Page 44 of Broken Heart

So, I finally bit the bullet and shared, “I understand where things are for you right now, and why you have made the decision that you’ve made. But I would love for you to take the time to imagine what life could be like for you, if you would consider giving us a chance to have something more between us.”

Her stunned eyes shifted back and forth, the surprise and questions in them plain as day. “Cooper, I… I?—”

“You don’t have to give me an answer now,” I said, cutting her off. If giving her some time to think about it got me the answer I wanted, I’d rather wait. “Take your time, think about it, and whenever you are ready to discuss it again, I’ll be happy to do that. I understand this is probably not something you want to rush into, considering what you’ve been through. I get it. But I also can’t ignore what I’ve been feeling from the moment I met you, something that’s only gotten stronger every time I’ve been around you.”

She offered a slight nod of acknowledgement in return. “Okay. I’ll take some time to think about it. Would you rather me not come tomorrow, so I don’t make things awkward?”

My eyes narrowed. “I don’t think it would feel right not to have you there. And I promise I won’t allow it to get awkward.”

“Alright, so I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“You will. But sweetheart?”

“Yeah?”

I took both of her hands in mine, gave her fingertips a squeeze, and said, “I won’t let it get awkward, and I will never pressure you to do something that you don’t want to do or before you’re ready to do it. I can promise you that. But I can’t promise I won’t try everything in my power to convince you that you can’t live without me.”

She lifted a curious brow. “Is that so?”

Relief swept through me at the playful look in her eyes and the teasing tone in her voice. “Absolutely.”

Skye beamed at me. “Then I’ll look forward to seeing you try.”

I nodded, leaned forward, and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. I let my lips linger for just a moment. Then I moved my mouth toward her ear and whispered, “Goodnight, Skye.”

Her voice was hushed when she returned, “Goodnight, Cooper.”

Once she was safely inside, I turned and walked back to my truck. And I didn’t wipe the smile off my face the entire way home.

13

SKYE

“I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow, Skye,” Joan called back.

“Bye,” Valerie added.

After giving them a nod and one final look of approval, I pushed through the front door and stepped outside, meeting my enemy—the hot and sticky summer air.

As a curly-haired girl, I’d always had a love/hate relationship with summer. While I loved it because I preferred warmer weather and daily bits of sunshine it offered, my hair could have done without the frizz-inducing humidity that came with living in northeastern Pennsylvania.

I hoped I’d be able to keep it from getting too out of control, because I didn’t have a whole lot of time left to get myself home and ready before Cooper would be there to pick me up.

Admittedly, I was excited at the prospect of seeing him again, which was one of two reasons I believed I was succeeding in the healing process. And if it hadn’t been for the extraordinarily busy day I’d had at work, I knew Cooper would have been on my mind all day long.

But I was grateful for the fast pace of my work environment today, because as it was, I was still struggling with sleep. The only difference now was that I spent my nights thinking about Cooper instead of two people who didn’t deserve the privilege of taking up any space in my mind.

Last night had been the toughest of all, though.

Because while every thought about Cooper had been a good one, all of them combined had prevented me from getting any sleep.

No matter what I did, I couldn’t stop reminiscing about the wonderful evening we’d had at the charity benefit. Everything from the food and conversation to the dancing and laughter we shared had been perfect. I could have easily been preoccupied all night by simply recalling everything Cooper and I had experienced at Westwood’s last night.

But the one thing that had been stuck at the forefront of my mind as I tossed and turned in my bed was what happened when Cooper brought me home. He wanted us to explore something more meaningful than the simple arrangement we’d come up with for the charity event.

I spent my night considering it, which was the other reason I believed the healing process was going well.