Page 99 of Craving Cooper

“What happened?”

“I explained to Mallory that I hadn’t meant to hurt her, and asked her to give me another chance.”

“I assume she agreed?” he says.

“She did. We had dinner together on Monday evening.”

“And you’ve seen her since? Other than at work… obviously.”

“I have. She’s here now, getting dressed, and she’ll be moving in over the weekend.”

“Moving in to your place? As in, to live?”

“Yes. And before you tell me I’m taking things too fast, I—”

“I wasn’t going to,” he says, interrupting me. “I was just gonna ask who you are and what you’ve done with my oldest friend.”

“I’m still here. I’m still me.”

“Just a happier version?” he asks, although I think he already knows exactly how I feel. He’s been here himself.

“God, yeah.”

“Well… I’m available for best man duties, if you need me.”

“Very funny,” I say, although I’m no more averse to the idea than I was when it first occurred to me at the Fall Festival. Still, it seems better to at least mention it to Mallory before I let Brady in on the news, although I can’t help smiling at the thought of making her mine forever, just as my intercom buzzes. “Shit. There’s someone downstairs. I’m gonna have to go.”

“Okay. Call me after the weekend and we’ll get together. All four of us.”

“That sounds great.” Almost as great as the thought of marrying Mallory. Well, who’d have thought…

We end the call and I pocket my phone as I open the door, closing it before Saffron can escape, and I run down the stairs. We must have forgotten to shut the blind last night, and there’s a guy standing at the front door, clutching a package. I think I know what this is, and I open the door, taking it from him, and signing the device he pushes toward me.

“Thanks,” I say, even though he hasn’t uttered a word, and with that, he’s gone.

I close the door, locking it, and stare down at the plain brown wrappings on the square box. There’s no need for me to open it. I already know what’s inside, and I feel a tingle of excitement as I head for the stairs, although I’m only halfway up when my phone rings again.

It can’t be Brady, can it? Did he forget to tell me something? I pull out my phone, my breath catching in my throat.

The name ‘Meredith’ is at the top of the screen, and I stand still on the stairs, gazing down at it. I can’t talk to her. I don’t even want to, and I decline the call, immediately blocking her number, before I go to my contacts and delete her from the list. Why I haven’t done that before now, I don’t know, but I wish I had. I only want Mallory now. She’s the one woman in the world for me… and I know that means I have to be honest with her. There can’t be any secrets between us.

I continue up the stairs, dumping the package on the couch, its contents forgotten for now, as I make my way through to the bedroom. Mallory’s just finished drying her hair, and she looks up as I enter the room.

“Where did you g—” She stops talking and gets up, coming over to me, taking my hands in hers. “Something’s happened.”

“Yeah. I—I um… I just had a call. In fact, I had two.”

“Who from?”

“The first was from Brady.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. He was just calling to catch up.”

“I see. I’m sensing that’s not why you’re looking so worried.”

“No.”

---