back. Cooper held on. She raised her eyes to his, saw a challenge there.
“No need to rush off. It’s been a long time. We have a lot of catching up to do.”
Natalie glanced around the crowded dance floor where she spotted Belle chatting up the mother of the groom. Her boss lifted a wineglass in her direction along with a finely penciled eyebrow. Lovely. Now Belle would be asking questions about the handsome hunk with whom Natalie had been dancing. Belle was a die-hard romantic, a natural inclination given her business of coordinating the most beautiful weddings in New England.
She was also one of the greatest Southern ladies of all time. Belle Mackenzie had given Natalie this job, encouraged her to stand strong when the storms of life had nearly swept her under, and had been a motherly shoulder to cry on in times of distress. Natalie adored Belle, so much so that she wanted to live the rest of her life as Belle did, as an independent woman in charge of her own life. No man need apply. There was no opening for romance at the Thompson house.
“I’m supposed to be working,” she said.
Still, Cooper made no move to release her hand. She gave a gentle tug. He held fast, an enigmatic smile tilting those aristocratic lips.
“Nothing for you to do.” He nodded toward the bride’s table before smoothly sweeping Natalie back into his arms.
Blame it on the insulin reaction, blame it on the romantic swirl of bridal lace and the clink of champagne glasses, but Natalie could no more resist dancing with Cooper than she could conduct the Boston Pops.
After all, what he’d said was true enough. Her glorious creation was being whittled to nothing as guests came back for seconds, murmuring over its deliciousness. There wasn’t anything for Natalie to do until the reception ended except enjoy the compliments.
Cooper’s strong fingers clasped her much smaller hand against his chest. She felt the rhythmic beat of his heart, noticed the hard contours of his athletic torso. Though she tried not to think of Cooper as an attractive man, with the number of interested female glances coming his way as a constant reminder, she was failing miserably. She resented the feelings. Resented the reminders that she was a passionate woman alone. Especially she didn’t like the idea of betraying Justin’s memory with his once close competitor.
“Tell me about your new job,” she said, frantic not to notice Cooper’s muscular thighs brushing hers or the tingle of awareness that rushed from her own thighs upward.
He gave her a lazy smile. “I’m boring. Tell me about you.”
Boring? She doubted there was anything boring in Cooper’s life.
She, on the other hand, was quite ordinary and content to be so. A Friday-night poker game with the other Wedding Belles, a little gossip, Sunday afternoons in the park with her kids.
“Working. Taking care of my girls. Not much else.”
“And the cakes?”
“Oh, yes. Lots and lots of cakes.”
“Sweet,” he said and they both laughed.
“How, or perhaps I should ask why, did a diabetic choose to be a cake decorator?”
“Fairy,” she corrected.
“Ah, yes. Cake fairy.” His eyes twinkled. “It suits you.”
“My girls think I should wear a Tinkerbell costume with wings and a tutu.”
A wicked gleam. “Now that I’d like to see.”
“I’ve actually thought about it. For kids’ birthday parties, I mean. They would love it.”
He laughed down at her and something low in her belly reacted. She hadn’t felt this way in more than two years. Feminine, attractive, womanly.
The shock of it caused her to misstep.
“Sorry,” she said as a blush warmed her neck and cheeks. Hopefully, Cooper would blame the stumble for her sudden fluster.
“No problem. You need to rest anyway after that insulin reaction. I shouldn’t have kept you out here so long.”
As if reluctant to break contact, he held on to her hand and led her toward a white linen-clad table. Still stunned at her unexpected reaction to his very male nearness, Natalie followed without resistance.
“Something to drink?” he asked.
As she sank into a chair, she nodded. “Water would be great. I’m hot.”
Cooper inclined his head with a wicked smile. “I’d have to agree.”
Her flushed skin grew redder. How long had it been since she’d even thought of herself as an attractive woman? As a hot babe?
“Go away, Cooper,” she teased, trying to laugh off her sudden discomfiture.
He laughed, too, but did as she said, returning in a very short amount of time with their drinks. “I wanted to try your cake but it’s all gone.”
“Even the groom’s cake?”
“Every crumb. You must be a great cake fairy.”
Before she could think of a witty comeback, Cooper’s cell phone chirped.
“Excuse me,” he said as he reached inside his jacket and drew out the instrument. “Dr. Sullivan.”
An amazing transformation happened before her eyes. She’d seen it with Justin. Cooper’s face, animated, teasing and maybe a tad flirty a moment ago became a study in serious listening. The brilliant mind behind the playboy smile kicked into high gear.
“Call Dr. Francis. Ask him to assist. I’ll meet him there in twenty minutes.”
He snapped the phone shut and slid it inside his jacket.
“A patient?” Natalie asked.
He nodded and pushed back from the table.
“Sorry to break up the party. It’s been great seeing you again, Natalie.”
Natalie experienced a frisson of disappointment. “It was good to see you too, Cooper. I hope all goes well with your patient.”
He tilted his head, whipped around to leave but turned back just as quickly to hand her a business card. “Call me. We’ll get together.”
With that he was gone, straight back and wide shoulders slicing through the crowd with a confident air until she lost sight of him.
She gazed down at the card bearing his address and phone number in a bold confident font.
Call him? Call a man who’d rattled her self-imposed moratorium on male-female relationships?
Not likely.
CHAPTER TWO
“GOOD case, Dr. Sullivan.”
Seated
