Page 34 of Touch Me (Complete Collection)

He gaped at her. “Have you…have you got something up here?” He pointed to his head. “Take a moment, and think…why am I pissed at you? Hmm. Is it really that hard to solve that query?”

Jenny bit her lip. “I think I owe you an explanation.”

“No, thank you very much. Save it! Tell me where I can drop you off.”

“Listen to me!” She grabbed his hand and pulled it onto her lap, but he gently towed it off. “I don’t know…why I did what I did. It seemed like such a good idea at the time. Ever since I landed on your doorstep, broke, pathetic, I…I wanted to leave. You know that right?”

“Yes, I know.” He didn’t look at her.

“The last few months with Jason…” She began slowly.

That sparked his interest, and he quickly looked at her face. Gauging every word now, every expression. He had always thought she had bailed because of Jason.

She inhaled deeply before continuing. “I wasn’t happy, but I thought I was. I was just in a routine. Living with him, believing that this was it. This was my life. I didn’t know it could be any different, and didn’t expect it to be. When I met you, it was so sensational, dynamic…but I always assumed that it would soon become as dull and meaningless as it was with Jason.”

“And it did. For you.”

“No, it didn’t! But I stayed scared, always, every second. I was waiting for it to become dreary and dull. I wanted to stay happy because you kept me happy. But at the back of my mind, I always knew that I was never good enough for you.’

“You have lost your mind!”

A sob escaped her chest. “I thought you stayed with Celia for ten days, and my chest was on fire with agony. Then I found out that it wasn’t true, but I thought it was only a matter of time…before you would find someone as exciting as yourself.”

“You're crazy.” He looked out of the window again.

“Do you think, Coop…do you think you could give me another chance?” His gaze swiveled toward hers, serious, cold, unfeeling. Her heart sank. “I really want to give us another chance.”

“But you need space. And you don’t like the person you are when you’re with me.”

She sobbed, her lips trembling, her eyes crinkling as tears spilled down her cheeks. “That person was better than this person. I hurt all the time, Cooper.”

He exhaled, staring at her, but he couldn’t bring himself to touch her, comfort her. Not yet. He had given up on the idea of her, accepted the fact that she would never feel about him the way he felt about her. He was petrified that if he reached forward and touched her, the illusion would disappear, that she couldn’t possibly be saying this.

“What do you…” He cleared his throat as he fought the urge to wipe her tears. “What do you want me to do now, Jenny? You’re not ready for commitment and I...”

“I’m ready. I want to commit. Whatever you say. I…”

He put the car into gear and sped straight into his apartment building. As soon as the car stopped, he jumped out and opened the passenger side door, hauling her out by the arm. Jenny just gaped at him, unsure what he was trying to do. They traveled up the elevator in silence and Jenny dared not smile. She couldn’t believe that Cooper had given in so easily. But then she remembered how much the man had loved her, and she gawked at him longingly.

He didn’t meet her eyes, and as the bell marked their arrival to his floor, he towed her along to his apartment. He unlocked the door, but instead of opening it, he turned to face her, his orbs liquidly furious, blocking her path.

“There’s only one way you can make me forget what you did.”

“And that is?”

“Marry me.”

The words hung in the air, and Jenny’s eyes widened, her lips joining in the gaping stare. “What are you saying?” she whispered.

“You heard me, Jenny. Marry me! No more drama. No more of your tantrums. Marry me.”

A sob tore from her chest, and she threw her arms around Cooper’s neck, her feet leaving the floor as he held her waist and hugged her. “I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry,” she wailed loudly into his neck.

“Before you say yes, you should know that I intend on locking you up so you can never run from me again.”

She laughed between sobs, and grasped him tighter. “Yes! Yes!”

THE END

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