ought to leave the dance floor but he found himself strangely hesitant. One more song, he told himself. Then he would lead her back to the group and do his best to put this inconvenient attraction out of his mind.
15
OLIVIA
As the band led into another song, Olivia waited for Cooper to stop dancing and return them to his sister and her friends. When he continued swaying with the slow, sultry song, she decided she was enjoying herself too much to say anything.
Other than a few nightclubs in college and a tango class she took when she first moved to Seattle, she hadn’t danced with someone in a very long time.
That was a true shame. There was something so sensual about it.
She closed her eyes, inhaling the scent of him, masculine, clean, some sort of woodsy soap with a hint of aftershave. The muscles beneath her hands were strong, taut, and she couldn’t help thinking that these muscles saved lives and helped people protect their property.
Again, it seemed a betrayal of the girl power movement she so strongly believed in, but everything inside her wanted to nestle against him, safe in his arms.
She fought the urge to rest her cheek against his chest and listen to his heartbeat. Let’s not get carried away or anything.
She could easily see herself making a fool of herself if she wasn’t careful. There could never be anything between them and she needed to remember that. This was Cooper Vance. Her best friend’s brother. Her sister’s best friend. Her childhood crush.
The man who had tried and failed to save her father.
Their history was entirely too tangled and complicated for her to unravel during the short time she would be in Cape Sanctuary.
The song was almost over when a shriek rang out from the corner of the tavern.
A few other people cried out and Olivia almost dived for cover until she heard the follow-up cry.
“Help! My sister! Someone help her!”
If she had any doubt that Cooper Vance was a first responder to the bone, that was eradicated in one single instant. He whirled on the spot, dropping his arms from her and rushing to a nearby table.
She stood on the dance floor, not sure what to do. He might need help. She couldn’t do much but she could at least call 911.
She hurried to join him in time to watch Cooper lower a woman about her own age to the floor.
“Does your sister have any allergies or any history of heart or lung problems?” he asked, his voice as calm as a summer breeze.
Another woman stood nearby, expression frantic and her hands shaking.
“She’s allergic to shellfish. But we didn’t order shellfish or anything with shellfish in it! I’ve never seen her have this reaction. She said she was having trouble breathing and then she just passed out.”
“Does she have an EpiPen?”
“She always carries one, but I couldn’t find it on her. She switched purses at the last minute. I...I wonder if she forgot to put it in her bag.”
He adjusted the woman’s head, which looked swollen and blotchy, and felt for a pulse. The band had stopped playing and a crowd had gathered.
“Anybody have an EpiPen?” he called out.
“I do. Here.”
A man thrust one at Cooper, who shoved it into the woman’s upper thigh and held it there for ten seconds or so.
“What can I do?” Olivia asked quietly as he massaged the spot where he had injected her with epinephrine.
“Call 911. Tell Dispatch we have a possible allergic reaction and the female patient is having trouble breathing.”
Even as he spoke, the woman gave a ragged breath and her eyes fluttered open.
“There you go,” Cooper said in a soothing voice.
“Come on, Carla,” her sister said. “Wake up.”
Olivia spoke quickly into the phone, relaying to the dispatcher the information Cooper told her. It took about seven minutes for paramedics to arrive, and by that time, Carla, a tourist from Iowa on a bucket list trip with her sister, was sitting up and answering his questions.
“Do I have to go to the hospital? I’m feeling much better.”
“You do. Sorry,” he said. “You know how serious anaphylactic shock can be. You need to be checked out in the ER.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry, Terri. I shouldn’t have had the fish tacos.”
“We asked if there was shrimp in it and the server said no.”
“Maybe she didn’t know. Or maybe I had a reaction to something else. I don’t know. Either way, coming with me to the ER is a sucky way to