Lantern Lake (7 page)

“I didn’t borrow more than it’s worth,” she assured him, biting her lip when it sounded as if she were trying to convince both of them. “It’s going to be someone’s dream home, I’m sure of it.”

She ought to know. It was
her
dream home. But she had to sell it. That was the plan.

Until Cooper Hayes tilted his head and said, “I want to make you an offer. Right here, right now.”

Caught off balance, Vivian stammered, “What kind of an offer?”

“A generous one.” Cooper’s mouth quirked up, and he named a figure that was five times the amount Vivian had paid for the cabin. Her eyes felt like they would pop out of her head as she mentally tabulated how quickly she could pay back the Harringtons and the bank, with enough left over to fund her next house flipping project.

“But…” She struggled to control her lungs, which wanted to hyperventilate. “Cooper, that’s too much. I can’t accept.”

Annoyance creased the corners of his eyes. “My money is as good as anyone’s. At least I came by it honestly.”

He meant it to sting, and it did. But Vivian couldn’t let emotion or personal need into this conversation. “I didn’t tell you all that stuff about my parents and Gerald to make you feel sorry for me, and I won’t take advantage of…”

“What?” He lifted a brow. “Our relationship? We don’t have one. Our history? It sucks. You’re not taking advantage of anything except a solid opportunity. This is a business deal, plain and simple.”

Vivian blinked away the burn of his cool assessment of their relationship.
Message received, Mr. Hayes. Last night meant nothing to you. I mean nothing to you
.

But if that were true…

“Why are you doing this?” she demanded.

Cooper shrugged, pacing a few steps along the lakeshore as if he were restless. “I don’t know, I like it here. Sanctuary Island is pretty, the people are nice, some of my best friends have fallen for local girls…it makes sense to establish a base camp somewhere. Might as well be here.”

Vivian narrowed her eyes. “What about all that stuff you said, when you thought this was my vacation home? You sure weren’t interested in having a base camp then.”

“I changed my mind.”

Breathing deeply through her nose, Vivian turned to look at her cabin once more in the harsh, unforgiving mid-morning light. Temptation prodded at her to accept, arguing that she’d never get another offer this good.

“There’s only so much of a fight I can put up, here,” she said absently, her imagination already working on the list of supplies and tools she could buy with the purchase money.

“I’m not sure why you’re fighting it at all, to be honest.”

“Would you believe it’s been a long time since anything surprised me in a nice way?” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “I started to get used to bad luck.”

Cooper smiled, slow and predatory in a way that pumped adrenaline into Vivian’s bloodstream. “We’ll see if you still feel lucky when you hear my conditions.”

***

Cooper had learned to trust his instincts over the years, to let the universe guide him. The universe had led him to his best friends, his most memorable experiences in foreign lands…and it had also led him back into contact with Vivian Banks.

There was something between them, and he needed more time to figure out what it was. Other than the obvious, he acknowledged silently with an appreciative scan of her lithe, slender form. They’d always been compatible in bed, and when they first knew each other, they’d been compatible everywhere else, too.

Things were different now. They were both different people, a lot of water had passed under the bridge—so much that maybe it had flooded and washed the bridge out completely.

But maybe not. He looked at Vivian now, hope and apprehension warring in her eyes, and he knew he wasn’t ready to walk away. Did that mean he was giving up on his revenge?

Not entirely.

Cooper smiled, and it must not have been a very comforting grin because Vivian immediately looked wary. That was okay. She should be.

“What conditions?” she asked cautiously.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and cracked his neck lazily. “I think the amount I’m offering buys me input into what renovations you do.”

She nodded slowly, the line of her shoulders relaxing slightly. “That seems reasonable.”

That was because she hadn’t heard the kicker. “I’ll also want to oversee the renovations personally.”

Vivian’s jaw dropped for a bare instant before she closed her mouth with a snap. “You mean, you want to stay on the island so you can order me around and watch me work?”

“Not exactly.” Cooper sauntered closer, feeling like a lion stalking a gazelle when she quivered in place, clearly fighting the urge to fall back. “I want to stay here…in the cabin. With you. And I want to help with the work.”

That wrinkle he’d always adored appeared between her black brows. “You want to pay me a fortune for a fixer-upper, and then you want to do the fixing up yourself?”

Not quite ready to admit that he wanted to spend more time with her, Cooper shrugged again. “Sounds like an interesting project. And who knows, maybe that’s what’s always been missing when I’ve bought a place to live before—maybe if I get my hands dirty and make it the way I want it to be, it’ll feel more like a real home.”

Her deep blue eyes softened, and Cooper knew he had her. “That makes sense. Although, in the interest of full disclosure…. it doesn’t always work that way. I did a ton of work on the Westchester house where I lived with Gerald, and it never really felt like home.”

A complicated blend of triumph and jealousy went through Cooper in a confusing rush. He chose to focus on the victory of getting his own way with Vivian. “Great. I’ll call my money guy and have him start the paperwork. In the meantime, what’s the first item on your punch list?”

Vivian held up a hand to stop him. “Wait. Before we shake on it, I have a condition of my own.”

“I’m not a business shark like Miles,” Cooper said, amused. “But even I have enough savvy to know you’re not really in a position to add conditions of your own to this deal.”

“Nevertheless.” Vivian set her jaw stubbornly, even as a light flush pinked her cheeks. “I have to say this, because we need to be clear. You’re buying this property, and the right to help fix it up. You’re not buying rights to anything else…including me.”

This time, it was Cooper who almost took a step back. He felt like she’d smacked him across the face. Voice low and dangerous, he said, “Is that what you think of me? That I’m trying to buy you?”

The blush across her cheekbones intensified, but she didn’t back down. “No, actually.”

“If you recall,” Cooper pointed out tensely, “No money changed hands before last night.”

“And I’m not saying I don’t want a repeat,” Vivian replied, tilting her head up challengingly. “But I’ve had enough of my body being used as a bargaining chip in a business negotiation. If I sleep with you again, it’ll be because we both want it. Not because I owe you anything, or because I’m obligated to in any way. I have to be crystal clear about that…not just for me, but for you. Because I know you’d never be comfortable with anything less.”

All Cooper’s indignation drained out of him, leaving behind nothing but a strange pride in the way Vivian was handling this. She’d been through a lot since he last saw her, but she’d come through the fire strengthened at the core. He held out a hand, and when she clasped it to shake, he pulled her in close.

“I agree to your terms,” he murmured into the soft tendrils of black hair fanning across her temple. She smelled like wood smoke and lavender. “Does that mean we can’t seal the deal with a kiss?”

A slow, sweet smile curled the corners of her mouth. Those lips were made for smiling, Cooper thought. And for kissing.

In answer to his question, Vivian stretched up to press their mouths together, the heat of the embrace shocking in the morning chill. Hunger roared through him, but Cooper could control it.

Now that he knew this wasn’t a one-time deal, and he’d have weeks or months…however long it took to fix up this crazy little cottage, to sate his need for Vivian Banks. And when they were through with the renovations, he’d finally be through with her.

Right?

The next two weeks passed quickly. The days were full of learning things like how to patch a roof together, and evenings spent curled up on the second-hand couch that was the only living room furniture. Vivian hoped Cooper would let her stick around after the renovations were done, at least long enough to help with the interior decorating, but she was afraid to bring it up. Things were good between them as they worked side by side and slept tangled in each other’s arms. She didn’t think she could bear it if the answer was “no.”

Not that Cooper gave her reasons to doubt him. If anything, he seemed intent on protecting her happiness rather than tearing her down.

“Can you hand me that hammer?” he asked absently, sprawled on his stomach below the peak of the roof, surrounded by piles of replacement slate shingles.

From her position on the ladder, Vivian could reach the spot it had slid to if she stretched, but the zipper of her puffy down vest caught on the edge of the roof.

“Whoops!”

Cooper’s head shot up, concern darkening his handsome features. “Never mind! Stay put, I’ll get it.”

Vivian unhooked the zipper and rolled her eyes. “I can do it, just give me a minute.”

“No need. Just hang out on the ladder. It still feels steady, right?”

She hid a smile, fond exasperation tickling at her. “Yes. The ten-pound bags of mulch you braced it with are holding. Honestly, Cooper, when you said you wanted to oversee the renovations, I didn’t imagine that meant you’d be doing them all yourself!”

“You’ve helped.” He hooked the hammer with his foot and inched it up the roof to where he could grab it. Holding it aloft triumphantly, he wiped a trickle of sweat from his forehead with the back of his wrist. It was another mild winter day on Sanctuary Island, and working on the roof in the afternoon sun made it seem almost hot.

Not that Vivian had been allowed to do much actual work.

“Sure, because standing on a ladder and doing nothing is really helpful,” she grumbled.

“You made me lemonade,” Cooper pointed out. “And brought me lunch.”

“I’m supposed to be learning about home repair and renovation, not how to be a waitress!”

“Learn by watching,” he said firmly, going back to his careful placement of the dark grey stone tiles. “I don’t want you scrambling around up here. You could fall.”

“So can you. But I already know how useless it is to mention that fact.” She sighed. “Useless is basically my middle name.”

“Don’t say that,” Cooper mumbled around the nails he’d stuck in the side of his mouth until he needed them. “You’re not useless. I’m here to help, so just accept it. You don’t have to do this all on your own.”

A wave of warmth swept through her, but right on its heels was the old, familiar clench of guilt. She should be on her own. It’s what she deserved.

Cooper’s eyes narrowed as if her negative thoughts were written on her forehead. He propped himself up on one sweatshirted elbow and pointed the hammer at her. “Stop it. Seriously. I can’t take that guilty face. What do you have to feel so guilty about anyway?”

She could hardly believe he had to ask, but… “Um, disappearing on our wedding day without even leaving a note?”

An odd look came over his face. “You really still feel bad about that.”

Bad didn’t begin to cover it. “It was the worst mistake of my life. And it led to a whole host of other mistakes, terrible choices and stupid decisions, and I feel guilty about all of it. All those people my parents and Gerald defrauded—some of them lost their life savings.”

“Yeah, and you spent your life savings trying to pay them back,” Cooper argued. “Even though you had nothing to do with the crime.”

“I should have known what Gerald was up to. How could I not have realized something was wrong?” She shook her head, hands tightening on the top rung of the ladder until the rough metal tread cut into her palms. “The truth is, everything was wrong back then. I couldn’t pick out that one criminal thread of wrongness from the mess of the rest of my life.”

Cooper’s eyes flashed, and he began the slow, precise process of making his way across the slanted roof toward her. Vivian swallowed, nose and eyes burning, and wished she had the inner fortitude to laugh off the memories and assure him she was fine.

Instead, she waited mutely until Cooper had inched close enough to put his arms around her. As steady as the ladder was, Vivian sighed with relief at the strong, sure grasp of his arm. She dropped her head on his shoulder and tried not to unbalance him.

“Viv,” he said tenderly, in a tone that threw her back ten years into the past, when everything had been simple and she’d still had hopes about how her life could turn out.

“Hey, come on now.” Cooper’s long-fingered hand, rough with new calluses, cupped her chin and lifted her face until he could kiss her. “You’re fixing it. Maybe not literally with a hammer and nails, like you thought—but you’ve taken major steps to fix your life. You should feel good about that.”

Tears choked her for a moment, and when she could speak again it was more of a croak. “How can you say that? You, of all people. You know how much I deserve to be punished.”

***

The whole world slipped sideways for a horrifying instant of vertigo that made Cooper clutch at Vivian more tightly, certain that the roof was caving in or the ladder was toppling to the ground. But when he sucked in oxygen and steadied himself, he realized it wasn’t the roof or the ladder that had shifted.

It was his reality.

Every moment of anger, every bitter recrimination he’d leveled at Vivian in the years since she walked out on their future…and nothing he’d said or thought could match the ways she’d punished herself.

“You told me once that you married Gerald because you’d already given me up, so it didn’t matter what happened to you. But it was more than that. You were punishing yourself for what you did to us.”