“No. I haven’t.”
Ignoring his false denial, Coop continued with his hushed rant. “Plus, you practically jumped all over Mac’s ass to get this assignment.”
“I didn’t jump.” Grant took a step forward, his hands curling into tight fists at his sides. “I explained to you why I volunteered for this job.”
Not backing down, Coop grinned. “Oh, you explained alright. I’m just not buying it.”
Grant wanted to shove his knuckles into the other man’s teeth. “You seem to be under the impression I give a shit what you buy or don’t buy.”
Snapping his fingers, Coop pointed at him for the second time. “That’s another thing. You’ve been on the defensive with this case from day one.” Straightening his shoulders, he spoke with a piss-poor British accent. “I think thou doth protest a little too much.”
Grant took a step back and forced himself not to reach out and break the man’s finger right the fuck off. “I’m protesting because your accusations are completely unfounded. And, we’ve only been working this for three days, dumbass.”
“Deflect all you want, man. I saw the way you were looking at her.”
What the hell?“When?” Grant challenged.
“When she was hugging her dad. You got this look in your eye. One I’ve never seen you wear. Almost like you wished she was hugging you instead.”
Shit. Goddamn it. Shit.“So, I glanced Brynnon’s way. Doesn’t mean I like her.”
“Bullshit.” Coop smirked. “It was only there for a second, but I saw it. You got that same look Jake has when he looks at Olivia. And Trev with Lexi, or D with Charlie.”
Anxiety began to seep through his pores. Coop couldn’t be right. He wasn’t falling for her. Was he?
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Grant gave himself a mental shake. What the hell was he worried about? It wasn’t the same look. Even if it were, it wouldn’t matter. He didn’t do the whole committed, romantic shit those other guys did.
He tried that once. Still bore the scars inside his soul because of it.
More than ready to end the pointless conversation, Grant decided to turn the tables on the know-it-all.
“Speaking of looks, Sean...how’s Mac doing?”
Coop blinked. “What?”
“You wanna talk about the way a guy looks at a woman, take a look in the fucking mirror."
The other man shook his head. “Mac and I are teammates. Partners. That’s all.”
“But you want to be more, right?”
“Fuck, no!”
Grant nearly smiled. “Now who’s protesting, asshole?”
“Because you’re way off base with this shit.”
“Right. And I suppose I’ve imagined all those stolen glances I’ve seen you throw her way. Or the ones she’s given you.”
Coop’s brows raised, and the guy's cheeks actually became slightly flushed. His physical reaction to Grant’s statement made him wonder if Coop genuinely didn’t realize the way Mac looked at him when she thought no one was watching.
After recovering from the apparent bomb drop, the other man tried stumbling his way out of it. “She doesn’t...you don’t...I haven’t been throwing Mac anything.”
“Only because, from what I’ve seen, she hasn’t been willing to play catch. Yet.” He tossed that last word in there, just to keep Coop’s melting pot of thoughts boiling.
Flustered, the only thing the former Ranger could come back with was, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
