Page 86 of Broken Heart
He shook his head. “No, thanks. I’m not going to stay. I just wanted to check on Skye. Now that I know she’s okay, I’ll let the four of you enjoy the rest of your girls’ night together.”
My heart couldn’t take it.
God, he was such a good man. For so long, I’d considered myself to be rather unlucky, but if all that I’d experienced led me to this moment, I couldn’t say I didn’t feel fortunate. Cooper was the best thing that had ever happened to me, and I had fallen hard for him when I never thought it would be possible to open my heart to someone again.
“We won’t keep her out too late,” Ivy told him, her tone teasing.
He offered a nod and a smirk in return. Then he focused his attention on me again. “Call me when you get home, okay?”
I dipped my chin. “Okay.”
After giving me one more kiss and saying goodbye to everyone, Cooper left.
And I spent the rest of the evening feeling nothing but gratitude for the new people who’d come into my life and wondering how to tell the man who’d made it all possible just how much he meant to me.
25
COOPER
“Doing anything fun tonight?”
For a guy who’d spent so much time walking out of work feeling the stress of lingering tasks weighing on his shoulders for so long, it should have come as a surprise that a smile had formed on my face at that question from my best friend.
But it didn’t.
Because from almost exactly the moment I met her, I knew the kind of woman Skye was. And now that she was in my life the way she was, I simply considered myself to be lucky to have her.
“I’m heading home to shower and grab some things before I head over to Skye’s place,” I told Marco. “This is her weekend off.”
“Nice.”
It was nice.
Skye had recently hired another girl to work at the store, which meant that she and the rest of her employees all now had the opportunity to have one weekend off per month. This weekend was Skye’s weekend, and I intended to take full advantage of it with her.
“What about you? Got any plans for the weekend?”
Marco laughed. “You mean, other than sitting at home wondering when I’m going to meet my Skye?”
My head snapped in his direction. “What?”
My best friend shrugged, the both of us continuing to walk through the parking lot. “I’m just saying, she’s got to be out there, right?”
“Of course, she is,” I insisted. “But I think it’s unlikely you’ll find her by sitting at home. You’re going to need to get out if you intend to run into her. I’m tied up this weekend, but I’m happy to help out next weekend, if you want.”
Marco clapped a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. After releasing it, he said, “I’m aware that sitting at home won’t help. Part of me was just saying that to tease you. I’m not sure if I’ve ever said it, but I’m glad for you, Coop. It’s clear how much you care for this girl, and she’s obviously been great for you. Evidently, there’s this other part of me that might be just a tad jealous.”
“You don’t have any reason to be jealous of me,” I assured him.
“I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s simply that I see how much Skye has changed your life, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t ready for that myself. We aren’t getting any younger, are we?” he countered.
I shook my head. “Maybe not. But you’ve got plenty of time.”
“Yeah, but I’m ready. Perhaps I should just go around throwing wood through the front door of businesses, and maybe I’ll get lucky like you did,” he reasoned.
Unable to stop myself, I laughed. “I’m not sure I’d recommend that. But I really did get lucky, didn’t I?”
“Don’t you forget it,” he advised, as we made it to our vehicles.