Page 71 of Broken Heart
“Of me?”
Shaking her head, she returned, “Not exactly. I don’t want you to think I’m comparing you to Simon, or that I think you’re anything like him. God, you couldn’t be any more different from him. But I’ve suffered a lot of loss in my life, Cooper. My whole family is gone, and the two people I’d held on to for a long time are no longer in my life. I know when it comes to them that it’s for the best, and I don’t regret cutting them out of my life.”
She paused a moment to rein in the emotions before she continued, “For the five months between learning the truth about their betrayal and meeting you, I told myself I was never going to put myself in the position to lose someone else. It’s been so hard. With the exception of my store, I was all alone. The loneliness just eats away at me, and I can’t sleep at night. I haven’t been able to do that for months. It’s horrible.”
My hold tightened on her, my other hand reaching for hers and giving her fingertips a gentle and reassuring squeeze. The idea that this sweet, gorgeous woman felt any fear about a relationship was heartbreaking. Obviously, it made sense and was justified, but I hated that she felt it.
And loneliness? Living the life I did, it was a concept I found difficult to grasp. Even still, I wanted to do anything I could to make sure she never felt an ounce of loneliness again.
Before I had the chance to come up with all the words I thought she needed to hear, Skye confessed, “I just… I really like you a lot, and I think I could be very happy with you. But I’d be lying if I said I’m not afraid. I just need you to understand how scary this feels for me.”
Between the sound of her voice and the way she was looking at me, it was safe to say I felt like Skye was pleading with me. I could only hope I had fully grasped what she was begging me to understand. And that was the moment I finally decided to speak.
“All of these things you’ve told me about your fears and worries are things I already knew, Skye,” I said. “Even if I hate knowing some of it, none of it surprises me. I recognize that you’ve suffered some heartache and betrayal and need time to learn to trust yourself and the decisions you make going forward. I’d expect nothing less. But there’s something you need to understand about me, sweetheart.”
“What’s that?”
I lifted my hand, cupped the side of her face, and stroked my thumb gently over her cheek. “I’m a man who makes his living fixing things. I’ve always been the kind of guy who does whatever it takes to repair whatever is broken. And I’m good at what I do. So, I need you to know that I intend to fix your broken heart. Because over these last couple of weeks, there are things I’ve learned about you that I like a whole lot, too.”
Her lips parted slightly, and I noted the rapid rise and fall of her chest before I continued, “Not only are you the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on, but you’re unbelievably sweet, too. You make me want to be a better man, one who has more patience and understanding. And when I’m not with you, I’m always thinking about you. I find myself counting down the minutes until I get to see you again, because I start to miss things that you do that make me happy. Like how every time you do this little dance in your chair whenever you eat. Or the way your body shivers and reacts to my touch. And how you always try to be understanding and look on the bright side of every situation. Or the way your smile and laughter can take away any of the stress I feel.”
“Cooper,” she whispered.
My hand dropped to hers again, squeezing once more. “I know you’re scared, sweetheart. But I promise you don’t need to feel that way with me. I understand it could take time, but I give you my word; if you give us a chance, I’ll make sure you never regret it.”
For a long time, Skye didn’t respond. I had said all I could think to say to attempt to convince her she’d be safe to hand her heart over to me. It came down to whether she believed that was the case.
I could only hope that the last couple of weeks of getting to know one another, following through on the things I said I would, and introducing her to my family would be enough for Skye to know the kind of man I was, to realize she had nothing to worry about.
Waiting for her to say something, anything, was like torture. All I wanted was the chance. Even if I knew she might be hesitant to go all in—I wasn’t expecting declarations of love right away—the only thing I needed was the opportunity. Skye just needed to give us the chance, and I’d work my tail off to give her everything she was missing in her life, all that she deserved to have, and the proof that she hadn’t made a mistake to put her faith and trust in me.
The silence stretched on for so long, I feared the worst. But then Skye did something.
She brought her hands to either side of my face, allowed her eyes to search mine for just a moment longer, and leaned forward to touch her lips to mine. She’d barely gotten them there when I took over and deepened the kiss.
21
SKYE
Cooper Westwood was a powerful man.
Not just with the size and strength of his body or the pull he, along with his family, had in the town of Landing.
In fact, none of that compared to the power he had over me. But Cooper didn’t exploit that dominance in a harmful or vicious way. Cooper used his power for good things.
Very good things.
It took a matter of seconds of him kissing me for all the fears and worries I’d had to vanish. That’s how he wielded his power. He used it to comfort me with tender touches and reassure me with gentle whispers.
Then he used it to keep the rest of the world far away from my mind by distracting me. Nobody kissed like Cooper. The way his lips felt against mine and how his tongue explored my mouth eased my nerves and allowed the concerns to dissipate.
And I willingly accepted it.
After everything he did, after all that he’d said, how could I ignore how it all made me feel?
From the start, I was honest with Cooper about the direction my life was heading—so much of what had been holding me back from getting out and enjoying life had been the thoughts in my head about having a lifetime of heartbreak—but Cooper wasn’t discouraged.
If anything, he seemed even more willing to become a steady and constant presence in my life.