Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 84370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Heartache, because when he told me he loved me, all I wanted to do was scream the words back at him and hold on tightly. I want the last seventeen years to disappear, and I want to be his.
Hope, because even through the pain and the heartache, I still love that man with everything inside me. I don’t know if we can make this work between us, but I saw the determination in his eyes. He meant what he said, and I can only hope we’re able to work through this.
I don’t know how long I cry on the floor, but eventually, I pull myself together enough to drag my ass to the couch. I know I should head to my room. My sisters are going to come home and find me a hot mess and want to know what happened. It’s not that I don’t want to tell them, but I’m not exactly sure what to say. How do you tell your best friends that the only man you’ve ever loved showed up, spoke some truths, and you ended up in bed together, having unprotected sex?
So. Stupid.
It’s been years for me, and well, there’s no point putting my body on a medication I don’t need. I didn’t expect tonight, and now, well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Reaching for the tissues, I blow my snotty nose, pull the throw from the back of the couch, curl up, and watch some mindless television.
Not even thirty minutes later, I hear the front door. It’s too early for my sisters to be home, but sure enough, it’s their voices I hear. It’s not just Courtlynn and Leighton, but my best friend, Kinzie, too.
“What’s going on?” I ask, my heart falling to my gut. Is someone hurt? Oh, God, please don’t let it be Copeland. He was upset when he left. He just went to his room, right? “Please, no,” I say, sitting up, fighting back the lump in my throat.
“I got this.” Kinzie hands me her phone as she plops down on the couch next to me.
* * *
Copeland: I don’t know if this is still Kinzie’s phone, but this is Copeland James.
Kinzie: It’s me. What’s up, Copeland?
Copeland: My girl needs you and her sisters, too.
Kinzie: What did you do?
Copeland: All I’ve ever done is love her.
Copeland: I’ve made some mistakes, but I won’t make them twice.
Copeland: She was upset when I left. I’d go back, but I know she won’t let me in. Please, go to her. I don’t want her to be alone.
Kinzie: What about you?
Copeland: Just let me know she’s okay, and I’ll be fine.
Kinzie: I’ll rally the troops.
Copeland: Thank you, Kinzie.
Kinzie: I’m doing it for her.
Copeland: I love her. I never stopped.
* * *
My heart shatters all over again reading his words. I hand Kinzie back her phone as I wipe tears from my eyes.
“What happened?” Leighton asks. She pushes the coffee table away from the couch, grabs a few throw pillows, tosses one to Courtlynn, and they both sit.
“Did he hurt you?” Courtlynn asks cautiously.
“No. Not physically. Copeland would never lay a hand on me,” I tell them.
“I know.” Courtlynn nods. “But I still needed to ask.” Always a fierce protector, my baby sister.
Three pairs of eyes watch me, waiting, giving me time to gather my thoughts. I know they’d sit here all night with me, but I don’t want that. I need to talk to someone about this. About tonight, about him, and our past. Besides, they know everything up to this point anyway.
“Who wants to call Bay?” I ask. I don’t want to have to go through this again when Baylor finds out. I might as well include her in the conversation now, if she has time.
“I’ll call her,” Leighton says, reaching into her back pocket and pulling out her phone. Baylor answers the video call immediately.
“Lei? What’s going on?” Baylor asks, and I can hear the concern in her voice.
“I talked to Copeland tonight,” I say, loud enough she can hear me. Leighton turns the phone, and I wave. “You busy?” I ask her.
“Nope. I’m holding down the couch, reading.”
“Where’s Todd?” I ask, but I already know she’s going to say he’s working. I really don’t like that guy.
“Working on a case,” she says, as if it’s no big deal that she’s sitting home alone, again, on a Saturday night. “I’m all yours,” she says.
I nod. “Okay, so he texted me last night, checking to see if I still had the same number.”
“Is this before or after he carried your ass out of the Hideaway?” Courtlynn smirks.
“Fine. Let me rewind.” I tell them all about last night, and how he, in Courtlynn’s words, carried my ass out of the Hideaway. “It was after I was at Kinzie’s and in bed that he texted me. I agreed to meet with him today. I was going to do it in the conference room at the Manor, but at the last minute, I changed my mind and told him we could meet here. I knew Lei and Court were going to be out and figured we’d have more privacy.”