As if seeing him doing something so domestic in her kitchen hadn’t been enough, when Cooper stood from his chair and made his way over just to kiss her good morning, Tessa was a hairsbreadth away from melting into a puddle.

God, she’d missed that kind of interaction. Loving someone was not easy. There were ups and downs, sure, but to wake up each day, or go to sleep each night in the arms of the person who would undoubtedly cherish everything about you… nothing was as heartwarming as the smile on their face.

Not that she loved Cooper.

She didn’t.

“How ‘bout coffee?” Cooper asked when he pulled away, leaving her staring after him. He wore jeans and nothing else, his delicious upper body chiseled and sleekly muscled. Letting her gaze travel over him, she stopped to check out his bare feet. Why were bare feet on men so damn sexy?

“Sounds perfect,” she answered, forcing her feet to move forward. Reaching out to take the cup, she smiled up at him. “What’s on your agenda for the day?”

A flash of the same vexation she’d seen on his face yesterday distorted his features briefly, but Cooper morphed back into his easygoing self almost immediately. “I’ve got to meet with Marcus later this afternoon.”

They never did have a chance to talk about the actual conversation Cooper had with Marcus the day before. Even though he had so rudely dismissed her at the time, her curiosity hadn’t been diminished, so as she dropped into one of the kitchen chairs, she figured she’d ask. “How’d it go with him last night?”

Cooper’s descent into his chair slowed as he stared back at her. From where she sat, he looked like he was holding his breath, but then time kicked back in and he sat down, his focus on the coffee cup in front of him.

“Not as good as I expected,” he said, peering over at his laptop screen. “But that’s not the worst of it.”

Oh, crap. She didn’t like the sound of that.

“What’s wrong?”

Cooper shook his head as though telling her nothing was wrong, but then his eyes met hers. “Looks like the press has officially found me.”

For absolutely no substantiated reason, Tessa glanced around her kitchen as though she might find some reporters hiding behind the kitchen counter.

“No, darlin’, they aren’t in here.”

She knew that, but she looked anyway, and then laughed at the way he regarded her as though she’d lost her mind.

Wait, he had specifically said in here. Did that mean they were…?

“No, I suggest you don’t go outside dressed like that,” Cooper told her, and Tessa glanced down at her tank top and boxer shorts.

“They’re out there?”

“’Fraid so.”

Tessa wanted to jump up and run to the front door to see if her lawn was littered with news vans and cameras, but she forced herself to stay seated. They were at her house. Not Cooper’s. Which meant they knew Cooper was at her house. Crap.

“Do you think it has to do with Marcus?”

“Maybe. Doubtful, but maybe.”

“Well, what are we supposed to do about it?” Tessa asked hysterically, wondering whether she was ever going to be able to step outside her front door again.

“We’re going to go about our business. I’ve got a phone call out this morning. I’m not expecting Marcus to handle this one, so I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands.”

Tessa wasn’t sure how she felt about that. And what was business as usual if their small town was swarming with reporters? It would probably cause an uproar. Hell, just Cooper’s appearance in town had brought people out of the woodwork.

“Don’t worry about it, Tessa,” Cooper said solemnly.

Tessa nodded just to placate him, sending a quick look his way. There was no way she wouldn’t worry. She didn’t know how to handle the spotlight, and she knew that when people started digging, they were going to find things that she didn’t want them to find. And just like every other time, there wasn’t anything she could do about it.

“I’m going to take a shower,” she declared as she pushed up from her chair, nearly spilling her coffee. She needed a few minutes to think this through. And she needed to be alone.

Thankfully, Cooper didn’t follow her to the bathroom, so she locked herself in and hurried into the shower. Letting the water cascade down her body, the memory of the night before flashed briefly, but she quickly pushed it away. Not that remembering how incredible the sex between the two of them was a terrible thing, but Tessa really needed to get her head on straight.

What was going to happen when Cooper found out about her past? Was he still going to want to have anything to do with her? And she knew without a doubt that the press would easily be able to unearth her demons.

But they were a long time ago, she told herself. What she did as an unruly teenager didn’t mean she was that same person. In fact, she had worked for years to lose that reputation, to ensure that her past didn’t catch up with her. It was one of the main reasons she worked with troubled kids, wanting to offer them some help so they didn’t end up in the same situation she had.

She remembered how easily everything had been brought back up when she broke up with Chad…

Shit.

Grabbing the shampoo, Tessa washed her hair and then followed it up with a glob of conditioner while her memories took hold, transporting her back to a time she didn’t particularly care to revisit. Her heart never handled reliving the past very well.

“So, what are you in for?” A rough, melodic voice sounded from somewhere on the other side of the stable.

Tessa glanced around, noticing only a line of stalls, all but two containing a horse. “Where are you?” she called out, unable to see a human being anywhere in the near vicinity, and as much as she would like to find out that the horses were talking to her, she knew better.

“This side,” the deep voice chuckled, and Tessa followed the sound.

She had to walk outside and then in through the other door to get on the far side of the stalls that lined the middle of the huge stable.

“You gonna tell me what you’re in for? Or are you just gonna stand there?”

Tessa finally found the guy attached to the voice. He was in one of the empty stalls, shoveling manure with a big shovel into a backhoe sitting just outside the door. Exactly what she was supposed to be doing. Although she was trying to buy herself some time.