Page 48 of Interception

‘Wow.”

“Do you think I’m totally lame now?”

“Just the opposite. I think you’re adorable.” He looks puzzled. “Now I need my toothbrush because I want to kiss your dorky, adorable face.”

“Digging the Titanic is not dorky.”

“Okay, Jack, but just so you know, I think Rose was an idiot. There was totally room on that floating door for the two of them. She told him she’d never let go and then literally let go of him. What the fuck? How is that true love? I would’ve hauled you up onto that door if it killed me. No way I’d be letting you die and leave me heartbroken. I’d be so pissed at you if you died.”

Coop finds my toiletries and hands me my toothbrush and toothpaste. “Just so you know, I’m taking your annoyance at the prospect of my death as a profession of your love for me.”

“Okay.”

I may not be able to say the exact words, but I think he knows that I feel it all the same, I hope. Coop helps me to my feet and leads me down the hallway to his bedroom, although I suppose as of tonight, it’s now our bedroom.

The moment I emerge from the bathroom with minty-fresh breath, Coop pulls me into his arms, his lips finding mine in a soul-destroying kiss. My pulse races with a deep desire to stake my claim on this man. He guides me over to the bed without breaking our kiss. Reaching for the hem of my dress, he runs his hands up my thighs, but I pull back.

“Can you turn the lights off?”

He stares at me for a moment, the spell broken. “Why? I want to see you while I make your toes curl. You’re so beautiful, Zee.”

“I don’t feel it. Not today. Can we just turn the lights off?”

“Do you want me to stop?”

“No, I want you to make love to me, Coop. I want to know what it feels like to be loved by you.” I can barely maintain eye contact with him as realization dawns. It’s as if he’s staring into my soul, and I’m more naked than I’ve ever been as I stand before him.

I watch the rapid rise and fall of his chest as he searches my face for a sign—of what, I’m not sure. “How is it that I’m the luckiest guy in the world, and yet you don’t see what a catch you are?” A lump forms in my throat, and I know I’m going to break down if I don’t shove this feeling right down to my boots.

“Stop talking and show me.” He does as I ask long into the night, only stopping long enough to feed me the Chinese takeout that was left to go cold in favor of mind-blowing sex. What a way to spend our first night living together. If it’s anything to go by, I’m probably going to die before I’m thirty of a sex overdose.

Chapter Thirteen

Coop

Life is good. It’s better than good. It’s pretty damn amazing right now. Zee moved in last month, and we’ve never been better. I was shell-shocked the day she showed up with her suitcase. We hadn’t talked about her moving in since I asked her in a rather unceremonious way. She stuttered a few words that day, and I knew we weren’t quite singing from the same song sheet. The fact that she didn’t wait for me to ask again tells me we’re on the same page now.

Zee thought it would be fun to have Faith and Hunter over for dinner the weekend after we moved all her stuff in. There’s no simple text messaging between her and her bestie. Everything is a joke or a big reveal. Zee’s apartment was originally going to be for her and Faith, but it never really panned out that way. Faith went on the fast track with Hunter and never got a chance to move in properly. That being the case, Zee decided to pull out their lease agreement at dinner and ask her to sign the termination papers.

The moment Faith realized what it meant, all hell broke loose. One thing is for sure, life for Hunter and I will never be dull, not with these two.

I’ve asked Zee a few times if there’s anything she wants to change in the house to put her own stamp on it, but she insists she likes everything just the way it is. I was expecting to be complaining about the introduction of florals all over my house, but Zee, as always, surprises me at every turn.

With everything left as is, it seems odd to me that the house feels so different. There’s something about knowing that Zee is here to come home to after a game and lying next to me when we wake up in the morning—it’s epic.

I always thought I would feel trapped if I ever moved in with a woman, but the opposite is true. I suspect it’s not so much about the cohabitation, but rather the person I’m doing it with. Zee isn’t great about opening up and sharing her feelings, and even as I think it, I’m chastising myself for sounding like an episode of Dr. Phil.

Even though Zee hasn’t said those three little words to me yet, I don’t feel the same urgency to hear them. I know her heart, and she’s here every day expressing herself with her actions. I can rest easy in the knowledge that she’ll say it when she’s good and ready because she definitely feels it.

The gravity of her giving up the lease on her apartment wasn’t lost on me. She didn’t insist on keeping it as a fallback plan. She’s all in, and I respect her more every day as we navigate our way to the beginning of parenthood. We’ve talked it over and decided we want to be prepared, so we’re going for a scan today, and we want to find out the sex of the babies.

I barely make it through practice in one piece. I’m so distracted—excited like a kid on Christmas Eve just waiting for Santa to arrive. I took some hits that are going to hurt in the morning, but I don’t care. My focus is firmly set on Zee and the babies.

I’ve never been to Zee’s office, mostly because she said it would be unbearable with everyone wanting autographs. I get where she’s coming from, but I also understand the need—probably more than she does—to integrate our lives. I’m not going to just lurk in the shadows, so I finally convinced her to rip off the band-aid today and let me pick her up for the scan.

The second the receptionist sees me, her eyes go wide as saucers, and she grabs the phone. I’m hoping she’s just calling Zee to let her know I’m here. If not, I’m about to be the hot topic around the water cooler. She composes herself before greeting me, but her cheeks are flushed, and she’s struggling to look me in the eye.

“Hi. I’m Cooper Danford. I’m here to see Zoey Porter.”

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