Her dad relaxed a little bit, his eyes still locked on Cooper and Kayla—watching the way the two of them were interacting. Something told Cooper her father saw way too much, but he nodded and gestured toward the empty seats at the table.
“Sit. Talk. Drink,” her father said.
Kayla squeezed his arm again and sat down gracefully. She might not be used to this charade, but she was fucking good at it. The way she kept smiling with those bright blue eyes of hers shining up at him made him want to wrap her in his arms and hold her close all night long. Hell, maybe even longer.
“Sir, I’m very excited to meet you, just for the record. Kayla told me a lot about you,” Cooper said, focusing on Kayla’s father. “I’m honored to be here.”
“Are you now?” He eyed Cooper, his voice clearly skeptical. “So, tell me more about yourself.”
Cooper gripped his own knee under the table. “I was in the Marines, and I’m from Maine, near Kayla. I just recently got home after getting out, and now I’m about to make my next career move…” He broke off, smiled, and gestured toward Mr. Holt. “But you already heard that part earlier.”
Mr. Holt laughed. “We’ve already completed the background check, Greg. He’s legit.”
“I see.” He tapped his fingers on the table. “Parents?”
“Still happily married and living in Maine.”
“What do they do—or are they leaving the country, too?”
Kayla rolled her eyes. “Dad.”
“It’s fine. I don’t mind.” Cooper smiled at Kayla, trying to show her that he didn’t care about her father’s curiosity. Because he didn’t. He understood wanting to protect the people he cared about. It’s what he wanted to do, too, overseas. “My father owns a private security firm, among other things, and my mother is an artist.”
Mr. Holt perked up at that. “Your father owns a private security firm, but you’re working for me?”
“Yes.” Cooper shifted his weight and tugged on his collar, despite himself. “That’s right, sir. I feel it’s important for a man to make his own way. I don’t want to get a position because of my last name.”
Her father nodded and Cooper swore he saw something that wasn’t hatred in the other man’s stare. Maybe…respect? No. That couldn’t be it. Maybe he just had something in his eye. “All right.” He looked over Cooper’s shoulder. “I’ll see you two later, though. Max’s family just got here, and I have to go say hi. Frankie? You coming?”
Mr. Holt stood. “Of course. I’ll see you two later.”
Cooper inclined his head, then watched as they left. “Well. That was interesting, to say the least.”
“It went better than I thought it would.” Kayla leaned her head on him. “You did good, by the way.”
He kissed her temple. This snuggling thing didn’t feel too bad. “It’s the dimples. No one can resist the power.”
“Not even my father,” she said, laughter in her voice. She lifted her head and grinned at him. “Right?”
“Especially not your dad.” He stood up, then held his arm out for her. “Ready to have a drink?”
“How about ten?”
He pretended to consider this. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’d hate to have to restock the bar.”
“I’m not that bad.” She swatted his arm, then curled her fingers around his biceps. “Let’s do this.”
He led her toward the bar, strangely content to have her at his side.
Chapter Twelve
The next hour flew by in a haze of introductions and mind-numbing craziness from everyone. Everyone wanted to know how they met. Wanted to know what Cooper did for a living. How long he was staying. Everyone wanted to know…well, everything. Everyone wanted to meet Cooper, and Kayla wanted everyone to meet Cooper.
Sure, she’d been hesitant about this at first, but he was such a great guy that the whole being her “boyfriend” thing came naturally to him. Sometimes even she forgot it was all an act. She wasn’t sure what to make of that, exactly, but, hey, whatever.
It totally worked.
Even now, Cooper was surrounded by he