Cope snapped his mouth closed.
“From what I understand, Teddy got hurt after that incident because another player cheated. The only person that’s on is the other player.”
Cope’s jaw worked back and forth, but he didn’t try to interrupt again.
“And Marcus?” I asked. “That guy is a pompous, jealous jerk-face.”
There was the barest flutter in Cope’s lips. “Jerk-face?”
“Am I wrong?”
“Not wrong, Warrior. But he probably didn’t deserve the punch.”
I let out a long breath. “No, he probably didn’t. At least not one to the face.”
I got a full lip twitch this time but knew it wouldn’t last because I had to say the next part and knew it would hurt. I gripped Cope’s face tighter. “Teddy died. And it happened on the way home from visiting you.”
Cope tried to pull back. “Sutton?—”
“He died on the way home from visiting someone he loved. From sharing the sport he adored with new athletes. If you’re blaming yourself for that, are you going to blame the kids, too? Are you going to blame Luca?”
“Of course, not.”
“Good.” I stretched up onto my tiptoes to press my forehead to his. “Because it was no one’s fault. And I know it must have stirred up all kinds of demons, but you can’t let them win.”
Cope’s arms slid around me then, and he breathed me in. “Okay.”
I pulled back, surprise making my eyes flare. “Okay?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry I let the demons win for a minute.”
All the air left my lungs in a whoosh. “I’m sorry, too. Because you need to know, you’re the best for me. You jumped in to help with Luca. You gave us a place to stay. You make us dinner every night. You’re giving Luca everything he’s ever dreamed of. We might not have forever, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t soak up everything we can right now.”
I said the last piece for myself as much as for him, an audible reminder that there was a time limit on this. Because Cope would return to Seattle while Luca’s and my lives were here in Sparrow Falls. But I wouldn’t hold myself back from Cope. I planned to soak up every ounce of him I could get because the memories would have to get me through when he left. Just like I wanted his memories of me to remind him what a good man he is.
Cope’s eyes flashed a brighter blue, defiance making a home there. “Soak up everything we can because this has an expiration date,huh?” His hand slid to my waist, scorching me through the thin cotton of my tank top.
“It’s the truth. You’ll go back to Seattle, and I’ll be in Sparrow Falls.”
That hand dipped beneath the fabric of my shirt and circled my belly. “Ever hear of a long-distance relationship?”
“Cope…” That wasn’t practical—for a million different reasons.
“You wanna do this, then wedoit. No half measures. And no throwing up walls after you break down mine.”
The accusation had my blood heating. “Says the man who’s been avoiding me for the past two weeks.”
Cope’s rough palm pressed into my belly, pushing me back one step, then two, three, until my back hit a solid surface, but not one that caused any pain. The movement and how it felt told me it was a punching bag.
“Because you scare the hell out of me, Warrior. Because you make me feel more than I ever thought I could.”
The air seized in my lungs, pulling in muscle and sinew with a violent contraction. It was my fear that hit me then. The idea of falling for a man with the potential to crush me. “Cope.”
“So, tell me, are you ready to go there with me?”
That hand on my belly was all I could feel. The heat of it, my need for more contact, more ofhim. Cope’s fingers twisted in the hem of my tank and then jerked it up and over my head.
The cool air of the gym instantly had my skin pebbling and my nipples tightening. But there was nothing but liquid fire in Cope’s eyes. “Do you want me to touch you, Warrior?”
