EMMA COCKER
COCKER BROTHERS BOOK 11
FALEENA HOPKINS
CONTENTS
EMMA COCKER
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
44.
EPILOGUE
Cocker EXTRAS
About the Author
EMMA COCKER
"Every book in this series is off the charts! Emma's love story brought me to tears. I loved every word. If you haven't read ANY of these books, you don't know what you're missing!!" - Cruzgirl
If he doesn’t see your worth then he’s not worth you.
FALEENA HOPKINS
CHAPTER 1
T ANNER
Standing under a cloudless Georgia sky, sunbeams reeking of optimism, I size up the exterior of a vacant yet somehow cozy twelve-bedroom mansion, waiting for my realtor to arrive.
As my phone predictably vibrates in my hand, I answer it, forehead creased, voice impatient, “I knew you’d call back and here you are, Sunaya. Why are you wasting my time?”
“Tanner, you’re a cold-hearted bastard!”
With one hand relaxed in the pocket of my tailored suit pants, an amused smirk slowly curves my lips. “Just last month you expected me to ‘lock this down’ and now you’ve resorted to name calling? I guess I was wrong and you are the right woman for me. Let’s get back together! I love being abused.”
Ignoring my sarcasm she gives this ugly chuckle as if she’s figured me out. “I should have known!”
“Known what?”
“That you only wanted sex!”
“You mean you should have listened when I told you that’s all I wanted?”
“You led me on!”
“Keep telling yourself that,” I mutter, casually eyeing the sun and wondering if Atlanta ever gets foggy like my hometown.
“You’d be lucky to be with me, Tanner! You know how many men want me? I will have them lining up as soon as I—”
“Yes, enlighten me as to how popular you are and how lonely I’ll be. I can’t wait to cry into my pillow every night, bereft for not having you at my side for all eternity.”
“Fuck you!” She hangs up.
Immediately I call my assistant.
CHAPTER 2
EMMA
C ora barks, “Cover for me,” five-inch heels striding by my desk at a skilled yet alarming rate. “I need a massage!”
Watching her I lift an eyebrow. You sure need to relax but one little rubdown won’t perform miracles.
Aloud I ask from behind a plastered smile, “You’re supposed to show a house this afternoon?”
She eyes me, grimacing like I’m an idiot. “No, I want you to cover for me by dancing a jig and eating pineapples under the full moon! What do we do here?”
“We sell houses.”
“God, you are so air-headed,” she sneers, checking her face in the gilded mirror. Visible just beyond where she stands preening, the sign reads Cora Williamson Realty, etched permanently in the glass storefront window. You can read it from the street, but from here it’s backwards, an oversight I always found amusing.
I think at one time she loved this agency, back when she was a nicer person. When my Aunt Rachel recommended me for this job she happily confided that her grade-school friend lived to sell properties. I thought we’d have that in common. But I’ve never once witnessed that joy from my boss.
I keep the belief to myself that it’s her divorce that changed her, that she hides it from my aunt out of embarrassment, because Rachel and Uncle Jaxson’s marriage is solid, filled with love, respect and the sweetest friendship.
Rumor has it that Cora briefly dated Jaxson when they were in their twenties. But Rachel and Jaxson fell in love when they were eight, before Rachel’s family moved away. Such a sweet story I’ve made them tell me so many times.
Still, I bet Cora wishes Jaxson was hers.
Who could blame her?
Doesn’t mean she has to be a bitch about it though.
“We don’t sell houses, Emma!” Annoyed, she fumes, “We show people their dreams, their futures, where they’ll lay their heads at night, and where most of their memories will unfold before their eyes!” Closing her compact she sneers, “Dammit, paint the picture right or you’ll never get anywhere. The address is in my calendar! If you know how to find that!”
As the door shuts, bells jingling, and those expensive heels whisk her off to her world of bitterness, I growl, “You need to get laid!” and call my cousin and best friend. “Hannah, I can’t take it anymore!”
“Cora again, huh? When she treats you like that, stand up to her!”
Jumping from my swivel chair I pace. “She’s having me show one of her properties today, which is bizarre. She normally hoards her clients and won’t let me near them!”
“Maybe she’s giving you a chance?”
Rolling my eyes I walk to the mirror Cora vacated, smoothing the frizz from my long chestnut-brown hair. “Keep dreaming. It’s probably just a difficult client she doesn’t feel like working with. But it is a first.”
“Take this opportunity then!” Hannah says in a distracted way before muttering, “Why won’t this coffee brew faster?”
“Why won’t my hair stay straight when I want it to?” Giving up I cross to Cora’s computer for her calendar.
“Because you have a natural wave, you lucky jerk. And who cares if she is the biggest bitch in Buckhead? You’re a Cocker. Tell her where to shove it.”
The screen awakens to life as I grumble, “I would love to but I don’t want to upset Aunt Rachel. She has no idea that her friend who wears this friendly mask whenever she helps out at Sunflower Retreat, bites my head off every time she sees me. What the…? Look at this!”
“I can’t see what you’re seeing. We’re on the phone.”
“She’s given me the Moody/Lowry mansion! If I sell this it will be huge. All my debts gone in one sale, type of commission. Car finally paid off! Oh wait, she’d split
