Before he even finished his thoughts, she was launching herself into his arms, her legs wrapping around his waist as she grabbed his cheeks and kissed him with a loud smacking noise.
“Keri, I’m in a relationship. I can’t have you crawling on me anymore,” he said with a laugh as he tried to untangle her.
“Oh, heck, if you’re in a relationship, she’ll be the type of girl who will appreciate me,” she told him, not moving.
“She’s great, but I don’t think any girl likes to see her man wrapped around a pretty blonde,” he said with a laugh.
“But I’ve missed you so much,” she said with a pout.
“I’ve missed you, too.” And Cooper did love his friends.
“Work has called,” he told her with another laugh.
“It’s not always about being a mile high in the sky, love. Friends are important, too,” she reminded him.
“Yes, I tend to forget that at times,” he admitted.
“Okay, my brother is gonna kill me. Love you, darling.” She leaned in, gave him another smacking kiss, then jumped down.
“Just think, you actually thought about marrying that girl so you could get your inheritance,” Nick said with a laugh.
“For all of two seconds. Then I realized the money just wasn’t worth it,” Cooper replied with a laugh. “I adore her, but she’s just too high maintenance. It took me seconds to decide friendship was the only thing we could sustain.”
“Well, looks like you might be getting that money after all,” Nick added with a wink.
“Yeah,” Cooper said. Though he didn’t give a damn about the rest of his inheritance. He had more than enough money of his own. He didn’t need any more. But he did want to marry Stormy. It was a wonder to him. “I am going to ask her to marry me,” he finished.
“Not bad. A hot wife, more cash in your bottomless pockets, and all the sex you can ask for.”
“You’re such an ass, Nick,” Cooper replied with another laugh. “But yes, married life doesn’t seem so bad anymore.”
“Are you kidding me?” Stormy was standing in the doorway, her face washed of color.
“Stormy,” Cooper called, a smile lifting his lips until he saw her face. Crap! How much of that conversation had she heard? He played it back in his mind. It couldn’t have sounded right.
“I thought . . . I don’t know what I was thinking,” she said, her eyes filling.
“Let’s talk. It’s not what you think,” he said as he held a hand out to her like she was a frightened puppy.
“It sounds like you need to find a wife to get a bunch of money,” she said.
Tightness constricted his chest. He’d been so worried about not allowing a woman to use him for his money and here she was infuriated that he’d kept the inheritance a secret from her. How wrong could he have been? Apparently, he was a fool.
But there was a light inside him in the midst of all of this because she was unlike any woman he’d ever been around. She was fresh and pure, and there was nothing even remotely conniving or greedy about her.
“Well, yes and no. I get my inheritance if I marry, but that’s not why I was thinking of proposing,” he told her. He was fumbling this badly. He wasn’t doing well being put on the spot.
“You aren’t who I thought you were, Cooper,” she said, her tears drying as she glared at him.
“I’ve never pretended to be anyone other than who I am with you, Stormy,” he told her. It was so true.
“Find another bride to get your inheritance.”
She turned and ran from the hangar.
“Ouch. You screwed that one up,” Nick said.
“You screwed it up. Hell!” Cooper thundered. “I’ll go talk to her.”
He took a step forward to catch her and fell flat on his face.
“What the hell?” Sharp pain shot through his ankle as he looked down to the jack he’d tripped over.
“Ouch,” Nick said with another laugh.
“Dammit, Nick. I don’t have time for this. I really must go talk to her,” Cooper said as he slowly stood and tried to put weight on the ankle. Pain clouded his vision.
“Ha. I don’t think you’re going anywhere but the doctor to get that foot looked at,” Nick told him.
“When in the hell are you going to learn to put your things away,” Cooper growled, knowing his brother was right.
“Hey, don’t try to change me, man,” Nick said. “Let’s get out of here. You can grovel with your woman later.”
Cooper reluctantly agreed as he limped behind his brother toward his old, filthy truck. “Why in the world are you still driving this piece of shit?” Cooper grumbled.