Page 60 of Her Greatest Adventure

“Isn’t my stubbornness one of your favourite qualities about me?”

“No. That would be your incredible wit.”

“Oh, how you flatter me.”

Fighting back a smile, I press a kiss to the side of her head, taking in a whiff of her perfume. “What do we do when we get back home?”

“You mean other than try to beg our families for forgiveness?”

“Yes. Like . . . with us. While we wait for the annulment, what exactly do you want to do?”

She stiffens briefly before slowly relaxing. “I don’t want to go back to how things were before. How do I even do that?”

My lungs pinch at the thought of going back to only seeing each other every few months. It’s painfully obvious that it’s not an option for me.

“You’re my wife. As far as I’m concerned, nothing will be the same ever again. Let’s just roll with it and see what happens.”

Her breath hitches, and her stillness makes panic fill my blood. “What do you mean?”

“We haven’t finished your list, and a deal is a deal. We keep doing what we’re doing, even when we get back, and then go from there,” I rush out.

“Right. Okay, we can do that,” she breathes, nodding, her cheek rubbing my chest.

She sounds about as unsure as I do, but until I find another option that doesn’t make me want to hurl, it’s the only one we have.

23

ADALYN

Cooper tellsthe Uber driver to wait while he helps me haul my suitcases out of the trunk. I try not to show how devastated I feel being back in Vancouver already. He already feels responsible enough for this, regardless of how many times I tell him it’s not his fault.

Returning home after being away always feels good. Like you’re back where you belong. But this time, home is the last place I want to be. And as Cooper shrugs my carry-on over his shoulder and looks to me with a similar sad look in his eyes, I can’t help but think that he feels the same way as me.

“I’ll come up with you and make sure you’re safe before I leave,” he says, gently urging me up the sidewalk.

“You don’t have to. I doubt anyone broke in and hung around while I was gone.”

And having you inside my apartment will only make it harder to say goodbye.

“Just humour me.”

I nod, and we walk inside the building. Sammy, the bodybuilder-looking security guard, gives me a smile as we pass him, and I muster up a weak one in return.

“See, Sammy wouldn’t let anything happen to me. He’s got my back.” I try to sound teasing but fail miserably.

“I’m not letting my wife walk into her apartment alone after it’s been empty for two weeks. Just let me do this.”

Just like every single time he calls me his wife, I fight off shivers. It shouldn’t sound so good, but hearing it come from Cooper’s mouth is enough to send me into a horny spiral.

It’s become abundantly clear to me that I’ve caught the Cooper bug. I’m not surprised. Actually, I am, but not at the fact I’ve grown feelings for him, but because it took me two weeks to realize it.

He’s not who I would go for had the circumstances been different. And I think that’s why I’ve grown to care about him so deeply. He’s not like the other guys I’ve dated, and that’s what makes him so special. Nobody has ever made me feel as important and listened to and cared for as he has. We can talk about anything, and I know he won’t judge me. God, I didn’t see this one coming. Talk about a forbidden crush.

“Fine. But only because you’re so damn handsome.”

From the corner of my eye, I see him blush, and that alone is enough to lighten my mood. Even just a little bit.

We take the elevator up to my floor and then walk inside the apartment. It smells like cleaning products and vanilla. Ivy’s things are gone.

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