Into the Woods: Tales from the Hollows and Beyond(116)
Author: Kim Harrison

"I’m so glad you came." Felicity stopped at a tall round table with two empty and abandoned drinks on it. "You had me worried."

"Wouldn’t miss this for anything," Cooper said as he moved the cups to a passing tray, marveling at them. They were made of wood instead of glass, worked so thin he could see the shadow of his fingers through it. "I didn’t want to come in here smelling like dog," he said, and then remembering the sniff from the doorman, he tugged at his collar.

"Silly man." Felicity snuggled up to him, her warmth pressing into his side. "I like the way you smell." Leaning in, she whispered, "Dogs scare me."

He was here, and she was here, and it was going great. Cooper tugged her closer, smiling, but then he cocked his head. "What did you do to your hair? It looks different."

Felicity touched the tips playfully. "It must be the light. Do you want to sit down?"

What he wanted was a drink, but no one with a tray of those wooden champagne flutes was anywhere near them. "Your hair looks darker in this light. Your eyes, too."

"I thought you weren’t coming," she said, explaining nothing. "But now that you’re here, I’m all yours, Cooper."

Her smile dove to the bottom of his gut and set his thoughts wandering. Confidence seemed to flow into him with her beside him, and he leaned back against the table with Felicity, his worries that it had been a joke gone. She looked fabulous in her calf-length, shiny dress that clung to her like Saran wrap. That she was jealous of the waitress had made him feel good, and the thumping music had him wanting to get out there and move. He should’ve given up on Kay a long time ago.

"Come on, I want to see how you dance," Felicity coaxed, eyes sparkling as her hands took his and she stepped to the dance floor, backing up right into a dignified man in a suit. He had appeared as if from nowhere, and she spun, hand to her mouth and charmingly surprised.

"Papa!" she exclaimed, and Cooper spied Emily beside the man, the new kitten in her arms making her look sweeter than the petits fours.

"Hi, Mama," the little girl said, swinging to and fro to make her dress swirl. The older man, however, wasn’t happy, one hand holding Emily’s, the other gripping a wooden flute of champagne, his rings sparkling in the reflected light.

"Your dad?" Cooper whispered even as he tried to look more respectable under the man’s hawklike stare.

Felicity grimaced. "It’s a family-owned business," she said, leaning in to make him shiver as she whispered it in his ear.

That explains all the redheads, he thought, though the man before him had jet-black hair.

Looking even more severe, the older man gave Emily a gentle push. "Take your kitten to the back rooms, Emily," he said, his voice deeper than his narrow shoulders would suggest. "There’s a good girl. And share her with your brother."

Cooper flicked his gaze from Emily to Felicity. "I didn’t know you had another child," he said conversationally, hoping Felicity would introduce him before he had to do it himself.

"Grandpa," Emily whined, and the man gave her a harder shove to the stairs. Cooper’s smile vanished as the little girl caught her balance with a skipping of shiny black shoes, and Felicity grabbed her arm, tugging her to stand behind her instead.

"Stay with me, Emily," Felicity said, her narrow face beginning to show her anger.

Cooper, too, felt a surge of protectiveness, and he extended his hand, intending to grip the older man’s hand with a shade too much pressure. "Hello, I’m Cooper."

But the man in the gray suit ignored him and his hand. "All yours, Felicity?" he said, not a glance at Cooper. "We’ve talked about this. You shame yourself. Again."

Felicity flicked her eyes from Cooper to her father. "It’s just an expression."

"One would hope." Only now did he look at Cooper, his lips pressed tight and his dark brown eyes narrowed in a tired, old frustration.

"This is Cooper," Felicity said with a sudden meekness, as if only now after he’d looked at Cooper could she introduce him. "He takes care of dogs and was kind to Emily."

"It’s good to meet you, sir," Cooper said, but he didn’t hold his hand out again.

With a single glance, Felicity’s father dismissed him. "I forbid it. Everyone to his place, and a place for everyone. What you want goes against tradition."

"The hell with traditions!" Felicity said loudly, shocking Cooper when she dramatically flung a hand into the air, and he wondered again if she was a little drunk. "If it was wrong, then it wouldn’t be possible!"

Wincing, Cooper looked around, but no one was even watching them. What the blue blazes had he been thinking, coming here? Of course crazy girlfriend would have a lunatic psycho dad. Lunatic, psycho, rich dad.

Felicity’s father made a rumble of discontent. "I have two men I want you to meet. Now. It’s growing late, and I have things to attend to."

"You know what?" Cooper said as he glanced at Emily rocking her kitten and crooning to it as she ignored their argument as if from long practice. "Maybe I should just go."

"No!" Felicity clutched his arm, and another surge of protectiveness shocked through him. She was so beautiful, vulnerable. "I want to talk to you." She glanced at her father, who was smiling in an ugly way. "Please stay with Emily. This won’t take long."

It was her tremulous smile that did it. That and the shove her father had given Emily. If the man pushed children at a Christmas party, then he probably did a lot worse in private.

"I’ll stay," he said, and she exhaled happily. Cooper’s pride swelled. For all her money, she needed him.

"Thank you," she said, letting go and sliding closer to her father to look small.

Immediately the older man’s mood shifted. "Good to meet you, Cooper," he said distantly as if he was already somewhere else. "Have some wine. I’ve not started on this one."

He extended the glass, and Felicity bumped him. "Whoops!" she said even before the cup hit the floor, and Cooper edged back to avoid the splash when the thin wood broke like glass. "Papa, I’ll be right with you. Let me get Cooper a new drink," she said, kicking the pieces under the table. "Emily, come with us."

Her father’s eyes narrowed, but Felicity had taken Cooper’s arm and was leading him through the crowded floor. Cooper looked back once as they were jostled, then leaned close, shouting, "Why do I have the feeling that your dad thinks you’re too good for me?"

She was smiling when she looked back at him, her grip on his arm tightening. "Because he does," she said, clearly angry though her voice was barely audible over the pounding music. "He thinks you’re a stray."