Book 24 Temptation After Dark #8
Though he isn’t one to stay where he isn’t wanted, he can’t leave her like this.
He puts his hands on her shoulders and gives a gentle squeeze.
“I like you, Gigi. I like you more than I probably should. I understand that’s not what you want, but I can’t help how I feel.
You’ve been through a lot in your life and had people disappoint you, so I get why you’ve learned not to let new people get too close.
But you should know I don’t give up easily, and I want to show you something different, something you maybe haven’t had before now. ”
“Cooper—”
He kisses her softly. “Sleep well, sweet Gigi. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“No, you won’t.”
He lets her have the last word, but he hasn’t even left her place before he’s formulating his plan for tomorrow.
Cindy Lawry isn’t much for the bar scene, but with nothing else to do that evening, she’s seated at the Beachcomber bar, listening to Niall Fitzgerald play his guitar and sing.
Live music is a big thing on Gansett Island, and Cindy has loved the various bands and performers who’ve come through the island that summer.
She’s enjoyed everything about spending time on the island that summer, especially having her mom and siblings there, too.
It’s been years since she’s lived close to so many of her family members, and she’s never lived near them without the specter of their violent, unpredictable father hanging over them.
Cindy is filling in for Chloe Dennis as the stylist at the Curl Up and Dye salon while Chloe supervises the building of a day spa at the McCarthy’s Gansett Inn in North Harbor.
Cindy isn’t sure what the off-season on Gansett will be like, but she’s looking forward to finding out.
The job at the salon is fun and busy, and she’s put away some money this summer to help pay the rent in the winter when things slow down.
“You need a refill?” Jace, the new bartender, asks.
He has sleeve tattoos over bulging arm muscles and a gruff way about him.
He’s handsome in a bad-boy sort of way that would’ve appealed to Cindy in the past. At this point in her life, however, she’s had enough of bad boys to last her a lifetime.
All she wants is to find a nice, boring guy who’ll never break her heart to settle down with and have some babies. Is that too much to ask?
She takes a sip of her ice water and notes the lemon he added to give it some flavor. “I haven’t seen you here before. Are you new?”
“Just started yesterday.”
Providence, RI, is listed as his hometown on his name tag. “It’s late in the season to be starting a new job around here.”
“So I hear, but the Beachcomber stays open year-round, and they were looking for someone who wanted to be here for the off-season. I guess that’s not easy to find.”
“What brings you to Gansett?”
“My sons live here.”
“Do they live with your ex?”
“They did until she passed away last year, and their next-door neighbors stepped up to take them in.”
“That was nice of them.”
He nods even as his cheek pulses with tension. “Truth is, I wasn’t around for a lot of years, so my ex did what she thought was best, you know?”
“Yeah,” Cindy says, curious to know the rest of the story, but not willing to ask questions that are none of her business.
At the end of the night, Cindy asks for her bill.
“Thanks for keeping me hydrated.”
“My pleasure. Hope you’ll come back to see me again.”
“I’ll do that.” She gets up from her stool and starts to walk away.
“Hey, you never told me your name.”
She turns back, smiling. “It’s Cindy. Cindy Lawry.”
“Nice to meet you, Cindy Lawry.”
“You, too.” She walks the short distance home with a smile on her face, feeling as if she’s made a new friend.
“What do you mean he’s living here now?” Seamus O’Grady feels like his head is going to explode at any second.
“Janey heard from Libby at the Beachcomber that they’d hired a new bartender for the off-season and that his name is Jace Carson.
She remembered that was the boys’ father’s name and thought we’d like to know he’s on the island.
” Carolina pauses before she looks up at her husband.
“What do you suppose it means that he’s here? ”
“I have no earthly idea, but you can bet your ass I’m going to find out.”
The next morning, Seamus goes right to the Beachcomber and asks at the front desk where to find their new bartender. He follows the directions to Jace’s room and pounds on the door.
The door flies open to reveal Jace, bare-chested, hair standing on end and a scowl on his face.
“What are you doing here?” Seamus asks.
“I was sleeping until you started making a racket.”
“What’re you doing on Gansett Island?”
“Working.”
“You just suddenly decided to get a job here, of all places?”
“It wasn’t sudden. After I saw the boys, I wanted to live closer to them so I could see them more often.”
“And you made this decision without so much as a conversation with me? I thought we had an understanding, you and me.”
“We did. We do. I’m not here to disrupt their lives or yours. I’d just like to see them once in a while. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I should have.” Jace props an arm on the doorframe. “Ever since I saw them…”
“What?”
“I realized how much I miss them. I fucked up everything, you know? My marriage, my kids, my job. Everything. Since I got clean, I’ve been trying to make amends.
I can’t do that with Lisa, and I’ll always regret that she died before I had the chance to make things right with her.
But the boys… I still have a chance with them. ”
Jace folds his arms. “Look, man, I get why you’re wound up. You and your wife stepped up for the kids, and you don’t want me or anyone else to upset their new life.”
“They’re doing really well.” A lump of emotion suddenly lands in Seamus’s throat. “A lot better than they were when Lisa first passed.”
“The last thing in the world I want to do is hurt them any more than I already have, even if they don’t remember me hurting them in the past.”
“That’s good to know.” Seamus looks the other man in the eye. “So, where do we go from here?”
“That’s up to you. I’m here, and I’d like to be as much a part of their lives as you and your wife see fit. I’m not looking to displace you as their father figure. I just want to be a friend to them. And you. If you’ll have me.”
Seamus relaxes ever so slightly. “Aye, I hear you. I’m just trying really hard not to feel threatened by you.”
“I promise you don’t need to be. I’m not playing any kind of game here. You have my word on that. I just…” He rubs at the stubble on his jaw. “I wanted to be closer to them, but you’re absolutely right that I should’ve talked to you about it first.”
“I’m glad we agree on that.” Seamus takes a deep breath and lets it out. “Carolina and I are having a clambake on Labor Day, in the afternoon, if you’d like to come by.”
“I’d like that very much.”
“I guess we’ll see you then.”
“Thank you, Seamus.”
Seamus nods. “No more surprises, okay?”
“I hear you. No more surprises.”
After having sex with Cooper, Gigi is off her game.
Jordan yells at her, and after Matilda hassles her, too, she storms off set and goes for a ride.
After a few trips around the island, she ends up at the Bluffs.
It’s all Cooper James’s fault. If he’d done what he was supposed to do and gone through the motions with the usual wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am routine, none of this would be happening.
She wouldn’t be in trouble with Matilda—and probably Jordan, too—and she wouldn’t be looking for a place to hide out so she can avoid running into him.
Why’d he have to do the whole sweet, tender routine? Why can’t he be like every other guy who wants to get his rocks off and to hell with what the woman wants?
“You are not doing that, Gabrielle. Do you hear me? You will not have sex with Cooper James ever again. That is my final word on the matter.”
Enough of that madness, she thinks, reaching for the cell phone she’d left in the car during filming, intending to send a message to Matilda. But then she sees one from Cooper, and like the idiot she is where he’s concerned, she devours his words.
His text ends with, I think you’re magnificent, and all I want is to spend as much time with you as I possibly can for as long as I possibly can.
You make me laugh. You make me think. You make me want like I’ve never wanted before.
You make me crazy. You make me happy. You have me reconsidering my life plan so it can include you.
I’m sure this message is making you boiling mad because we weren’t supposed to be about THIS.
Trust me, I didn’t want THIS either. But here we are.
I’d like to bring you dinner tonight so we can talk.
Would that be okay? I hope so, because I have so much more I want to say to you. Love, Cooper
Gigi wipes tears from her face and rereads the message two more times.
Love, Cooper. Swoon.
Gigi Gibson does not swoon over any man! But this man… Dear God, he’s killing her.
Jordan calls her, and since she’s AWOL from work, she answers. Jordan realizes she’s crying and asks what’s wrong.
“It appears, much to my incredible dismay, I have man problems.”
“Oh. My. God.” Jordan’s high screech has Gigi holding the phone away from her ear. “What is going on?”
Resigned to having to talk about it, she says, “He’s making a play for more than I’m willing to give.”
“Come to my house. Right now.” Jordan ends the call before Gigi can tell her she doesn’t want to go there.
“Goddamn everyone today,” Gigi mutters as she reaches for the visor to pull it down to check the damage in the mirror. “Ugh, you look like shit.”
She doesn’t want to see anyone or talk to anyone, but Jordan will hunt her down if she doesn’t go to her house.
I’m tracking your location, and your car hasn’t moved. Do I need to come to you?
Ease up, bitch, I’m coming.
Hurry up.
Another text, this time from Cooper. You’re making me suffer.