Danielle Steel - The Cottage

“I'm not ‘encumbered’ actually. I don't have enough time to be. I'm not a very reliable date, I'm afraid. I'm either on duty, or on call.”

“I know,” he smiled, “or sleeping. I told you, I like a challenge.”

“Well, I am one, in more ways than one,” she admitted. “I'm a little gun-shy about serious relationships. A lot gun-shy actually.”

“Thanks to your brother-in-law?” he asked gently, and she nodded.

“He taught me some painful lessons. I haven't ventured out too far in deep waters since then. I tend to stay at the shallow end, with the kiddies. I can handle that. I'm not so sure about the other stuff.”

“You'll risk it for the right man, you just haven't met him yet.” There was some truth to what he said, but honesty in what she had too. She was terrified of getting hurt again, hadn't had a serious relationship since her broken engagement, and dated very little.

“My life is my work, Coop. As long as we both understand that, then I'd love to see you.”

“Good,” he sounded pleased. “I'll call you.” Though it wouldn't be too soon, he had good instincts about those things. He wanted her to miss him, and wonder why he wasn't calling. He knew exactly how to play women. And Alex was open and easy to read, and she had explained herself to him.

She thanked him without kissing him, and he watched to make sure she got into the building safely. He waved as he drove away, and she looked pensive as she rode up in the elevator. It was hard to know if he was for real, and she was skeptical. It would be so easy to fall for someone as smooth and charming as he was, and then God knew what would happen. As she let herself into her apartment, she wondered if she should go out with him again, or if it was too risky. He was a very experienced player.

Alex took her clothes off and dumped them in a heap on a chair, along with the surgical pajamas she'd worn all day, and the ones she'd worn the day before, and the day before that. She never had time to do laundry either.

Coop was very pleased with himself as he drove home. It had gone exactly the way he had wanted it to. And whatever his intentions, or hers, it had been a good beginning. He would just have to see which way the wind blew, and how he wanted to play it. But Alex Madison was definitely an option.

He wasn't worried about it, and Alex didn't have the energy to be. She was asleep before he even got home to The Cottage.

Chapter 9

Charlene called Coop half a dozen times that night, and again, at least another dozen times, the next morning. But this time, Paloma didn't trick him into taking the calls. She knew he would have killed her. He finally took a call from her two days later. He was trying to let her down gently, although not speaking to her for two days was not Charlene's idea of gentle.

“What's up?” Coop asked casually when he took the call. “How are you?”

“I'm crazed, that's how I am,” she said, sounding frantic. “Where the hell were you?”

“I was on location, doing a commercial.” It was a lie, but it calmed her down for a minute.

“You could at least have called me,” she said, sounding injured.

“I thought of it,” he lied, “but I didn't have time. And I thought we both needed space. This isn't going to go anywhere, Charlene. I think you know that.”

“Why not? We were great together.”

“Yes, we were,” he conceded gracefully. “But if nothing else, I'm too old for you. You need to find someone your own age to play with.” It never even occurred to him that she was only a year younger than Alex.

“That's never stopped you before.” She knew from the tabloids and people who knew him, that he'd been out with girls who were even younger than she. “That's just an excuse, Coop.” She was right of course, but he would never have admitted that to her.

“It doesn't feel right,” he tried another tack. “It's awfully hard making relationships work in our business.” But that wasn't plausible either. They both knew he'd been out with every actress and starlet in Hollywood, sometimes for long periods of time. He just didn't want to pursue it with Charlene. He thought she was vulgar, at least in the way she dressed, and a little obsessive. What's more, she bored him. He was far more intrigued by Alex. And not entirely indifferent to her fortune. It wasn't his main attraction to her, but it certainly added incentive to lust and fascination. Charlene had none of that to offer. And he also wisely sensed that if he wanted to date Alex, he would have to keep his nose relatively clean. Appearing in the tabloids with a girl who had started as an actress in porn videos was not going to further his cause with Alex. And for the moment, Alex was the object of his current interest. Charlene was history, and an extremely brief, undistinguished chapter. He had had many like her, and he always tired of them quickly. And the few exotic elements she had, like a Japanese grandmother, and having lived in Paris and grown up in Brazil, simply didn't make up for what she lacked in distinction. Besides which, he had discovered, she had a vicious temper, and she seemed a little unbalanced to him. She was not taking the hint and disappearing gracefully, she was hanging on to him like a pit bull with a bone in its teeth, which was something Coop hated. He much preferred swift, painless endings to the dogged, desperate pursuit Charlene was inflicting on him. He resented her for it, and felt trapped and claustrophobic every time he talked to her.

“I'll call you in a few days, Charlene,” he said finally, but that only enraged her.

“No, you won't. You're lying.”

“I don't lie.” He sounded greatly offended. “I have a call on the other line, I'll call you back.”

“You're a liar!” she screamed, and he quietly disconnected. He didn't like anything about the way she was behaving. Overnight, she had become a major problem. But there wasn't much he could do about it. She'd give up eventually, but in the meantime, she was being very unpleasant, and Coop was annoyed at her.

He called Alex that afternoon, but she had three emergencies back to back, and she didn't get back to him till that evening. And all he got was a message on his voice mail from her. She'd been going to bed at 9 P.M. when she called, and said she had to be up at four the next morning. Establishing a relationship with her was not going to be easy, but it was definitely worth it, in Coop's eyes.

He finally connected with Alex the following afternoon. She only had a few minutes to talk, and she was on duty for the next several days, but she agreed to come to dinner on Sunday. Although she warned him she'd be on call then.

“What does that mean? They call you for advice?” he asked hopefully, and somewhat naively. He couldn't remember ever dating a doctor, although he had dated several nurses, and a chiropractor once.

“No,” she laughed easily, and he loved the sound of her laughter. Everything about Alex was honest and open. “It means I have to leave in a matter of seconds, if they page me.”

“I may have to confiscate your pager in that case.”

“There are days when that would be extremely appealing. Are you sure you want me to come to dinner if I'm on call?”

“Absolutely sure. I'll make you a doggie bag if you have to leave.”

“Would you rather wait till I have a day off free and clear? I have one next week, if you'd prefer that,” she offered fairly.

“No, I want to see you, Alex. I'll make something simple you can take with you.”

“You're going to cook?” She sounded vastly impressed, and so was he. The only thing he could cook was toast for caviar, or boil water for tea.

“I'll figure out something.” Life without a cook was a new challenge for him. He was thinking of calling Wolfgang Puck and having him send over some pasta and a salmon pizza. He liked that idea, and on Saturday, he called Wolfgang, who promised to send over a simple meal for two, and a waiter. It was perfect.