Page 30 of Say I'm Yours
“I know you’re pissed.”
“Damn fucking right I am,” I bellow. “I can’t believe you would go after her. Her!”
He raises a brow and smirks. “I didn’t go after her. You let her go, and I was there to catch her after you tossed her away.”
Well, if that isn’t the equivalent to kicking me in the nuts, then I don’t know what is. He’s wrong, though. I didn’t toss her away—she left me. However, it doesn’t change the fact that she’s the girl I want. She’s the girl I love. She’s the girl I’m going to get back.
“You and I both know who she belongs with.”
“You don’t get it.” He lets out a bark of incredulous laughter. “You think this is a game? That I’m trying to take something that’s yours?” Cooper glares at me. “I don’t think she belongs with you. I think you had your chance.”
I try to slow the anger that’s coursing through my body. The desire to punch him in the face is strong.
“We’ve been friends a long time, Coop.”
He nods. “I know.”
“Friends don’t go after another man’s girl.”
For the first time since he got into the car, he looks contrite, but only for a second. “I didn’t go after your girl. You guys weren’t together.”
Now I’m pissed. “Oh, so you waited for a fucking technicality? You think this is going to work? That she’s going to suddenly be fine with throwin’ away all the years of what we’ve had? We may not have been together, but you’re a fool if you think there aren’t still feelings there.”
Cooper shakes his head. “You keep holdin’ on to the past, buddy. I’m not trying to be that to her. I’m lookin’ toward a future.”
Red clouds my vision. I clench my fists tight, trying to stop myself from ripping him out of the car and beating the piss out of him. Out of the corner of my eyes, I see him tense. Cooper knows I’m not a man who backs down from a fight, he isn’t, either.
In the back of my mind, I know that would be a mistake. If I get in a fight with him, there’s a chance Grace will see it different. I can’t run the risk of pushing her further away because I kicked her new boyfriend’s ass.
“There isn’t a future for you and Grace. I think we both know that. If she had feelings for you, she wouldn’t hesitate. So, why are you doin’ this?”
“Why are you?” he asks with annoyance. “Because I’m not walkin’ away. I like Grace. I like her a lot, and she deserves better than the shit you’ve given her.”
I know this.
He isn’t wrong, but I’m done being that man. Seeing Grace walk away that day was enough to snap me out of this. Then, knowing she’s with him set my plan in motion. Watching her smile at him fucking kills me. The thought of her kissing him makes me go insane. And the mere idea of another man touching her body? You’ll have to kill me before I let that happen.
She’s the girl I love. The girl I’ve always loved but was too stupid to hold on to.
That won’t happen again.
“If you care about her, you won’t make this harder on her than it already is. You and I both know who she loves. And it ain’t you.” I growl as I point my finger at his chest.
“Do you hear yourself? You don’t get to make that choice for her. I’m not the one who hurt her and fucked with her head. That’s all on you, buddy.”
“Fuck you.”
“No, fuck you, Trent. You had all the time in the world to be with her. Even after she’s done with you, you think you get a say in her life?”
“I’m not makin’ a choice for her!”
Cooper folds his arms across his chest and shakes his head. “I’m not sure what to say to you. I didn’t set out for any of this to happen. I really didn’t. I went back and forth on whether goin’ after her was the right thing to do.”
I answer for him. “It wasn’t.”
“And what you’re doin’ now is?”
I’m not sure what I’m doing, but I can’t stand idly by and let this happen. I can’t give up on her—on us. Maybe walking away would be the noble thing, but I can’t do it. I won’t do it.
