page103 (1/2)

Jack arning me

He was gone before I could say anything else

“Jessica, are you okay?” George said upon his return

I shook et to Cooper”

You know that scene in thewalks into a roolares at the first someone?

No? Yes?

Well, anyway, that was exactly what happened to e and I walked into Cooper’s bar twenty minutes later

Every regular, every townie in the place, stopped talking and glowered at me

I stared back, stunned

Until I felt George nudge me forward andatas frozen and shell-shocked as I felt

I wanted to run at him

I wanted to launch myself over the bar at him

I did neither of those things

“Coement, “you can do this”

With his hand pressed to e led me over to the bar My eyes were locked with Cooper’s the whole ti as Iacross the bar from him

Neither of us said a word, just drank the other in like it had been years, not days

“Jessica,” George urged

“We need to talk,” I blurted out

Cooper didn’t give me much “About?”

“Two things”

“Being?”

I sed hard at his flat tone “Devlin”

His eyes narrowed

“And the truth”

“And what if I don’t care anymore?”

My insides twisted at the thought, but I pushed through, thinking of George and how hurt and angry he’d been with Sarah at first, and how that anger had ruined any s her away from Ron

And then I reht when he’d turned up for his “one last time” with me “I don’t believe that”

So shifted in him and that hen I saw it

I saw the pain he’d tried to hide behind lust at Vaughn’s place But he couldn’t hide it from me

I wanted to do everything I could to fix it, and tried to convey that with my eyes

Finally he nodded “Riley, watch the bar”

“Sure thing, boss,” she said quietly

Relief h me as Cooper strode out from behind the bar

George squeezed my hand “You can do this”

I gave hirateful, shaky smile, and then made myself move toward Cooper I followed hi lot at the back I got into his truck without saying a word, then endured a very tense five-minute drive to his place

He threw his keys in the bowl on his side table as alked into his house and I was suddenly flooded by ether in here

Such a short amount of time

But it was filled with so much

I didn’t want it to end

I wanted to be brave with him

“Devlin first,” Cooper said as he walked into his kitchen to pull a beer out of the fridge He offered it to me, but I shookbefore staring at

“Okay” I took a few tentative steps toward hie at Germaine’s Jack was there”

“And?” he bit out

“Two things One: apparently Dana tried to encourage hiether”

So sharpened in Cooper’s eyes “Why did he tell you that?”

“I thought at first he was just being an ass untilhe told ”

I was silent for ahim I’d missed him so much

Cooper huffed, “Well, don’t keep me in suspense”

“He brought up the subject of his father and he said three words to me before he left ‘Cooper’s liquor license’”

Cooper frowned “What does that mean?”

“It was a warning Devlin is going after your liquor license If you can’t get your license renewed, you’re out of business”

His eyes narrowed and then he turned and dumped the beer bottle in his sink with a clatter “Son of a bitch,” he muttered harshly

I wished ere in a place where I could just wrap my arms around him to soothe him “Cooper—”

“He came to me” His eyes blazed hell fury as he turned back tothreatened me and this is what it was about”

“He can’t get aith it We won’t let him”

Just like that Cooper stilled, his voice still icy as he said, “We?”

My stomach roiled

Do not upchuck

Do Not Upchuck

Be brave, Jessica

“That isif youI need to tell you the truth about why I broke up with you”

I waited until he snapped impatiently, “Well?”

I aled to stifle it “It’s not an easy story to tell I justIt never occurred to me that I had to until you mentioned kids I knew thenI knew I couldn’t tie you toyou, but I was so scared that if you knew the truth you wouldn’t want anything to do with ht it would be better to walk away than have your feelings forme