Tall, Dark, and Bad Read online

  “I’m fine, Emma, dear,” Henrietta told her with a pleasant smile, “but thank you for looking in on me.” Henrietta waited until she was gone before speaking. “That poor woman has done nothing but fret since I returned home from the hospital,” she said, lowering her voice. “She has me on such a strict schedule that I feel I’m in boot camp. She tells me when and what to eat, when to rest, and insists that I take in fresh air and sunshine for an hour a day.”

  “She is obviously devoted to you,” Cooper replied.

  Henrietta gave an eye roll. “Next week we are going to start walking twenty minutes every day until we build up to an hour.” Henrietta chuckled. “I’m thinking of firing her.”

  “Now, now,” Summer said. “It’s for your own good. Bikini season is just around the corner.”

  Everyone laughed, including Henrietta, who winked at her granddaughter. “The person who tries to get me into a bikini better be ready for a good tussle,” she said.

  Once the dessert plates had been removed, Henrietta suggested they return to the drawing room for a glass of sherry. Her guests groaned and swore they were too full, but they agreed to a tiny sip. Summer was pleased that her grandmother’s dinner party had been such a success—no surprise since everyone adored Henrietta Pettigrew—but she hoped it would soon wind down because she could tell her grandmother was tiring. She noticed Fred trying to stifle a yawn and took it as a good sign.

  As the guests began getting up from the table, Cooper quickly pulled Henrietta’s chair out for her, then, reached for his jacket. He looked at Summer. “Let’s take a ride,” he said.

  At first she didn’t understand. “A ride?” He slipped into his jacket. “You mean on your motorcycle?” She had never been on a motorcycle and had no desire to climb on one now. “Um, I don’t think—”

  Cooper flashed a sexy smile. “You know how much you love riding at night, sweetheart. With the stars glittering overhead,” he added.

  “Oh, my,” Henrietta said. “How romantic!”

  Summer gave a mental sigh at her grandmother’s dreamy expression. One would have thought Cooper had just invited her to take a gondola cruise along the canals in Venice. She made a production of looking at her wristwatch. “It’s a bit late,” she said.

  “Oh, pooh!” Henrietta said. “Ten o’clock is not late when you’re young and in love.”

  Summer froze. In love? She tried to hide her embarrassment.

  “Listen to your grandmother,” Cooper said, clearly amused.

  Summer noted the guests looking her way. Cooper was putting her on the spot again, only this time he had her grandmother’s support. “Perhaps a short ride,” Summer finally said. “I’ll have to come back for my car.” It made no sense to her, leaving her car behind to take a motorcycle ride, but she did not want to debate it in front of an audience.

  She followed the others from the dining room to the hall, taking a moment to say goodnight to everyone as Mrs. Bradshaw reached inside the coat closet and pulled out her black clutch and jacket.

  Cooper turned to Henrietta and took her hand. “In case we’re late getting back and you’re already tucked in for the night, I’d like to thank you again for inviting me to your lovely home,” he said.

  “You’re very welcome, young man,” Henrietta replied. “We’ll get together again soon.”

  Summer let the comment pass as she kissed her grandmother’s cheek and offered high praise for the dinner party, but she was already scrambling for ideas on how to avoid a repeat of the night’s events. “Please try to go to bed soon,” she added with a whisper. Henrietta nodded.

  Summer waited until she and Cooper had cleared the front steps and stood in the circular drive before speaking. “Is there a particular reason you suggested taking a bike ride at this hour?” she asked.

  “I was using it as an excuse to leave,” he said, “and avoid further questions from your grandmother and her guests.”

  “Gee, thanks, but it hardly matters now that they think I’m a biker chick.”

  “I was joking. That’s all it was, a joke, and I was about to tell everyone I was joking. I never got the chance because you interrupted with an outlandish story—which you seem to have a habit of doing—by telling everyone I performed motorcycle stunts. I’m surprised your grandmother didn’t ask her guests to move their vehicles from the driveway so I could show them one of my cool tricks and break my neck in the process.”

  “I was trying to get even with you for your outlandish story,” she said. “How was I supposed to know you were joking?”

  “I sort of took it for granted that you had a sense of humor.”

  “I have a great sense of humor,” she said. “Sorry it didn’t shine through; I was a bit tense.”

  “Which is why I was trying to lighten the mood,” he said.

  Neither spoke for a moment. “Okay, so how do you think it went?” Summer finally asked. “Do you think we convinced everybody that we’re, um, you know …”

  “Crazy about each other?” he said. He shrugged. “I think we pulled it off. I can’t imagine anyone suspecting it was a setup.”

  “I hate the word setup,” Summer said. “It serves as a reminder that I was dishonest with my grandmother.”

  Cooper shook his head. “If you want to beat yourself up over what you did, go ahead, but your heart was in the right place. Hopefully, your grandmother will sleep better tonight.” Cooper walked the short distance to his motorcycle and reached for his helmet.

  “So, I’m not really joining you for a motorcycle ride?” she said. He turned and faced her, one brow arched in question. “Not that I mind,” she added quickly. “I sort of got the impression you were making plans for later when you took that phone call.”

  “The call was from Warren.”

  Summer was suddenly filled with guilt. She had been so caught up in the drama taking place inside her grandmother’s home that she had completely forgotten about poor Warren. “How is he? I hope he wasn’t seriously injured in the accident.”

  “He has a broken leg, a sprained wrist, and a couple of cracked ribs.”

  “Oh, no!” she said. She felt partly responsible for Warren’s car accident since he had been on his way to her grandmother’s to perform a favor. “I should go to the hospital.”

  “Visiting hours ended two hours ago,” Cooper said. “Besides, he was already doped on pain medication when he called. By now, he is out cold.”

  Summer stepped closer to Cooper’s motorcycle and gave it a quick study. It was enormous, an imposing machine of gleaming black and chrome. On the side of the gas tank, scrawled in bold red letters, were the words new breed. “I’ve never been this close to a motorcycle,” she said and added a smile. “It is quite intimidating.”

  “This baby was designed for power and speed,” he said. “If you were familiar with bikes you would notice a unique difference in the design, and you might even be impressed with the engineering, but—” He paused and shrugged.

  “But what?” she asked.

  “It’s not exactly your cup of tea,” he said with a chuckle. “For example, it would not be suitable transportation for, say, a coming out party.”

  “Very funny, Cooper,” she said. “What makes you think I had a coming out party?”

  “You’ve got ex-debutante written all over your face, sweetheart. What I find hard to believe is that you weren’t snatched up right away.”

  “I know this is going to shock you,” Summer replied, “but maybe I had other plans and did not want to be snatched up.”

  Cooper smiled. “Warren failed to warn me that you had a stubborn, spunky side.”

  She returned the smile. “Perhaps he was afraid you wouldn’t show.”

  Cooper tried not to stare at the fetching picture she made; her smile lit up her pretty face, full glossy lips, and perfect white teeth. From there, it just kept getting better, and, although he had spent the evening trying not to stare at her drop dead gorgeous figure, he had to admit she
was the best looking thing he had seen in a long time. Not only that, her lively banter had kept him entertained all evening. He’d had to remind himself, more than once, that she was Warren’s girlfriend, and while he could not imagine what they had in common, he had no business entertaining X-rated thoughts about her, which was precisely what he was doing that very moment. He needed to hop on his bike and get the hell out of there.

  “It was nice meeting you, Miss Pettigrew,” he said in a pronounced Southern drawl, “and I wish your grandmother a speedy recovery, but I need to get going. I was actually supposed to be somewhere quite a while ago.”

  “Where were you supposed to be?” Summer asked, even though she knew it was none of her business, which is why she wasn’t surprised when Cooper looked a bit puzzled that she would ask.

  “An old friend of mine owns a bar about twenty minutes from here. I haven’t seen him in months. I promised I would stop in for a beer.” He raised his helmet to his head. “Guess I’ll see you around,” he added.

  “Wait!” Summer knew it was unlikely that they would cross paths again, and she was reluctant to say goodbye. As crazy as it sounded, she was attracted to Cooper Garrett. His longish, brownish-black hair and unshaved jaw did not deter from his good looks; at the same time, most women would be reluctant to take him home to meet daddy because he looked like a man who could talk the panties off a nun. “Take me with you,” she blurted without thinking.

  “Excuse me?”

  Summer scrambled for a valid reason. If Cooper suspected she found him appealing she would be at a serious disadvantage. “I would really like to go for a ride on your motorcycle,” she said, even though the bike gave her a bad case of nerves. That she would even consider climbing on it in order to spend more time with a man she barely knew made her question her sanity.

  Cooper stared back at her in amazement. “Why?” he asked. “I sort of got the impression that you felt uncomfortable, if not afraid, at the thought of taking a ride on it.”

  “Maybe,” she said, “but I have never let fear stand in my way. I believe people need to take risks now and then. Otherwise, life would be boring.”

  Cooper lowered his helmet, studied her. “Sorry, but you don’t look much like a risk-taker to me.”

  Summer crossed her arms and met his gaze squarely. “I’m not afraid of anything.” She paused. “Well, okay, I’m afraid of spiders, cockroaches, mice, large mean looking dogs, the thought of parachuting out of a plane, and my car breaking down on a dark, deserted road.” She paused to catch her breath.

  “What about snakes?”

  “I forgot about snakes. Yes, I’m afraid of snakes, but so is everyone else. If you take those out of the equation, I’m not afraid of anything, nor am I easily intimidated. If I were, I would not have applied for a job at Worth Advertising, and the good-old-boy Geezer Squad who run the place as if we were still living in the ’60s. They think women are only good for typing letters and answering the phone, but I proved right away that I was right for the job, and I’m not afraid of speaking up when I think they are wrong.”

  Cooper looked amused. “Have you ever considered doing infomercials?”

  Summer ignored him. “And I’m proud to say that I’m one of the most successful advertising executives in the firm. So there,” she added, punctuating her final words by giving him a light jab to the chest with her pointer finger.

  Cooper raised her finger to his mouth, and gave it a gentle bite.

  “Ouch!” Summer felt a zing of delight race up her arm; even so, she snatched her finger from his mouth. “Why did you do that?” she demanded.

  “I don’t like being poked in the chest. Not even by pretty ladies.”

  “I wasn’t trying to be rude,” she said defensively. “I was merely trying to make a point.”

  “And I wasn’t trying to bite off your finger,” he replied. “I also was trying to make a point.”

  Summer looked at her finger. “Jeez, I hope you’ve had all your shots.”

  “You’ll live,” he replied, “but I’ll have to give you a ride on my bike some other time. I can’t break a promise to my friend.”

  “You don’t want me to go with you,” she said. “Why don’t you admit it?”

  “It’s a beer joint, Summer,” he said. “Some of the clientele are a bit shady.”

  Summer realized it was the first time Cooper had spoken her name, and she liked the way he said it. “Maybe you’re afraid I’ll embarrass you in front of your friends.”

  “The people who hang out there aren’t my friends,” he said, “and it is more likely that you will be embarrassed. I can’t imagine why you would even want to go to such a place.”

  She did not respond. He would think her pathetic if he knew she was hankering for a little fun after spending weeks on the Gridlock Tire account or that it had been months since she’d gone on a date. Unlike her, Cooper probably lived a full and exciting life, doing exactly as he pleased and not second-guessing or trying to prove himself by pushing his mind and body past the point of exhaustion. Perhaps that’s why she was attracted to him.

  “Not only that,” he went on, “your grandmother would have my head on a platter if she discovered I had taken you to that kind of place.”

  “I get it, okay?” Summer said. “You don’t want me tagging along. But, hey, I’m holding you up,” she added quickly, “so have a nice evening, and a great life.” She turned for her car, some thirty feet away, and all but marched toward it. Cooper Garrett could kiss her behind.

  “Okay, you win,” he said, realizing he had hurt her feelings. “You can come with me.”

  “Forget it,” Summer called back over her shoulder. “I’ve changed my mind.”

  Cooper muttered a four-letter word. How Warren managed to put up with the woman was beyond him, and he would probably regret his invitation; but he had been jolted to the soles of his boots when she had told him to have a good life. He could not imagine living the rest of his life without even a glimpse of her. “I really would like for you to join me,” he said.

  She paused and faced him. “First you have to say the magic word.”

  Cooper frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  “Have you ever in your life said please?”

  He gave a massive sigh. It was better to just say the damn word than spend the evening arguing with her. “Please.”

  She smiled. “Okay.”

  “But if some redneck gets liquored-up and starts throwing punches, and it turns into an all-out barroom brawl, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  Summer rolled her eyes. “I’ve already told you, I’m not afraid of anything,” she reminded him. “Except for—”

  “You have ten seconds to get your fanny over here or I’m leaving without you,” he interrupted. He put on his helmet and reached for the spare that was strapped to the seat behind him.

  Summer hurried toward him, and he helped her with her helmet.

  “Climb on,” he said. “There’s a strap in front of you. Hold on to it and don’t let go.”

  She did as she was told. Cooper started the engine, and it roared to life. She gulped as the bike vibrated beneath her, and her heart did double time. She would look like an idiot if she changed her mind. Perhaps she was an idiot. That would explain why she was sitting on an enormous motorcycle that sounded like thunder in her ears, about to ride off with a man who was little more than a stranger, and headed toward a redneck bar where somebody was likely to get stabbed right in front of her.

  Cooper put the bike in gear and slowly headed down Henrietta Pettigrew’s long driveway toward the road. He hadn’t made it halfway before Summer flung her arms around his waist and held on so tight it was a wonder he could breathe. He grinned. Before the night was over, Summer Pettigrew was going to discover there were worse things than snakes.

  Chapter Three

  Harry’s Bar and Grill was located in a shady part of town, to put it nicely. As Cooper pulled behind the building, the
roar of his engine startled a stray tabby and sent the cat scurrying into the night. He parked and killed the engine, and the noise from the bike was replaced by loud country-western music.

  Cooper helped Summer with her helmet before removing his own. Lugging both helmets, he led her through the back door into a smoke-filled room that smelled of sweat and cheap cologne. The band was playing an old Garth Brooks song, “Friends in Low Places.”

  Cooper took Summer’s hand and put his mouth to her ear, so she could hear. “Stick close,” he said, his breath fanning her earlobe and sending an involuntary shiver down her spine that made her think of the kiss they’d shared earlier that evening. “These cowboys will take one look at you and pull out their lassos.” He led her toward the bar. The bartender, a balding, middle-aged man with wire-rimmed glasses, smiled the minute he saw Cooper. “Hey, buddy. How’s it hanging?” He noted Summer.

  “Have a seat.” He indicated two empty stools.

  Cooper waited for Summer to sit before taking a seat next to her and setting the helmets on the bar. “Summer, meet Harry,” he said, nodding to the man. “We go way back.”

  Summer offered her hand, and Harry made a production of raising it to his lips for a kiss. She chuckled. “Oh, my, a real gentleman.” She shot Cooper a thoroughly enchanting smile. “Which makes me wonder what the two of you could possibly have in common.”

  Cooper pretended to look offended. “Don’t let him fool you,” he said. “Harry gave me the beating of my life when I was only fifteen years old.”

  “You had it coming, kid, and you know it.” Harry turned to Summer. “If I hadn’t taken a firm hand with this guy years ago, he’d probably be sitting in a jail cell. Now, what can I get you to drink, sweetheart?”

  Summer shrugged. “Could I see your wine list?” she asked.

  Both men chuckled. “Harry doesn’t carry wine,” Cooper said. “Let me order for you.” He looked at the bartender and winked. “Make her a Lace Panty, and I’ll take a draft.”