Happily Ever Afton (13 page)

‘I know, I know,’ his mother sighed, ‘but it almost makes me wish you’d gone into engineering like your father. Other than the occasional trip to a work site, at least I know he’ll be home for dinner every night. In fact he should be pulling up soon – are you sure you can’t join us tonight, Cooper?’

‘No, Mother, I’m sorry but I can’t,’ Cooper declined. ‘Afton has a quiet home cooked dinner and some other big
birthday surprise planned for me she said. I’ll be headed to her place right after I swing by the penthouse to change.’

‘I can’t
wait
to meet her, Cooper, from what you’ve told me about her,’ his mother rushed in – always on the lookout, he knew, for a possible candidate to be her one and only daughter-in-law. ‘You know you’re not getting any younger, Cooper, you need to start thinking about settling down…your younger sisters are both married now with kids. It’s time
you
found someone and did the same…’

‘Yes, Mother,’ Cooper agreed absently. As she droned on with the oft-repeated plea for more grandkids, his mind wandered off to lustful thoughts of Afton as he’d last seen her in her short silken robe, hair still damp from their shared shower, reaching up in her bare feet and giving him a last birthday kiss on his way out her door that morning. A kiss with that achingly sweet full mouth, a satiated gleam in those shiny hazel eyes – and that body…his mother’s voice interrupted his increasingly lurid daydream.

‘Why don’t you and Afton come over for dinner this Saturday? It will give her a chance to meet me and your father now that he’s back in town – and I can give you your birthday gift then too.’

‘You know – I think we just might do that,’ Cooper decided impulsively. ‘Let me check with Afton and see what time works best for her. Oh, and Mother?’

‘Yes, Cooper?’

‘As for my birthday gift – I really don’t need any more pajamas!’

‘Now how did you know –’

Cooper’s laughter cut off her disappointed exclamation; it hadn’t been hard to guess. His dresser drawers were full of unopened packages of pajamas, which were her default gift for the man who seemingly had
everything
.

Cooper hadn’t ever had the heart to tell her he slept in the nude. 
Always.
  And insisted anyone who shared his bed did the same – although the thought of seeing Afton in one of the oversized cotton pajama tops was intriguing.

No, scratch that
– he amended, better she wore nothing
at all the first time she shared the bed at his place. Cooper shifted restlessly in his executive leather chair, his loins tingling in anticipation of that moment.

Damn – I really cannot wait to see her tonight
!

But first, he needed to get out of this office. ‘Er…Mother, I really have to go or I’ll be here all night.’

‘Drive home safely in the rain – and you and Afton have a good time tonight and enjoy your birthday, son. We’ll see you this weekend!’

‘Thank you, Mother.’

After he hung up, Cooper’s hand hovered over the receiver debating if he should call Afton.

No.

He lowered his hand and picked up his pen again instead. They’d made a date this morning to meet at her place at nine – he wouldn’t ruin the
‘big surprise’
she said she was planning by calling her in advance.

When he finally finished the last few details on the contract and left work, his mind was still on Afton. He drove the rain-splashed freeways of Seattle under the streetlights, wipers swishing rhythmically, contemplating again how she would react to his tardy confession of exactly who he really was and what he did for a living. It would take
a lot
of explaining on his part, Cooper admitted to himself, but hopefully she would understand and they could talk it out – all night if necessary – maybe even have shared some laughs about it by the time morning came.

Cooper switched on his blinker and swung on to the street leading to an exclusive block of residential property near the waterfront. Pulling into an underground garage, he parked his Lamborghini in a prime reserved spot then entered the ritzy building; bypassing the lobby and taking the express elevator to the penthouse with briefcase in hand. It zoomed him up noiselessly to the top floor and he exited making one quick stop at the mailbox in his private hallway.

Cooper unlocked his front door with his key; glancing down idly at the handful of birthday cards he’d received, smiling as he saw two with the address painstakingly scribbled in childish handwriting, the stamps crookedly affixed. Has to be my nieces, he thought twisting to pull the door shut behind him.

They’re the only ones who would use crayon
…

‘Surprise.’

Cooper froze, his smile disappearing.

He turned slowly around to face Afton, dressed in a sleeveless black pantsuit and spiky red heels, dark hair stylishly coiffed, sitting stiffly in the middle of the couch in his lushly decorated living room. A bouquet of shiny helium balloons bearing birthday wishes clutched in her white-knuckled hand.

His briefcase hit the floor, the cards fanning out in a colorful array beneath his feet. Lifting a weary hand, Cooper dropped his keys with a clatter into the mouth-blown, hand-cut Bohemia crystal bowl sitting on the highly polished Italian console set beneath a framed Picasso print – items selected by the top interior designer in Seattle who had used all her considerable –
well compensated –
decorating skills to turn his spacious penthouse into a dazzling showplace.

‘How did you know where I live?’ His fists slid tensely into his pants pockets, chin squared and resolutely tilted.

‘I peeked over your shoulder when you filled out your raffle ticket at the museum.’

He nodded slowly at her grave answer.

‘And how did you get in?’ Cooper kept his eyes glued on her stricken face while beginning to inch steadily closer. He stopped a few feet away on the pricey Persian rug covering the marble floor.

‘I told the concierge I was your girlfriend and that I wanted to surprise you for your birthday and he let me in,’ she replied in a dull tone, ‘he didn’t believe me at first until I showed him your photos on my cell phone.’

‘What photos?’

‘It doesn’t matter about the
damned
photos!’ Afton shouted jumping to her feet, releasing her tight grip on the colorful balloons that slowly drifted away as Cooper wished he could.

But he was trapped. In a web of deceit of his own making.

‘Why did you
lie
to me, Cooper?’

‘Afton…’ he took a step forward reaching out a hand towards her, but she backed away.

‘No!’ Afton sobbed out, ‘don’t you
dare
try to touch me!’

She stumbled behind the long sectional couch with cool black and grey accents he had paid a small fortune for, keeping it as a barrier between them, ‘did you think I was some kind of
gold-digger
– is that what it was? That I would be hard to get rid of once I found out how much
money
you have?’ she demanded, her anguished face becoming livid at his continued stoic silence. ‘
Answer me
damn you!’

‘No, of course I didn’t!’ Cooper protested feeling guilty remorse he was the cause of her pain, ‘I
never
thought that, Afton!’

‘Then why did you lie…’ Afton broke off on another heart-wrenching sob, ‘you told me you were a teller. 
A teller
!’

She looked wildly around her, her gaze skimming over the luxurious modern furnishings, the priceless original paintings and the floor-to-ceiling glass windows with their stunning views of a darkly lit Puget Sound and the mountain ranges beyond, all shouting out great wealth and prestige.

‘
You
said I was a teller!’

‘And
you
never corrected me!’ she raged. ‘
Never!
  Not once in all this time, or wasn’t that in your repertoire of pillow talk? ‘Hey baby, count yourself lucky – you just got laid by a billionaire’!’ she mocked with tears in her eyes.

‘I’m not a billionaire,’ Cooper muttered beneath his breath, eyes fixed on the tips of his shoes.

‘
What?
  Why don’t you speak up, Cooper – like you
should
have done all along?’

‘I
said
– I’m not a
goddamned
billionaire!’ he roared, head thrown back to glare at her.

‘
Millionaire
then!’ Afton hurled the words that fell into a loud telling silence.

‘Oh my God…’ she whispered in horrified realization, a shaking hand rising to cover her tremulous mouth. ‘My God – it was all true – what you said at the ball that first night. You really
are
Managing Director and Partner at a bank, aren’t you?’

Her eyes ran over him, seeming to finally see what he had seen in his dressing room mirror that morning; the impeccably tailored navy pinstriped suit, polished Italian leather shoes, and expensive Hermes grey silk tie he wore – the epitome of a wealthy mover and shaker.

‘The clothes…and the Lamborghini – they’re all
yours!
’

Cooper didn’t reply staring back at her mute, his face grim.

‘
Afton!
’ he called out pained when she suddenly turned and fled from the room.

She paid him no heed rushing down the long adjacent hallway, her heels clicking against the expensive red oak hardwood floor, throwing open doors with a bang against walls until she apparently found the room she sought. Cooper waited with his eyes closed until she returned with her arms full.

‘Degree from Stanford,’ she spat tossing down the framed items she had collected from his library wall onto the couch in front of him one by one. ‘MBA from Columbia – and what have we here?’ Afton looked accusingly over at him after she examined a picture frame closer, ‘the man who
said
he didn’t golf, in a foursome with last year’s Masters Champion,’ the photo joined the pile on the couch.

She glanced down at the last item in her hands and released a short bark of laughter that held absolutely no trace of humor, ‘and my, my, my – why, miracle of miracles – it appears the man who
claimed
he was afraid of heights – isn’t so scared after all!’

Afton flung a sterling silver frame down at his feet where the glass hit the marble floor and shattered into a million pieces over the photo of him flashing a huge smile as he planted a flag with a large number six on the snow covered summit of Mount McKinley, giving a gloved thumbs up to the camera.

‘Okay, you got me, Afton,’ Cooper threw his hands up in frustrated anger, ‘I admit it – I’m a
frigging
millionaire! Several times over in fact, and I own this penthouse outright – hell, I own the
whole
damn building! And you’re correct again, the Lamborghini is mine all
mine
– and I have a couple of Porsches and a Mercedes too.’

He crunched over shards of broken glass until he stood towering over her glaring down. ‘I like to climb mountains for fun – the
taller,
the better – and when I fill out my taxes each year I have to check the box for the
highest
income bracket – and so what!’ he demanded bitterly, ‘you make it sound like that all makes me some kind of an ax murderer!’

Afton’s harsh laugh sounded again as soon as his rant ended.

‘You still don’t get it do you, Cooper?’

She shook her head wearily, looking at him with haunting sadness etched in wet hazel eyes, ‘It’s not just about the money – it’s about
trust
. I just found out that the man I spent my nights with didn’t even trust me enough to tell me who he
really
was…’ she broke off, blinking back tears before looking back into his eyes. ‘I found out the man I was… falling in
love
with,’ his back stiffened at her words, ‘doesn’t even
exist
! And
that’s
what I can’t accept.’

She brushed a trembling hand across her eyes and turned hurriedly away as though determined not to let him see another tear fall.

‘Afton,’ Cooper scraped out her name roughly between lips that barely moved, ‘sit down and let’s talk about this calmly.’

‘No, we’re
not
talking,’ she hissed brushing past him to snatch up her purse from the couch, ‘what do we have to talk about anyway – Mr. Cooper Stewart Carrington? 
The third!
’ Afton reached for the doorknob shooting him a last contemptuous look over her shoulder as she yanked it open, ‘we’re just
strangers
after all aren’t we? Strangers in a bed!’

The door slammed shut behind her and Cooper sank wearily on to the couch. His hand brushed against something and he glanced down to see a small cheerfully wrapped box falling in between the cushions. He dug it out unwrapping it slowly, flipping open a light blue box containing round gold cuff links etched with an outline of a mountain on each.

With a grim expression, Cooper read the words written in Afton’s distinctive handwriting on the white card attached.

To Cooper – I hope you reach the top of your mountain, Love, Afton
.

His head fell back against the cushions, eyes staring blankly up at the shiny red, yellow and blue balloons bouncing and swaying against the vaulted ceiling above unable to escape the situation in which they also found themselves trapped.

Chapter Nine

‘JUST WHO THE HELL
do you think you are?’

The heated question coincided with the slamming shut of an office door and the frantic
buzz buzz buzz
from an intercom. Cooper glanced up as Afton furiously slapped her hands down against the top of the desk he’d made himself using reclaimed wood from trees cleared to build his Lake Washington house.

She glared down at him with blazing eyes matching the bright kelly green of the boat-neck T-shirt she wore with a pair of curve-hugging slim white jeans.

He reached across his desk and pressed the intercom button on his buzzing phone.