Page 32 of Guarding the Singer

Selene knew that the comment wasn't for her, but before she started to walk into the house, she gave Mandy a wave as the other woman stepped outside. "Thanks for waiting."

Mandy lifted a hand to wave it and stepped outside. "I get paid to do it."

The heavy wooden door slammed shut and Selene blew out a breath.

"Now where," she wondered under her breath, "is his library?"

"Selene? Is that you?"

Her shoulders sagged in relief. "Cooper? It's me! Sorry I'm late!"

Cooper appeared at the landing on the staircase. He lifted his hand in greeting. "Nonsense! The party doesn't start until you're here. Do you want me to come down-"

"I can come on up. No need to make the evening into a workout if you don't need to."

She was halfway up the stairs before she realized that she hadn't taken her coat off.

Scolding herself as she moved, she peeled her coat off and draped it over her forearm. As she reached the landing, she could see Cooper's curious gaze on her face, and she could hear quiet conversation in the room off to the right.

A quick look told her that it was, indeed, the library.

"What are you doing with your coat?"

She grinned and there was a little wince inside at the question.

"Sorry, Cooper. I forgot to take it off downstairs."

Cooper took it in his hands and laid it over a table just before the door. "I'm surprised that Mandy didn't take it from you and hang it up."

She put her hand on his arm and gave him a reassuring touch. "It's not a problem, Cooper."

"No," He frowned and took a step back toward the stairs, "if she's close enough."

"Cooper, please." She grasped his arm a little tighter.

Tighter than she'd meant to.

"Cooper, really. It's fine. It was my mistake. I know she was staying until I got here. So, again, it's my fault. By the time I got a car to come and pick me up, I-"

Cooper's face changed in a heartbeat.

She could tell that he was concerned, but there was something else weighing on his mind.

He was looking at her like a cross between a guardian and a stern professor. "What do you mean you had togeta car to come and pick you up?"

Selene froze a little. She'd tried to call Mandy when she found herself sitting on her stoop waiting for the car that had been reserved to take her to Cooper's home, but the call had gone unanswered.

It wasn't a huge thing either way. Cooper likely kept Mandy hopping while she was working. Cooper lived life on a fast forward setting. He was always doing something.

So if the reservation on a car had fallen through the cracks, that was fine.

She got to his home, and it was still close to the right time.

Not on time, but...

"Cooper. Please. Can we talk about this later?"

She smiled and hoped that he'd unconsciously mimic the gesture.

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