Page 31 of The Rebel

So, what the hell is wrong with me?

Knowing there was only one person who could get me out of this mood, I went into the bedroom and grabbed my phone from inside my purse. I found Sky’s contact in my Favorites and called her.

“Finally,” she said as she answered. “I thought you were never going to call. How was your Christmas?”

“Interesting.” I sucked in air. “Really, really interesting. How was yours?”

“Not nearly as eventful as yours. I know things didn’t go as planned—I got that much from your texts. Spill the beans, girl.”

As I walked back into the living room and took a seat on the couch, the grin was there, tugging its way to the surface of my mouth. “I met someone.” I squeezed my thighs together, feeling the ache that Cooper had caused this morning when he ravaged me before he got in the shower. “And I had the most incredible sex of my life.”

“You little dirty bird.” She laughed. “Seriously, I’m screaming for you right now. Who was the guy? It couldn’t have been some stranger you picked up. My girl doesn’t roll like that.”

“He wasn’t a stranger per se. I mean, I was to him—I’m positive he had no idea who I was.” I wrapped my free arm around the edge of the couch and tucked my legs beneath me. “But I certainly knew who he was.” I paused, anticipating her reaction. “It was Cooper Spade.”

“Wait … wait …wait.” She gasped. “Cooper Spade, as in Spade Hotels?”

I sighed, “Yes.”

“Rowan, holy shit.” I could hear the shock in her tone. “And you said he didn’t know who you were? How is that even possible?”

I stared at the door he’d walked through just a few minutes ago. “I never gave him my last name, and he never asked for it.”

“My mind is officially blown.”

I pushed the back of my head against the cushion behind me. “Honestly, me, too, now that I’m processing the three nights we spent together.” My eyes closed; my throat tightened. “He was sweet, Sky. Not in a way that was too much, more like a thoughtful way. He surprised me with a big Christmas dinner and gifted me the cutest origami that he’d made, he said it was the best he could do, given his lack of resources, but I loved it.” A swoony expression was growing over my face.

“He was constantly getting food delivered to the room, ordering what he thought I wanted, and most of the time, he got it right. He showered with me one night, drew us a bath another night. And the dirty talk that came out of that man? My God, it was straight-up fire.” I knew my cheeks were blazing red. “I don’t know … I guess with his reputation, I had envisioned something completely different than what I experienced.”

“You know, he sounds kinda dreamy.”

As I swallowed, my chest burned. “He was.”

“And now, he’s gone?”

I quickly scanned the room, where there wasn’t even a trace of him. “He’s headed to the airport now. I’m sure the Spade jet came to pick him up.” I laughed. “Can you imagine if the Cole jet had come for me at the same time? Now, that would have made things even more interesting.”

“Good Lord.” She snorted. “How did you leave things with him?”

I squeezed the phone between my fingers. “I got his number and intentionally didn’t give him mine. We kissed, hugged, and he left. There was no promise of any kind of future, although it sounded like he wants me to call him.”

“Seriously, you’re just full of surprises.” She went quiet for a moment. “This isn’t you, Row. I don’t even know who I’m talking to right now.”

“I know.” I lifted my head, my heart pounding. “But we can’t be together—even you know that.”

“I’m sure you left a lasting impression and Cooper is going to do everything in his power to get in touch with you.”

“You really think so? I doubt that.”

“You mean to tell me that he’s not going to hunt for the woman who rocked his world in Canada? Come on, babe.” I could see her rolling her eyes.

“He has so many women flocking to him on a daily basis. I highly doubt that he’s even going to remember me.”

“But let’s say he does. Then what?”

I got up and paced toward the windows, seeing the grounds crew shoveling the snow into banks that were far taller than Cooper. “He won’t find me, nor will he run into me. You know I’m not like my brothers. I don’t hit up the LA party scene, so he’s definitely not going to see me shaking my ass at some club.”

“Your paths might not crossthatway, but there are plenty of other ways you two could run into each other. Like his assistant, who’s probably an Instagram genius and can find you in seconds. Or the PI he can hire. Girl, there are endless ways for him to track you down.”

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