Page 54 of Ready or Not

He shoves off the wall, and his coat hangs open, showing the two guns—one under each arm. His tattoos peek out the neckline of his button-down shirt, and he actually might be more attractive than he was in his street clothes. Which my brain didn’t seem to think was possible…

Until now.

The proof is very clear.

Cooper Garza is drop-dead gorgeous, and knowing he’s dangerous and fully capable of protecting me only amps up his hotness factor. My feelings are still hurt, though, and that sting is going to take some time to dissipate.

“Fucking hell, Vale. You’re so fucking beautiful,” he growls, bending low to mark my cheek with his pheromones. “My impulses weren’t going to let you walk back through the restaurant without smelling like me.” A dangerous grin crosses his face. “The entire time you were in the bathroom, all I could think about was popping in to make sure you are really covered in my scent.”

My hands land on his chest as he backs me against the wall. He moves closer, and I ache to melt into him, but Mercy and his family are waiting. “I don’t know why you think you’ve suddenly got the right to be all up in my personal space, but my feelings about us haven’t changed.”

Cooper’s face falls.

It seems to twist my stomach into knots. “I don’t hate you. I can even understand that it wasn’t completely your fault, but Coop…” I sigh, biting my lip. “God, you hurt my feelings so badly, and I’m still angry with you.”

His scratchy fingers run over my cheek.

“I know.” He stares directly into my eyes as his scent surrounds me. “And I regret it every minute of every day. I’m not saying you can’t continue to give me hell when it’s especially hard to handle. Trust me when I say, I know I fucked up. I’m here now, and I would have been by your side then if I had known. Just let me show you who I really am. Give me the chance to court you.” His blond lashes flutter as his eyes slide shut. “Like I wanted to do in DC. Let me spoil you rotten and be there when you need to smell my sweaty pheromones.” His gray eyes pop open, meeting mine. “Use me for sex. I’m willing to be flexible for whatever you need.” He grins shamelessly.

That freaking smile is dangerous, but it’s the sincerity I literally feel radiating from him that softens my heart…

Just a little.

I do think he would’ve come back that morning if Andrew hadn’t stepped in.

He’s right.

He’s here now, and he’s doing everything I wished he would have done months ago. We can’t go back in time, but we can build a solid future together.

Maybe.

I just need him to show me that this is really who he is.

Not that guy who disappeared.

The guy who shows up.

If he continues to stick around and put in time getting to know me again, I do think I can move past all of this.

“Okay,” I whisper, nodding my agreement.

“Really? You want to have sex with me? I’m not going to lie. It’s been a long nine months. It’ll probably be a pretty awful performance?—”

I laugh. “You’re such a goof, but I’ll give you the chance to really prove that you want to be together. Just no promises.”

“Hell yeah. All I need is a chance.” His lips brush over mine, but he quickly pulls back. “Let’s go save Mercy.”

Dinner goes okay, but I have most of my pasta left to take home. I can really only eat a little before I’m stuffed, and then there’s the fact I filled up on breadsticks to keep myself busy.

Mercy wraps up a very passionate speech about how he’s hoping to expand Assurance and possibly open another office in Boston or Miami.

“Really, though, what’s your return on something like that?” Sofia asks, shoving her plate away.

“I’m hardly struggling, Mother,” Mercy says with a huff.

“But you hope to claim your inheritance for a reason. Don’t you, Carrigan? You barely mentioned it until last year.”

“The time limit to claim it was coming to an end. It’s only logical that I would inquire as to what requirements must be met,” Mercy counters.

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