The burn behind my eyes was back, and there was pressure along with it now. Wasn’t this always what I’d wanted? What I’d wished for? Someone who saw Luca for the amazing tiny human he was? So, why did it feel so terrifying?
“He doesn’t talk about him. His dad,” Cope pressed.
“No.” Because he didn’t. After I’d healed from my so-calledcar accidentand we left Baltimore, the only thing Luca had said was, “Dad’s not coming, right?” God, that had shattered my heart. Because even though Roman had never hurt Luca or me, he’d disappointed us over and over again. He’d broken promise after promise. Had stolen from us both.
“Did he hurt you?” Cope’s voice was a low growl now, so contrary to Luca’s cheerful shouts in the background.
“No,” I whispered. “Not like that. But he’s not healthy enough to be in Luca’s life. The courts agreed.”
I felt a little of the tension bleed out of Cope. “Losing the two of you should’ve been a wake-up call to get healthy.”
It should’ve. But it never was. And some tiny part of me would always wonder if it was because I wasn’t enough.
Cope grabbed my hand,tugging me toward him as I headed for the front door. I hit his chest with anoomph, sending him a chastising look. “I have to go. And Luca will riot if you aren’t down to watch that game in about sixty seconds.”
Cope gave me a full-on pout. “You work too hard.”
I couldn’t help the way my muscles stiffened. “I’m building a business.”
“Yes, and you were there by four this morning. Working this late on top of it isn’t healthy. You’re pushing too hard.”
I shoved away from Cope’s chest. “I’m working this hard becausestanding on my own two feet is important to me.” And after the pieces of my past I’d shared with him today, Cope should understand that.
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Okay. I get it. I just…I worry about you. These are long hours, and I don’t want you getting sick.”
I softened at the genuine worry in his tone and moved back into his space. “I just have the frosting left. It should only take me an hour or two tops. Then, I’ll be home and?—”
“Coming to bed with me,” Cope said, a growl lacing his tone.
I couldn’t help the smile that stretched across my face. “That depends. Do you promise not to throw me into the pool again?” My hair was still damp from my after-swim shower.
His wolfish grin was back. “That’s a promise I can’t make. You look too good in a wet T-shirt.”
I smacked Cope’s chest. “You’re hopeless.”
“I’m honest,” Cope said, pulling me against him. “Text me when you get there and when you leave?”
He’d taken to requesting these check-ins, even in the early morning hours. Said he liked waking to the knowledge I was safe. Something about that grabbed the organ in my chest and wouldn’t let go. “You could implant a homing beacon in my arm.”
Cope smiled against my mouth. “Don’t tempt me.”
I gave him a lazy kiss, one that easily could’ve turned into more, but I pulled back, cutting it short. “I need to go.”
Cope didn’t release me.
“The sooner I leave, the sooner I’ll be back.”
Cope let go then. “I might be motivated to dole out rewards if it’s less than two hours.”
I chuckled. “Bribery?”
“I never said I was noble.”
No, he hadn’t. “You’re way better than noble, Cope. You’re the best man I’ve ever known.”
A look of surprise morphed into something that resembled pain, but Cope quickly masked it. “Text me when you get there.”
I frowned but nodded. “Okay.”
