Page 12 of Broken Heart

Her lips had parted in shock, and she slowly shook her head. “No. No, I just… I didn’t expect you would move on so soon.”

“That’s the problem with expectations. Sometimes, you learn you were wrong to believe anything,” I informed her, my voice cold.

“If you’ve moved on and you’re happy, why can’t we take the time to fix this?” she pressed.

My eyes narrowed slightly. “My happiness no longer has anything to do with you, Maria. What I’m doing in my life, and who I have in it, is no longer your business. Now, I’m going to ask you nicely one last time to leave and never come back.”

A tear escaped and rolled down her cheek as she stroked her hand tenderly over her rounded belly. “I’m sorry, Skye. I’m so sorry for what I did to you. But I’m happy to see you’ve moved on. And I’m relieved to know you’ve got somebody in your life.”

I didn’t respond.

Part of that was probably because I didn’t really have anything I wanted to say to Maria, but the bigger part of that was because I couldn’t stop focusing on how good it felt to have Cooper touching me.

Maria recognized I had no intention of continuing the conversation. So, she took two steps backward while keeping her eyes on me. Then she said, “Take care of yourself, Skye.”

“I’m doing that for her,” Cooper declared.

My belly flipped.

And a moment later, Maria walked out through my brand-new entrance while I struggled to hold back the tears threatening to fall.

4

COOPER

“Are you okay?”

Even though I knew that was a stupid question, I asked it anyway.

It was clear that Skye was anything but okay, considering all that I’d just heard and the way her chest was rising and falling with the slow, deep breaths she was taking to rein in her emotions. Not only that, but she was biting the side of her cheek while rapidly blinking back the tears.

So, it was obvious it was a stupid question.

But not asking her the question simply wasn’t an option. I couldn’t believe half of what I’d just heard.

Skye slowly shook her head and whispered, “No. No, I’m not. I just need a minute, and I’ll pull it together.”

I’d removed my hand from her hair, which had been as soft as I’d imagined the first day I saw her, and I slid that hand down to the middle of her back, where I was offering what I hoped were reassuring strokes.

Seeing her so distressed, recognizing how hard she was struggling, I felt something wash over me, but I couldn’t pinpoint precisely what it was. I’d never felt anything like it before.

Normally, I wasn’t the kind of guy who got myself involved in things that didn’t concern me. I preferred to do what I needed to do in any situation, and only when I was asked for my help or opinion did I provide it.

But when I realized what was happening with Skye and the woman named Maria, I couldn’t just stand there, doing nothing, and watch it unfold. My mind was spinning, trying to understand how Skye could be as sweet and pleasant as she was when this had happened to her mere months ago.

“I’m sorry about what happened, Skye,” I told her. “I can’t imagine how that must feel.”

“Thank you for saying that. It’s not exactly been easy,” she murmured.

Distress was present in every feature on her beautiful face, and she couldn’t even bring herself to look at me. I had a feeling she was embarrassed that this had happened while I was here to witness it.

“So, it was your boyfriend and your best friend?” I asked.

Nodding, she lifted her gaze to mine and corrected me. “They are now both formers of that, but yes.”

It was unbelievable. Marco was my best friend. There wasn’t a chance he’d ever cross a line like that with me. He’d never betray our friendship or my trust, so I was utterly baffled that Skye’s best friend could do this to her.

“And did I hear that correctly? You learned the truth via an email?”