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I’d been staring at her earrings for a while Each was a large hammered copper heart with a smaller hammered silver heart layered over it “Did you make those?”

She fingered them “Yup”

“Those are beautiful Are you open tomorrow?” Not that I had the extra cash to spend on jewelry

Dahlia laughed and nodded

Cooper had been busy at the bar, but I are of him the whole time I spoke with Dahlia When he stopped by us, I looked up at hiaze “You ladies come up with any solutions to the Devlin problem?”

“No,” Bailey said “We’ve been talking about Dahlia’s jewelry”

“I thought you orried”

Clearly he was

I frowned, wanting to comfort him

“I am,” Bailey insisted “But solutions don’t co day My brain works better first thing in theI will let you know”

“I think our best bet is George,” Dahlia said “We just need to talk hi to Devlin”

I felt a sudden flurry of butterflies at the e After all, he was the reason I had ever discovered Hartwell Well, Sarah and her letters were If George returned, I’d finally get to give him Sarah’s letters “Do you think he’ll come back to finalize the sale?”

“Probably” Bailey said and then realization lit up her eyes “Oh, Sarah’s letters”

“What?” Dahlia frowned “What a?”

Without saying a word Cooper disappeared to the other end of the bar, and I kneas because we’dover me at his continued reaction to the woman

She had died young Of cancer In prison

Hadn’t she served enough penance to be forgiven?

“so Jess brought the letters here to give to George” I caught the tail end of Bailey explaining the situation to Dahlia

“Oh, my God, that’s so sad,” Dahlia said “And so kind of you, Jessica”

I gave a strained s out of my chest

“I think that’s the plan,” Bailey said “We find a way to contact George Get hiive him the letters”

The two friends nodded triumphantly at each other, happy with their plan I, however, suddenly wondered if I wasn’t settingmyself up for heartbreak over Cooper Lawson

There was no need forwhy I was quiet as he drove ht There was no need to worry because he was too busy stewing quietly over his own thoughts to notice I was doing the same

My worries about what that ot out of the truck and caot out He absentmindedly brushed his thumb over the top of h to still want to touch me

So er toward Sarah or my compassion for her, and why I was so compassionate about her

Fingers crossed

When he said, “You should have told me about Dana,” I wondered if this conversation was any better than a convo about Sarah

I sat down on the sofa, breaking his hold, but Cooper sat on the coffee table so that our knees touched, not allowingany emotional space between us

And I really, really wanted emotional space when it came to the topic of his beautiful ex-wife and his heated reaction to her earlier that night

“Jessica,” he prompted

He usually reservedof my nickname to mean that he meant business “I honestly didn’t want to stress you out about it I didn’t think she orth it”

“Anything she says to you is my business,” he snapped

More worry needled at irlfriend, but the truth wasI’d felt a surge of possessiveness over hi scared me I’d never felt possessive or jealous over a man in my entire life

“What is it?” he said, leaning closer to me

The worry I felt was mirrored in his expression

“You’ve got this look in your eyes” He took hold ofit since I threw Dana out of my place”

“Your reaction tonightall that heatDo you still have feelings for her?” I blurted out

Cooper dropped my hand, shock in his eyes “What?”

Oh boy

This conversation could go downhill really fast, I knew that, but I also thought the best policy at that point was total honesty “The way you reacted to herthere was a lot of passion there, Cooper” Silently, I thought to eous

I knew that last part was particularly unfair because it suggested Cooper was a shallow man And that was not how I intended it But he was ato someone as beautiful as Dana

He surveyedsuddenly tired “I’ve been ignoring her,” he said softly “When she first started popping up after the divorce, askingpissed was giving her what she wanted She thoughtAll it meant was that I couldn’t believe that the person who’d taken away a man I considered a brother had the selfish audacity to show up bothering s for a while Each was a large hammered copper heart with a smaller hammered silver heart layered over it “Did you make those?”