Page 14 of Craving Cooper

As for Brady, he must have been devastated. He kept it to himself, though. I knew nothing of his feelings for Laurel at the time, but hearing that my best friend had been in love with someone who was unattainable, and had stayed in love with her for so long, made no sense to me. I’d never wait nine years for a woman. Hell, I’d struggle to wait nine minutes. But in Brady’s case, it seems the wait was worth it.

Laurel looks up at Brady and leans in to him a little, her finger tracing over the lines of his tattoo, which starts on his chest and makes its way over his shoulder. They gaze into each other’s eyes, and I guess Laurel must know the significance of the tattoo herself by now… that it’s all about her.

Everything Brady does is about her… her and Addy now, and while I’ve never wanted anything like that for myself, I’m pleased for him. I’m pleased he’s found what he was looking for.

I turn away to load the box into the truck, catching a glimpse of Mallory. She seems confused, although I’m not sure why… especially as she’s staring at me. I glance down at my chest, just to make sure there’s nothing untoward going on. Okay, so I’m a little sweaty, but there’s not much I can do about that. Not in this heat.

With the box on the back of the truck, I grab the glasses of water, handing Brady his, so we can finish our drinks. We need to get on, and once we’re done, we hand them back to Mallory. Laurel persuades Addy to let us continue with our work and go back in the house, and the three of them depart, although I notice Mallory glances at me over her shoulder as she gets to the front door.

“Do I look okay?” I whisper to Brady as he climbs back into the truck.

He stares down at me, tilting his head. “You look as okay as you usually do. Why?”

“No reason.”

Except I can’t work out why Mallory keeps staring at me. She sees me every day, and has barely given me a second glance before… not that I’ve noticed, anyway.

“If we can shift that couch further back,” Brady says, “the beds will fit in more easily down the side.”

I focus on the job in hand, and have to agree with him, climbing back inside the truck.

“You guys are gonna have way too much furniture, you know that, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” he says. “But we’re gonna sell or donate most of Laurel’s things. We’ve lived with it all for long enough, but she doesn’t want the reminders of Mitch now we’re starting our new life.”

“And neither do you?” I say, grabbing one end of the couch.

“No, I don’t. So, we’re just gonna dump most of it in the garage at the new house, except Addy’s bed, and some of the things from the kitchen.”

“And clothes?” I say with a smile.

“Obviously.”

I nod my head and between us, we lift the couch, moving it to where it needs to be.

It takes another three hours, but eventually, everything from Laurel’s old house is packed into the truck, and Brady climbs into the cab to drive it over to Cedar Street. Laurel follows behind in her Lexus, along with Addy, and Mallory and I bring up the rear. I know where we’re going, so I don’t worry about sticking too close to them, to the point where I take my time, putting my t-shirt back on before getting into the car.

“Are you okay?” I ask, turning to face Mallory.

“I’m fine, thanks.” She gives me a smile, which seems much more like the ones she’d offer when we’re working together at the clinic, and I wonder if I imagined that interlude earlier. Was it just the fact that I thought she looked sexy and adorable that made me read more into her reactions?

Probably.

I start the engine, turning the car, and driving slowly toward the main road.

“Where are we going now?” Mallory asks, breaking into my thoughts. Not that I mind.

“Cedar Street.”

“Is that where Brady lives?” I glance at her as we get to the top of the driveway, noting that her lips are slightly parted and I struggle not to recall my earlier thoughts. She really has got a beautiful and very fuckable mouth. What I don’t understand is why I’ve never noticed it properly before.

The answer to that certainly isn’t because I’m seeing someone else and wouldn’t dream of looking at another woman. Being with Meredith has never stopped me from looking before. It’s never stopped me from having wayward thoughts, either. So why now? And why Mallory? Why have I failed to see those delectable lips, or wonder about having them wrapped around my cock? Presumably because whenever I’ve looked at Mallory, I’ve either been thinking about work, or I’ve been more focused on her captivating ass.

“No.” I say, remembering to speak at least, although I’m surprised by the slight croak in my voice.

“But I thought we were moving both houses into one?”

“We are, but we’re gonna offload all of Laurel’s things at their new place in Cedar Street before we collect Brady’s.”

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