Happily Ever Afton (7 page)

Afton snorted at that before going on to detail the much fought-after reward. ‘The winning group gets bragging rights and they get to keep a tacky silver trophy in their conference room until next year’s picnic – the editors have had it in theirs for three years straight and the writers are determined to recapture it this year. You don’t have to if you don’t want to,’ she hastened to add.

‘I would love to help out the writers, after all the paper couldn’t get published without them.’

With those words, Cooper was instantly beloved by the group of writers standing nearby who released a roar of approval and eagerly claimed him as one of their own. The two determined groups made their way to a wide-open area in the grass off the boardwalk where a huge mud puddle now stood awaiting victims. The teams lined up on the rope stretched across the puddle, with six people on each side – Cooper anchoring one end for the writers and Jason on the opposite side for the editors.

‘Afton, you’re the smallest, so you go to the head of the rope,’ Derrick ordered after closely assessing the strengths and weaknesses of his team like a military sergeant.

The whistle blew to start the match and Afton gave it all she had, tugging and laughing at the same time as the crowd surrounding them yelled out encouragement to each side. She glanced back over her shoulder once to see Cooper at the end of the line straining mightily, muscles flexing tautly in his powerful biceps, digging his sneakers into the grass for purchase. But the grass was still slippery from the rain and despite his best efforts; Afton soon went tumbling into the mud pile.

‘Yuck – this is so
disgusting!
’ she gasped falling onto her hands and knees with helpless laughter burbling out of her. She avoided most of the mud that befell her fellow front-of- the-line competitor from the other side of the rope – Suzie Wang – the steroid popping suspect whose long shiny black hair was now indistinguishable covered in a coating of thick mud.

‘Don’t worry Suze; I hear mud is one of nature’s natural conditioners!’ Afton chortled, reaching down a friendly hand to help out the editor of the health and beauty section of the paper.

It was a very even match this year compared to the previous year’s blowout when the editors had handily defeated the non-athletic writers who were usually found huddled indoors behind their glowing computer screens instead of pursuing strenuous activities. But this year the writers had a secret weapon and that weapon was –
Cooper
– who single handily kept them in the competition.

One by one, the line thinned on each side, the mud receiving lots of reluctant visitors until it was just Cooper and Jason left in an epic battle of strength. Where it had previously been a friendly competition, this seemed to be something more
personal
– the two heavily muscled men glaring across the mud pile at each other, each holding tightly on to the rope wrapped around their waists.

Afton nervously nibbled a thumbnail watching them battle it out, feeling almost as though
she
might as well have been tied to the middle of the rope instead of the red flag swaying over the mucky black puddle. The two grunting, heavily perspiring opponents, equally matched, sent the flag back and forth over the mud – neither willing to give an inch – and the crowd quieted, the cheers dying away. Everyone sensing that something much bigger was being fought over here.

‘So which one are you rooting for, Afton?’ Derrick sidled to her side trying to get the lay of the land as any good sports analyst would.

Afton shook her head, refusing to answer. Truth was, she really didn’t know
who
she was rooting for, just prayed for it to end quickly! She closed her eyes briefly, so she didn’t see the two small children darting in and out between the legs of the crowd in an impromptu game of chase. When one of them knocked into her, she fell off balance in the damp grass.

‘Ow!’ she yelped after landing awkwardly wrenching her wrist slightly.

Cooper looked over in concern, his grip on the rope slackening and in that moment, Jason yanked hard sending his distracted opponent flying face-first into the mud.

‘No!’

A groan went up from the writers who’d thought they had a shot this year, mingling with raucous cheers from the editors. They lifted a spotless Jason aloft on their shoulders carrying him off towards the tent with the tarnished silver trophy triumphantly thrust in the air in his hands, singing a rowdy chorus of
We Are The Champions
.

Afton ran over to Cooper who was rising slowly on to one knee trying to wipe the mud away from his face with the back of his hand. She couldn’t help but laugh seeing just a pair of bright teal-blue eyes and brilliant white smile appearing through all the mud.

‘Here, let me help you out,’ she tittered, but instead of grabbing his outstretched hand, she poured the entire contents of a large water bottle over his head clearing most of the mud from his face.

‘Gee, thanks,’ Cooper said dryly, shaking the pelt of wet black hair from his forehead.

He rose to his feet peeling off his mud-splattered T-shirt, and just as the men had done for her, a gaggle of appreciative women quickly gathered to watch. Some of the more resourceful sneakily took photos of Cooper with their cell phones, his sculpted chest bare as he bent down to try to wipe some of the mud off his shorts. Afton swallowed, mouth dry with awe, and while he remained distracted she quickly fished out her own cell phone from the pocket of her shorts and took a couple of photos herself.

Just a little something to remember him by when their deal was completed
, she defended her actions.

‘Do you want to leave now?’ she asked Cooper after a helpful Derrick tossed him a yellow T-shirt with the newspaper’s name emblazoned across to replace his ruined one.

He shrugged it on over his head to Afton’s great relief – not sure how much longer she would have been able to look at the
exquisitely
delineated broad chest tapering down to slim, lean hips and pretend as though she had no reaction. ‘All that’s left to do now is eat and I’m not really looking forward to a plate of gristly barbecue.’

‘I think we probably should go,’ Cooper glanced at the large face of his mud-speckled watch. ‘After all
my
first murder is tonight,’ he reminded her with a grin. ‘And I’ve got to try to clear the mud from all of my orifices before that momentous event occurs.’

They said their goodbyes and gathered up their things heading for the parking lot passing by the Ferris wheel on the way. Afton stopped in her tracks looking wistfully up at it. ‘Oh, we never got a chance to ride the Ferris wheel and that’s my favorite thing at the park! Want to take a turn before we go, Cooper – the line’s not too long now that everyone’s at the tent eating.’

Cooper fell silent at Afton’s eager invitation, seeing the look of pained indecision coming over his own face in the reflection of her dark sunglasses. She stared up at him expectantly waiting for his answer – but he couldn’t tell her he didn’t want to ride it because he wasn’t sure how he was going to sit so close to her and not kiss her again without losing all control. It had only been the icy splash of rain on his overheated body that had stopped him from taking her in public on top of a rickety picnic table!

Luckily, she misunderstood the reason for his indecisiveness. ‘Oh my goodness.’ Her hand flew to her mouth. ‘You’re afraid of heights aren’t you!’

Cooper looked over at the Ferris wheel jerkily turning before them that he estimated stood at about one hundred and eighty feet, comparing it to the summit of Mount McKinley where he’d recently stood, which topped out at twenty
thousand
feet.

‘Er…
yes
?’

‘We don’t have to ride it then,’ Afton said in comforting tones. ‘But one day soon we’ll come back and I’ll sit close beside you and hold your hand in mine the entire time,’ the promise was delivered with a gorgeous smile as they headed for the parking lot, yet somehow her kind offer scared Cooper more than any mountain climb
ever
had.

Chapter Five

THE DOOR OPENED
right at seven that night in answer to his prompt knock.

‘Don’t ever move from where you live now, Cooper – I swear you must have the
best
dressed neighbor in the whole world!’ Afton’s gaze of frank admiration ran over the superbly tailored charcoal-grey suit, pale blue dress shirt and designer gold silk tie he’d selected earlier from his walk-in closet bulging with racks of similar expensive clothing.

‘What are you six-three or four?’ He nodded at the latter, ‘well have you ever thought of modeling?’ Afton suggested helpfully. ‘You could make some really good money I hear – I mean I’m not sure what tellers make, but it could help pad your income a little – maybe help buy some formal clothes and a car so you don’t have to keep borrowing your neighbor’s.’

‘No way!’ Cooper laughed off the unneeded suggestion, ‘I’m definitely not male model material.’ He imitated a comical ‘blue steel’ face to her delighted laughter, ‘and besides I love my current job way too much – the excitement of the deal and all that!’

Oh, wait – I’m supposed to be a teller
, he remembered belatedly,
not a high-powered investment banker brokering multi–million dollar deals and acquisitions
.

‘Er…I mean I love all the people I meet and get to
deal
with at the bank each day.’

Afton nodded not noticing his faux pas, seeming preoccupied and a little anxious about the night to come. She bent to pick up her beaded black purse from the coffee table allowing Cooper to drink in her beauty unobserved.

‘What about you?’ He ran an admiring glance of his own over the fashionable sheath she wore that ended just above her knees, her shapely legs bare beneath and ending in a pair of black peep-toe sandals with toenails painted a bright crimson peeping out matching the swipe of color across the enticing pair of sensuous pillowy lips.

‘Have
you
ever thought about modeling?’

Afton dissolved in laughter, ‘heaven’s no – there’s not much call for five foot-three models on the runways of Paris these days in case you hadn’t noticed!’

Cooper smiled. She might be small, but whenever she was in a room, her presence was almost
palpable
. He liked that about her. He liked
a lot
about her; he amended with a contradictory frown as he watched her double-check the contents of her purse. From the way she could look good in shorts and a T-shirt covered with mud as she had earlier, to now, just a few hours later, looking simply
amazing
in the sleek black dress she wore.

The smattering of freckles across her upturned nose had been lightly dusted with powder in possible hopes of concealing their existence. But he
adored
them Cooper thought, they kept her look approachable – not Dresden china untouchable – and she also had a quirky, offbeat side that did something funny to
his
insides. Be it the pair of pink running shoes worn beneath a couture-wedding gown, or the exotic ivory Camellia now charmingly affixed in her dark hair above her left ear, she always surprised with the unexpected.

‘Are we ready to go?’ Afton asked over her shoulder, lifting a brightly colored red silk shawl from where it draped over a chair back.

‘Not quite,’ Cooper reached into his jacket pocket retrieving a small black velvet box.

Afton’s eyes grew wide spying it and she swung back to face him, ‘what the hell is
that,
Cooper?’

‘We have to make it believable for Katherine, don’t we?’

He flipped open the lid to reveal a glittering diamond ring that made her previous one she’d told him was now shoved in the back of her dresser drawer, look like it had been dispensed from a bubble gum machine.

‘
Jiminy Cricket!
’ she gasped in awe. ‘Is that thing
real
?’ Moving closer she stared down at the box with as much reverence as though it contained the crown jewels.

One corner of Cooper’s mouth lifted. ‘Now how would I
ever
be able to afford something like this on a teller’s salary?’ he asked softly, ‘Of course it’s not real, silly! I got it at the department store downtown on sale – best costume jewelry available the clerk said.’

‘I’ll say!’

Cooper watched with a tender expression on his face as Afton’s silken chestnut head bent and she reached into the jeweler’s box to remove his late grandmother’s engagement ring given to the first-born grandson in the family for his future bride – sliding it on to her ring finger.

‘It’s really breathtaking, Cooper – real or not,’ the smile she sent his way took
his
breath away. She held it admiringly up to the light, ‘it will fool even Katherine I’m sure!’

‘Well, that’s what this is all about –
fooling everyone
– right, Afton?’

Her head snapped to his, perhaps hearing something in his voice and they stared at each other for long moments.

‘Of…of course. 
Criss-cross
!’ She swallowed visibly. ‘Er…so shall we skedaddle to the scene of the crime and get your first murder over with?’

Afton did not question the shiny Lamborghini parked out front, taking his made-up neighbor’s generosity for granted now, and when they walked into the museum a short while later, many heads turned to take in the handsome couple they made, her gamine beauty offset by his tall, dark good looks.

‘
Shazam
!’ Afton gave a long low whistle as they entered the vast marble-columned entryway of the architecturally stunning, newly built museum. ‘Just look at all the muckety-mucks that turned out for this shindig tonight would you?’ she cracked looking around at the well-dressed crowd liberally sprinkled with computer company moguls and coffee shop millionaires who’d donated generously to build the museum for their beloved Emerald city.