word, Cooper turned and got into his car, his tires squealing as he pulled out of the driveway.
Chapter Sixteen
I slapped Professor Cooper.
Holy crap! I’d actually slapped him.
I stared after the red glow of the taillights until they disappeared into the darkness.
Was this what Madame Zahra had meant when she warned me about the vortex? If I hadn’t gone to the club, this would’ve never happened. Now, I’ll have to figure out how to withdraw from his class without losing all my tuition. There was no way I could stay in his class and actually think I could pass.
And Travis, that rat! He just left me there. The entire night was a disaster.
Well, happy freakin’ birthday!
I trudged into the house, hoping that Greg was back, hoping that his night had gone better than mine.
When I walked in, the first thing I heard was his loud snoring. That had to mean good news. He’d be up waiting for me if things had gone badly with his mother.
Selfishly, I debated whether to wake him. I sighed and decided to eat my sorrows away instead.
I needed chocolate. Stat. And wine . . . lots of wine.
On my way to the kitchen, I passed by Rainbow’s room. Her door was slightly open. I was surprised to hear the sound of her frantic voice. She was always so Zen.
“You got the photo, right? Are you sure it’s her? Yes, he did freak out. I saw him at Jitters. He’s exactly like you described him . . . No, she doesn’t know . . . I . . . this is crazy. Things like this just aren’t possible . . . You need to come back home soon. I don’t know if I can handle this alone . . . Yes, I baked it. I used everything in the recipe you emailed me.”