Temporarily Yours (Shillings Agency #1)(22)
Author: Diane Alberts

“Sit. Talk. Drink,” her father said.

Kayla squeezed his arm again and sat down gracefully. She might not be used to this charade, but she was f**king good at it. The way she kept smiling with those bright blue eyes of hers shining up at him made him want to wrap her in his arms and hold her close all night long. Hell, maybe even longer.

“Sir, I’m very excited to meet you, just for the record. Kayla told me a lot about you,” Cooper said, focusing on Kayla’s father. “I’m honored to be here.”

“Are you now?” He eyed Cooper, his voice clearly skeptical. “So, tell me more about yourself.”

Cooper gripped his own knee under the table. “I was in the Marines, and I’m from Maine, near Kayla. I just recently got home after getting out, and now I’m about to make my next career move…” He broke off, smiled, and gestured toward Mr. Holt. “But you already heard that part earlier.”

Mr. Holt laughed. “We’ve already completed the background check, Greg. He’s legit.”

“I see.” He tapped his fingers on the table. “Parents?”

“Still happily married and living in Maine.”

“What do they do—or are they leaving the country, too?”

Kayla rolled her eyes. “Dad.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind.” Cooper smiled at Kayla, trying to show her that he didn’t care about her father’s curiosity. Because he didn’t. He understood wanting to protect the people he cared about. It’s what he wanted to do, too, overseas. “My father owns a private security firm, among other things, and my mother is an artist.”

Mr. Holt perked up at that. “Your father owns a private security firm, but you’re working for me?”

“Yes.” Cooper shifted his weight and tugged on his collar, despite himself. “That’s right, sir. I feel it’s important for a man to make his own way. I don’t want to get a position because of my last name.”

Her father nodded and Cooper swore he saw something that wasn’t hatred in the other man’s stare. Maybe…respect? No. That couldn’t be it. Maybe he just had something in his eye. “All right.” He looked over Cooper’s shoulder. “I’ll see you two later, though. Max’s family just got here, and I have to go say hi. Frankie? You coming?”

Mr. Holt stood. “Of course. I’ll see you two later.”

Cooper inclined his head, then watched as they left. “Well. That was interesting, to say the least.”

“It went better than I thought it would.” Kayla leaned her head on him. “You did good, by the way.”

He kissed her temple. This snuggling thing didn’t feel too bad. “It’s the dimples. No one can resist the power.”

“Not even my father,” she said, laughter in her voice. She lifted her head and grinned at him. “Right?”

“Especially not your dad.” He stood up, then held his arm out for her. “Ready to have a drink?”

“How about ten?”

He pretended to consider this. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’d hate to have to restock the bar.”

“I’m not that bad.” She swatted his arm, then curled her fingers around his biceps. “Let’s do this.”

He led her toward the bar, strangely content to have her at his side.

Chapter Twelve

The next hour flew by in a haze of introductions and mind-numbing craziness from everyone. Everyone wanted to know how they met. Wanted to know what Cooper did for a living. How long he was staying. Everyone wanted to know…well, everything. Everyone wanted to meet Cooper, and Kayla wanted everyone to meet Cooper.

Sure, she’d been hesitant about this at first, but he was such a great guy that the whole being her “boyfriend” thing came naturally to him. Sometimes even she forgot it was all an act. She wasn’t sure what to make of that, exactly, but, hey, whatever.

It totally worked.

Even now, Cooper was surrounded by her female family members, and they all hung on every word he said. He had them all enamored, and he didn’t even have to try. She couldn’t believe it. His strong baritone voice cut through the space. “…and then the plane landed, and the rest is history.”

“Wait, so you flew with her? That’s how you two met?” her mom asked, her eyes wide. “How did that go?”

Susan leaned in. “And how did your not-even-there-yet relationship survive it?”

“Oh, I found her nervousness charming.” Cooper threw his arm around Kayla’s shoulders and smiled. “She needed a knight in shining armor, and I’ve always had a thing for a damsel in distress. We were the perfect fit.”

Cue eye roll. “Yeah, we really were. Still are, somehow.”

“Because we work,” Cooper said, reaching out and cupping Kayla’s cheek. His warm gaze stared down into hers, stealing her thoughts right out of her head. “So very well.”

Even though she knew he was putting a show on for the women, she still had to catch her breath when he leaned in and kissed her sweetly. He looked at her as if she was the only thing that mattered to him. And it felt real—his lips on hers and the emotion behind them.

Man, he was good.

He had them all on puppet strings, and he was the puppeteer. If she wasn’t careful, she’d be on a string, too. She pulled back, her cheeks burning. Cooper stared down at her, something unspoken and deep in his eyes.

Something she couldn’t read. “Hey,” she whispered.

“Hey,” he said back, his gaze finally clearing. He noticed her family, then gave them a sheepish grin, “Oops. Forgot we had an audience.”

“Keep him,” her mom whispered. She turned her attention to everyone else. “All right. Enough bothering the lovebirds. It’s time for me to go on stage, and then it’ll be you, Kayla. Everyone, to your seats.”

One by one, they all dispersed to their assigned seats and Cooper led her to the table next to her father. Her heart was still racing from the kiss he’d given her earlier, and her legs were a little bit wobbly. This was freaking ridiculous. She wasn’t the type of girl to swoon over her man, and she wasn’t about to start with a fake relationship of all things.

Sinking into her chair, she gulped down her cool water, not stopping until the glass was empty. God knew she needed all the help she could get in cooling the heck off.

“You all right over there?” Cooper asked, a brow up.