Page 47 of Cop-Off

Why is this so hard?

She’d stupidly thought she’d prepared for this. She had said goodbye to her dad four months ago when she’d got on that plane. How wrong could she have been? Goodbye had not been goodbye, not until he’d stopped breathing and all other options were out the window.

Speaking of breathing, she should really start doing that.

A hand spread over the small of her back.

Cody.

It hit her then—the enormity of the situation. He was there. In England. Holding her hand. Sharing his strength. Caressing her back as she struggled to breathe.

She was upright and twirling and didn’t stop until she was looking into his melted caramel eyes. “What are you doing here, Cody?”

Thick digits glided down one side of her face, absorbing the moisture as they went. “You know why I’m here, Cat,” he rumbled, sounding way too sexy considering the circumstances.

“Don’t.” She shook her head. “Don’t do that. I don’t know why, Cody, ‘cos we’re over. I’m not going back.”

Those words seemed to sting her more than him. He didn’t look deterred. “I’m here because this is where I’m supposed to be. With the woman I love. By her side when she needs me.”

“But...Dylan. And your job. You shouldn’t be here, Cody. You can’t—”

His finger cut her off, pressing over her lips. “Let me worry about all that, sweetheart. Today isn’t the day to talk about this. Today we focus on getting you home in one piece, okay? One step at a time.”

There was no fight left in her; she had no other choice than to agree. It was why she let him take her back to the hotel. Why she let him inside her room. And definitely why she allowed him in her bed.

***

The next day, she awoke in Cody’s arms. She was still in her little black dress and Cody was still in his suit. Only their shoes and his jacket had been discarded. You would think she’d wake up feeling groggy or drained after sobbing herself to sleep on his chest, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. She’d slept through the night for the first time since she’d been back. It was a damn miracle.

Or it was Cody.

She knew it was. It was just a hard pill to swallow. Being with him made her feel calm, safe and loved. There was no use denying it. Even through her grief, he was the one thing that made sense to her.

“You awake, kitten?” Her eyes followed the sound of his scratchy morning voice.

“Yeah, I slept really well.”

“Me, too.” He lay a soft kiss on her forehead. “You think you’re up to checking in on your mom?”

Of course, he knew what her plans were for the day. “You coming, too?”

“That okay?”

They both knew she wanted him there, so she didn’t bother fighting it. “Yeah.”

Pushing up from his chest, she slipped out of the bed and headed straight to the bathroom. She couldn’t think beyond cleaning her teeth and washing her hair yet. Baby steps.

She went through the motions in a daze. Scrub, wash, rinse. Cat had no idea how long she was inside the small porcelain chamber, only that when she was done she was ready for the next challenge. And it was waiting for her, by her bed.

“You okay if we stop by my hotel on the way? I can jump in the shower there and grab a change of clothes.”

Her eyes drifted over his white shirt and fitted black trousers. She hadn’t taken time yesterday to appreciate how damn fine the man looked in a suit. Even the creased shirt was working for him.

“Uh...yeah, sure.” All of a sudden, she felt shy. She was still in her towel and needed to find something to put on herself.

Pulling out a drawer, she gathered some clean underwear and headed to the wardrobe where she plucked out a pair of black jeans and a light blue sweater. She then scurried back into the bathroom, purposely avoiding Cody’s watchful gaze.

Yes, he’d already seen her naked. From every angle. And yes, it was kind of silly she was hiding away from him. But adding another layer to a whole load of complicated wasn’t going to help anyone right now.

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