“Hmmm,” Cooper said, looking as though he were pondering her suggestion. Tessa could only hope that no matter what, Luanne would realize the error of her ways because Tessa was almost positive that she wouldn’t survive even one date with Cooper.

“Deal.” Cooper held out his hand for her to shake and Tessa stared down at it.

Her brain took a second to realize what she’d just done and then she lifted her hand and met his, enjoying the firm grip of his touch much more than she should have.

Yep, she had evidently just jumped in over her head.

Chapter Eight

It was hard to believe, but two weeks had passed since Tessa and Cooper had their conversation at Charlie’s Restaurant and just as many days since she had hired him on at the bar. There were no other encounters of the kissing kind during that time, which was both a relief and a disappointment. Tessa knew she shouldn’t want him, but the more time they spent together, the more he was growing on her.

On top of that, The Rusty Nail was running seamlessly. There were new faces last Friday and Saturday night, all of them drawing enormous crowds, sometimes more than her bar could handle. Cooper didn’t seem to have a problem with it. In fact, he had already told her that next week, the acts would be even bigger.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, she had managed to get through her first phone call with Cooper’s infamous manager who, honestly, was an asshole. She’d had the pleasure of talking to him on Monday night when he called the bar directly. According to him, Cooper wasn’t answering the phone and it was urgent. At least they weren’t busy because Manager Marcus had refused to let her got off of the phone with him.

Much to their dismay – her and Eric – they didn’t get to hear the showdown between the two men because once Cooper was informed that Marcus had called her, he’d gone outside to call him back. Tessa had no idea what Cooper told the man, but they had yet to hear any more from Marcus the Manager.

No love lost there.

Cooper was a little more relaxed, although she wasn’t sure that was even possible. It seemed as the days went by, he became more and more comfortable in Devil’s Bend, and he was still just as anxious to get the land as he had been in the beginning. As far as she knew, he hadn’t heard from Luanne though.

Every night they were open, Cooper was right there beside her, working his magic and making the crowds go crazy. If he didn’t have someone on the stage, he would sometimes jump up there for the hell of it. Tessa enjoyed those moments, especially when Cooper let himself go. The man was a sight to see up on that stage.

The fans were still bombarding him, but they were at least trying to be polite about it. Tessa wasn’t sure that would ever slow down; after all, he was famous, so it did make sense that people would want to meet him. So far, they’d been able to manage them easily.

“Hey! Can I get a beer over here?” Tessa looked up to see Cooper walking toward her, a huge grin on his face. For some strange reason, she felt the urge to smile back.

It could’ve been because the man was sinfully attractive with his dark hair and glowing golden eyes. Or possibly, that body that looked good enough to eat in those damn dark Wranglers that showcased one of the finest asses she’d ever seen. Not that she was attracted to him or anything. She’d gotten over that about thirteen days ago.

Ok, so she was in denial too.

She was still doing a damn impressive job of pretending though. They had managed to work side by side each night and had even shared a few casual conversations, which gave her a glimpse into his life a little bit.

He was looking for something, obviously, which was why he ended up in Devil’s Bend. Tessa just wasn’t sure he was going to find it. He seemed to be running from his own life. The problem with running is that you generally didn’t end up where you wanted to be either. She kept waiting for Cooper to announce to them all that his tour bus was waiting outside and he was riding off into the sunset.

Without even thinking about it, Tessa poured him a beer, knowing that he preferred draft to bottle thanks to his frequency in the place. When he approached the bar, she passed it over and beamed at him. His grin was contagious. “Why’re you so happy?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? I just received a phone call from my Realtor. You know what that means?”

Tessa shook her head, though she still smiled because that devious grin on his face was infectious.

“It means no more motel rooms for me.”

Thank God he didn’t mention the date. After all, they’d agreed if Luanne called him first, Tessa would go out with him. And clearly, he must’ve received an agreement on the original price. For some strange reason, she wanted to walk around the bar and wrap her arms around him. She was a sucker for that sort of emotion, and he seemed genuinely happy.

Even if his happiness was at her expense.

“I take it she went with your price?”

“She actually came down a few thousand. Seems that playing hard to get works out sometimes. We should celebrate,” he stated after she was smart enough to keep her feet glued to the floor where she was.

“I just gave you a beer.” Tessa laughed. “What more could you possibly want?”

“Dinner.” The smile was still on his face, but there was something else lingering in his golden eyes. Heat maybe? Since she felt it too, she was hard pressed to be able to deny what she saw there.

“With who?”

“You, of course.”

“Sorry, cowboy. I’ve got a bar to run.”

“You do. But I also know you happen to have Tuesday night off. What do you say?”

Tessa didn’t say anything. She wasn’t sure what to say. Tuesday was still a few days away, but her nerves didn’t seem to understand that. The smart part of her brain told her she needed to say no. The other part wanted to jump up and down like a giddy school girl and announce to the bar that Cooper Krenshaw wanted to take her on a date.

Before she knew what was happening, Cooper was leaning over the bar, mere inches from her face and Tessa could hardly breathe. His eyes were glowing with what appeared to be elation, but worse than that, she couldn’t take her eyes off of his mouth. If she just leaned forward a fraction of an inch, she would be close enough to feel the heat of his breath against her mouth. If she moved a fraction of an inch more than that, she would get to confirm yet again that those sensual lips were as soft as they looked.