Page 48 of Tell Me Again

I let out a shaky breath. “I appreciate it. I appreciate you. So much. And I’m so, so sorry, Bren. I should have told you a long time ago, and I wish—I wish I could...”

I trail off as I hear the bathroom door open, and I turn to see Coop heading toward me. He points to the kitchen and gives me a small smile, and I nod an acknowledgement as Brenna clears her throat.

“So, um, are you busy? My dad, he, um, wants to apologize to you. In person.”

I wasn’t expecting that, and my quiet “oh,” which I didn’t really mean to say out loud, probably tells her as much.

“I understand if you don’t want to see him,” she says quickly, “but he genuinely feels badly about how he behaved, and—”

“Yeah, um, it’s okay. Yeah. I can—I can stop by. Um, maybe fifteen minutes or so?”

There’s a noise from the kitchen, and I glance over in that direction. Coop’s watching me, and when our eyes meet, he blinks and looks away, back to the open cupboard in front of him. His expression is tight but otherwise not really readable, and not for the first time this afternoon, I wonder what he’s thinking.

“That sounds good. I’m looking forward to seeing you,” Brenna says in that same soft voice.

God, it’s only been part of a day, and I miss her already.

She thanks me and apologizes again, and we hang up. Then, I stuff my phone back into my pocket and turn toward the kitchen. Coop closes the cupboard and shifts to face me, resting back against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest.

He must have taken off his coat at some point, and he’s wearing one of those short-sleeved blue shirts I’ve seen him wearing at the diner. And not gonna lie, my heart speeds up. A lot.

“I guess I won’t offer to make you some coffee or tea then,” he says, although there’s a hint of a question to it, and that makes my heart race even faster. Does he want me to stay?

I want to say something I probably shouldn’t. And the longer I hold his gaze, the closer I am to doing just that. I finally just manage a light laugh, and I tear my eyes away.

“Yeah, uh, sorry. I mean . . .”

Ah, dammit, I can’t help it. I look back up at him, and he’s stepped away from the counter, looking almost disappointed. Shit. He does want me to stay. What does that even mean? And why do I expect it to mean anything?

“I can stay—if you want,” I blurt out. Because I really can’t stop myself. And because I really don’t want to leave, even as awkward as this feels.

His eyes narrow. “Isn’t it something serious? I wasn’t eavesdropping or anything, but it sounded like something serious.”

“Uh, no. No, not really. Brenna’s dad just wants to... apologize for, you know, this morning.”

“Ah, right. I meant to ask you what that was all about this morning. But I didn’t want—uh, I mean, it didn’t seem like any of my business, really...” He trails off but takes another step in my direction.

There’s the urge again—I want to tell him that it is one hundred percent his business. That I want it to be his business. That I want... him. And that’s why...

I look down at the floor again and close my eyes, but I can feel as he moves a little closer. My whole body seems to react—all warm and tingling. And I imagine his arms around me, his lips on my throat, his hand slipping under my shirt, his fingers touching me.

And god, this is why, Coop. This is why.

I need to tell him.

“I, um... I mean we—Brenna and I—we, um, called off the wedding.”

I look up at him, and I have no idea how to read his expression or what my expression might be telling him. All I know is that he’s only a few feet from me now, and that distance still feels like too much.

“We aren’t . . . together anymore.”

Chapter Nineteen

Coop

Fuck, I can’t breathe.

He’s standing there, watching me with those fucking gorgeous blue eyes, deep and full of something I can’t even explain. And his words are finally sort of registering.

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