Page 159 of Vegas Heat

I know what I want, and I squeeze her to my side again. She’s right here with me, and I’m not letting that change any time soon.

CHAPTER 23: GABBY

We stayed at the hospital as long as they let us. Marissa headed home to pick up the boys, and she brought them by to visit their dad. He’s doing much better, but with the infection, he needs to stay a couple more days, which means Cooper is staying a couple more days, too.

Which I suppose meansIam staying a couple more days as well.

I texted my dad to let him know I arrived, and later in the day Cooper texted my dad to thank him for sending a friend.

My dad is practically pushing us together at this point, though I’m certain that’s not his intent.

The entire time we sat in Connor’s room, Cooper found ways to touch me. We were either holding hands, or his arm was around my shoulder, or we were sitting close enough that our legs were touching. At one point, he even pulled me down onto his lap while we sat on a bench near the window. We ate dinner at the hospital cafeteria, and Cooper laughed and joked with his brother, and everyone in the room—including Cooper’s mom—made me feel like an immediate part of the family.

It's as if everything is fine between Cooper and me, yet part of me fears it’s not. He nearly bolted because of the age thing, and I’m not totally sure he’s okay with where we stand right now. So for as much as I’ve forced myself to live in the moment all day, a little tremor of fear took root in my stomach this morning and it seems to have grown and grown as we make our way toward the conversation I know we’re going to have once we’re alone.

Part of me wonders whether he’s stayed as long as he has at the hospital today as a way toavoidthe talk, but the other partof me logically knows he’s here to spend time with his brother—to soak it all in while he can.

It’s not until we’ve said goodnight to Cheryl, who went back home, and Marissa, who’s exhausted after a long day, that we head up to Cooper’s room to finally have that talk.

He sits and leans against the headboard and pats the bed beside him. I climb in and mirror his position.

“I guess we need to talk,” he says.

I nod and stare straight ahead, that fear that took root this morning exploding out into a tree of nerves.

“When all this happened with Connor, I felt myself retreating,” he begins. “It’s an old habit. I did it when my dad passed, though I was too young to recognize it then. I did it when I hurt my elbow, and again when Stacy and I ended things. And I started doing it with you, too. My first thought was how short life is, how I need to get a jump on the future I always wanted.” He reaches over and clasps my hand in his. “But when you showed up today out of nowhere, the truth slammed into me like a ton of bricks. Maybe the future I dreamed of is just that—a dream. But an even better dream is what I see in the future with you.” He turns toward me, and I slide my head toward him, too. “But the thought of a future without you feels like my worst nightmare come to life. So if you’re not ready, then I’m not ready. If you are, then I am, too. Whatever it takes to make this work, I want to do it. I don’t want to waste time, but if it means I get to be with you, then it’s not time wasted.”

I press my lips together in part to keep from crying and in part to keep from responding for a beat. “I don’t want you to settle for less than everything you want. I think somewhere in there we can meet in the middle.”

His brows rise in surprise.

I found the ring.

I almost say it, but I stop myself. Instead, I say, “I had a lot of time to think on the plane, and I felt it, Cooper. I felt you pulling away the second you found out your brother had a heart attack, and I need to make one thing crystal clear. You never, ever pull away from me. We’re in this together, and we face these things together. You talk to me, and you cry with me and yell at me and let it all out, but you don’t ever turn the other way. Do you understand me?”

“Yes ma’am.” His eyes look a little heated at my aggressive speech.

I sit up and turn toward him, pulling his hand in mine and staring down at it as I talk. “I don’t want a future without you in it, and I want you to have everything you’ve ever dreamed of having. I want to give you those things. Maybe not today or tomorrow, maybe not next week, but when we’re ready.” My eyes flick up to his. “And I don’t think it’s that far off. My goal was always to start and establish my career before I settled down, and that could be next year or five years down the road. But we compromise. We talk. We fight. We do it together.”

He leans in and kisses me. “I missed you that night I was in Boston and last night, and that time we were apart when I thought you were with Justin. I miss our banter, and our dirty jokes, and your body. But most of all, I missed the way we can both be so open with each other about everything. I’ve spent most of my life just keeping it in, but you make me want to let it out.”

“Right, and on that note…you’ve slept with thirty-five times more women than your brother?” I ask, raising a brow.

He wrinkles his nose. “Are you sure you want to have this conversation?”

“My number is four,” I say without missing a beat and without answering his question. I purse my lips.

“Four?” he practically thunders. “Who are these other three men I need to murder?”

I laugh. “You only have three to take out. I have thirty-five?”

He holds up both hands in surrender. “Connor was just teasing me. I haven’t slept with that many women. Besides, it doesn’t matter. You won’t be my first, but you’ll be my last.”

“How am I supposed to measure up to all that?” My insecurities are showing, but it doesn’t feel scary since we just finished a conversation about how we’re supposed to be honest and we’re in this together.

“To be honest, I haven’t kept count. It’s somewhere between ten and twenty, probably. I was with Stacy for five years, had a few one-night stands before and after her. And nobody, I mean not a single one of them, gives head the way you do.” He raises both brows as if he’s raising a challenge.

I roll my eyes. “You’re just saying that so I’ll suck your dick.”

---