Turbulent Intentions(54)

She loved all the flowers he’d planted—or to be more realistic, that his gardener had planted. But she’d contributed a lot to the yard’s maintenance since her arrival, so maybe that would save him some money eventually. Today would be a good day to mow if she could figure out how to get the blasted machine started. She’d never done it before. She hadn’t lived in a place that required mowing.

When she began her descent down the stairs, she heard voices, and it made her pause. Maybe Cooper had company over and wanted privacy. She wasn’t sure what to do. After standing there for several moments, ultimately the smell of coffee pushed her forward.

If he had guests, she’d just get her caffeine and then be on her way. When she stepped into the kitchen, Cooper was sitting at the breakfast bar with two of the three men she’d seen in the pictures all over his house.

Damn! Their pictures hadn’t done them justice at all.

“Come and join us for breakfast, Stormy,” Cooper called, not seeming to mind her interruption. She was shocked by how nice he was being all of a sudden.

They hadn’t spoken two decent words to each other since she’d walked from his bedroom. She didn’t trust the smile he sent her way.

“It’s okay. I’m going to grab coffee and go out back and sit on the deck,” she said. He was probably just being polite anyway.

“That sounds like a great idea. The sun is warm already this morning,” one of the men said. “I’m Maverick, by the way, or Mav. Cooper told me he had a sexy housemate, but his description hasn’t done you proper justice.” The man gave her a smile that she was sure had dropped a few women’s panties a time or two.

“Um . . . thanks,” she said, unsure how else to reply. “I’m Stormy.”

“Oooh, beautiful looks and a sexy name,” the other brother said as he stood and came right into her personal bubble. He smelled good, too, as if his looks weren’t enough to make a woman’s heart stutter. “I’m Nick. We’re Coop’s brothers.”

“I’ve seen your photos on the walls so I sort of figured,” she said.

“I’ll join you on the patio,” Nick said, standing there and waiting for her to pour her coffee.

She was trapped into visiting with the sexy brothers now.

“Can you give my roommate some space?” Cooper grumbled as he pushed Nick aside. “How are you doing this morning?”

She was stopped in her tracks as she got the full power of Cooper’s gaze centered right on her.

“I’m . . . uh . . . I’m good,” she finally managed to stutter and she pulled her gaze from his.

“You seem upset. Are you sure?” he pushed.

“I’m fine, really,” she told him. He didn’t budge. “I had a bad dream and it threw me off,” she admitted.

“What was it about?” he asked, his voice too intimate, his brothers sort of fading away as she stood there with Cooper.

“I can’t even remember,” she said, the visions that had terrified her already beginning to fade. “I was trapped . . .”

“I hate those sort of dreams,” Cooper said. He didn’t seem to be mocking her.

“Yeah, really sucks,” she said with an attempt at a chuckle.

Her coffee was ready, so she held her cup as she began walking toward the back door, the three brothers on her heels. It was quite overwhelming.

“Did you make this quiche?” Nick asked as he sat down in the chair next to hers before scooping a big bite in his mouth.

“Yeah. It was just an easy recipe I learned long ago so I wouldn’t starve,” she told him.

“Well, it’s fantastic. You can come to my house and make me some anytime,” he said with a wink that had her cheeks flaming.

“Knock it off, Nick. You’re embarrassing her,” Cooper scolded.

“Just saying that a woman who can cook is always welcome around me,” Nick told his brother, not backing down in the least.

“She’s not available to cook for you,” Cooper snarled.

“Touchy,” Mav said with a laugh as he sent a wink over to Stormy.

“I can’t really cook—not that many things,” she told the men. All this flirting coming her way was really throwing her off her morning routine.

“I might make an exception for you then,” Nick said before he stuffed his mouth again.

This time she laughed at the innocent flirting. Now she could see he was just trying to irritate his brother, but she didn’t understand why. She and Cooper weren’t a couple and neither Nick nor Mav had any idea that she’d slept with Cooper six years ago.

“I’m going to kick you guys out of my house if you don’t lay off Stormy,” Cooper threatened. Both brothers laughed.