Page 33 of Broken Heart

“This was a lot of fun, Cooper. I had a nice time.”

He brought his hand to the middle of my back, stroked his hand up and down, and replied, “I’m glad to hear that. I enjoyed myself and, if nothing else, I know we won’t be bored at the benefit.”

Despite the warmth of the sun, a shiver ran down my spine at his touch. I swallowed past the budding nerves and offered my agreement. “I think you might be right about that. I’m actually looking forward to going now.”

We made it to my car, where Cooper said, “I promise not to disappoint you.”

There was such resolve in his voice, I silently questioned whether he was indicating something more than just a good time at the benefit. Of course, I didn’t dare ask him that.

Instead, I smiled and said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Cooper and I said goodbye to one another, and by the time I climbed into my car and drove home to get myself ready to go to work, I realized that I had been genuinely happy for the first time in months, and it was Cooper who had given that to me, making it impossible to wipe the smile off my face for the rest of the day.

9

COOPER

“What are you doing here? I thought you took today off.”

Wyatt barely got out those words when I asked, “How soon did you know?”

“Know what?”

I stood in the doorway to Wyatt’s office, shaking my head in disbelief with my eyes pinned on my older brother while he lounged in his office chair.

I’d always heard people talk about lifelong relationships and state that when you knew, you knew. I used to think it was a bunch of bull because I’d never experienced anything like that in my life.

And it was safe to say that I’d dated a fair number of women to believe that if just knowing in such a short time was a possibility, I should have felt something like that with somebody.

It never happened, so it was no surprise I had my doubts.

But I didn’t necessarily believe that the feeling wouldn’t eventually come. I certainly trusted there would come a time when an individual would realize that the person they’d fallen in love with was the one. Unfortunately, I had convinced myself that someone would need at least a few months to truly learn if they’d found the person with whom they were meant to spend their lives.

Now, I felt differently.

A couple of hours spent in a canoe on the lake this afternoon with Skye had me questioning everything I thought I knew to be the truth. I felt utterly spellbound by her. Our afternoon together had been one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. That alone was one of the reasons I had questioned the accuracy of my former beliefs about relationships. I had been fortunate enough to experience things in my life that a lot of people—young and old—never had the opportunity to experience. Despite all of it, this afternoon with Skye was the very best of it.

So, as I drove back to Westwood’s, I came up with a list of things I needed to take care of immediately. It didn’t even bother me that I had plenty of work I had to get done. This was far more important.

Up first, I needed to talk to Wyatt.

Sadly, I’d spent too much time recalling just how good it felt to spend that time with her today and get to know her better that I was caught off guard when Wyatt’s voice broke into my thoughts.

“Coop, man, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that look on your face before. Is something wrong?”

I shook my head again. “No. No, it’s just that I was curious how long it took for you to know that Rhea was the one for you? I don’t know if I’m reading too much into this feeling, but I’ve never experienced this before.”

A look of worry washed over Wyatt’s face as his eyes slid away from me and toward the couch to my left. Confused, and for the first time since I’d made it to Wyatt’s office, I took my eyes off my older brother and glanced to the side to find my youngest brother sitting there. “Liam. Shit. I didn’t even see you there.”

He had his elbow resting on the arm of the couch, and his fingers were pressed against his temple. But the moment I’d spoken to him, he sent an unenthusiastic smile my way and waved his hand.

Liam was a lot like me. Not only did he prefer working with his hands, but his attitude these days matched mine. While I was often moody about the work I had to do, Liam’s mindset was shaped by more personal matters. “Fuck, man. I’m sorry. If I had realized you were here, I wouldn’t have said anything.”

His eyes narrowed on mine. “Why not? You don’t need to tiptoe around me, Cooper. Just because things didn’t work out for me the way I had hoped doesn’t mean I don’t want to see my brothers happy.”

I believed Liam felt that way. There was no question he wanted the best for everyone in our family, but it didn’t mean those words weren’t said with a hint of bitterness. It had been just over two years since he’d had his heart broken, and I was beginning to think he’d never heal from it.

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