Page 8 of Cooper

He had unruly darkhair that tended to curl at the front, one thick lock falling overhis broad, intelligent forehead. His amber eyes were intent anddirect, giving one the impression that he was staring into the soul.

His body was tannedand fit, the muscles well-defined. His mouth had a sensuous tilt hitthat sent shivers along her spine whenever she looked at it.

He was cocky andarrogant, two characteristics she had first noticed about him. Butwhy wouldn’t he be? she thought wryly. He was every woman’sdream and a fantastic lover in bed.

“You weresaying?” There was an impatient note in his deep voice as hewaited for her to continue.

“I am a catch.”She told him wistfully.

A faint smile touchedthose sensuous lips and shivered along her spine.

“You areindeed.” Rising from his lounging position on the chair, hewalked over to stand before her. “How about we skip the rest ofthe meal and take this into the bedroom?” He suggested softly.

Wendy knew what hewas doing and had to address the acute disappointment andfrustration. But she knew him well enough to realize he would showher the door if pushed.

She was going to haveto bide her time. She had jumped the gun by mentioning marriage andher true feelings and would have to backtrack and readjust herstrategy. Putting a seductive smile on her lips, she looped her handsaround his neck.

“What do youhave in mind, doctor?”

He whisperedsomething in her ear that had her going warm all over.

“I think thatcan be arranged.” She whispered back.

*****

By the time she wasthrough the housework, Brooke was exhausted and ready to give in tothe pressure and hire a maid. She was never domestic; consideringthat she had been brought up in a privileged, decadent household,that was not a surprise.

It was not merely thesorting into piles; it was the taking out of the washer and puttingthem inside the dryer and remembering to put in dryer sheets. Theworst thing was that there were six damn loads!

She glared at themachines as if they were the ones who had gotten them into this mess.She was not a freaking clothes horse, far from it. She wore scrubs tothe clinic, dark colored ones because of the conditions she workedin, and she had little to no social life because of her commitment tothe clinic.

She had several pairsof jeans and a few cocktail dresses for when she was forced to attendthe endless functions she was guilted into attending when her motherinsisted on it.

The most money shespent was on underwear.

She was not a girliegirl and did not care about shopping, but she had a weakness forexpensive underwear and owned tons of it. She had been putting offdoing laundry for the past four weeks- four weeks? That could not beright, could it?

Closing her eyes, sherealized that it was longer than that. She had been scrubbing thearms of her scrubs, which looked clean enough to wear two or threetimes, and getting away with it.

“Okay,”Taking a deep breath, she moved slowly towards the washer and pressedthe door open. Reaching inside, she dragged out the mountain ofclothing and dumped them into the dryer unceremoniously. Pitching inthe dryer sheets, she pressed the start button. She left more clothesin the washer and dealt with the detergent and softener.

That done, she wipedthe moisture from sweat from her forehead. Walking into the kitchen,she removed a case of beer from the fridge, pulled off a can, andpopped the cork. Taking a long swallow, she put the can on the smallcounter and sat.

The memories she hadbeen avoiding since she talked to her brother came tumbling back, andshe could not stop them.

Her fingers clenchedaround the can so tightly that she almost bent it. Closing her eyesbriefly, she willed the bitterness and disillusionment away. She hadbeen seven when she first discovered Derrick Campbell’sduplicity.

Dwayne had alwaysteased her about being ‘daddy’s princess.’ And shehad not minded in the least because she had been proud to be hisfavorite. Dwayne had always belonged to their mother, but she wasdaddy’s little girl, at least; that was what he had drilledinto her since she could remember.

Marjorie Campbellbelieved in a strict and rigid upbringing for her children. Theybelonged to an elite society and were required to get straight A’sin school, be involved in the large Catholic congregation, and werenot allowed to mix with the ‘common’ people.

Their friendswere children of the parents who socialized with the family, andthere were no exceptions. Brooke always had a mind of her own, andafter a visit to the park, she befriended a girl from the downtowncommunity and asked if she could be invited to their home.

The lack of actionfrom her mother had not deterred her. She had found a way to wheedleher father into going to the park to meet with her new friend, and hehad accommodated her.

She had thought hewas the best dad in the world and idolized him. Nothing anyone hadsaid to her could make her believe otherwise. Dwayne had tried towarn her several times with no success.

“He is not whoyou think he is, Brooke.” He had told her soberly. “Idon’t want your illusions to shatter, but you must realize heis not perfect.”

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