Intercepting Love (Second Chances #5)(45)
His fingers grazed over my arm so lightly that it tickled, making chill bumps fan out across my skin. Once he got to my elbows, he pulled my arms out from behind my back and sighed heavily, his gaze full of agony.
“What the f*ck, Kate? I did this that first night, didn’t I? I knew I shouldn’t have let you stay.”
Dropping to his knees, he kissed both of my wrists and hung his head. “Fuck, f*ck, f*ck. Kate, I am so f*cking sorry.”
“Cooper, it’s okay,” I assured him. “I’m fine, I promise.”
He shook his head quickly and growled, “No, you’re not because if you were you wouldn’t have tried to hide what I did to you. The thought of hurting you makes me so goddamned sick. I promise I’ll do anything to make this up to you, just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”
Slowly, I bent down on my knees and took his face in my hands. Refusing to look up at me, he kept his gaze on the floor and I soon realized why when I felt warm tears fall across my fingers.
“You already made it up to me, Cooper, by fighting your addiction. If you promise to stay clean that’s all that matters. Knowing I helped you through your tough times is what’s important to me. I didn’t want to leave you.”
Finally, Cooper gazed up at me, his eyes red and pained. “Please tell me you forgive me for this, Kate. You know I never wanted to hurt you.”
“I know, and there’s nothing to forgive,” I whispered, tears falling down my cheeks. “I’m so proud of you for pushing through it. I know it wasn’t easy.”
Nodding quickly, he got to his feet and pulled me over to my bed, holding my hands gently in his. With his weary gaze on my wrists, he thumbed the bruises gently and murmured, “Do you want to know why I don’t ever want to hurt you? Why it kills me that it was my hands that did this to you?”
“Why?” I whispered, holding my breath.
Sighing heavily, he lifted his gaze and placed both hands on my cheeks, wiping away my tears. “It’s because I love you, Kate, and people aren’t supposed to hurt the ones they love. The last thing I want is for you to hate me for what I did.”
Mouth gaping open, I sucked in a ragged breath and held it while my heart beat out of control. Oh my God, he just said he loved me! Thankfully, I was sitting down because I wasn’t expecting those words to come out of his mouth. I knew I had strong feelings for him, but I didn’t realize how strong they were until now. I could never hate him, but there was one thing I knew for certain … I loved him, too.
“Cooper,” I breathed, holding onto his wrists. He still held my face in his hands and stared at me longingly, waiting for my next words. “For the longest time, I never thought I’d feel this way ever again … but I do. I love you, Cooper. I know we’re not supposed to hurt the ones we love, but it’s inevitable. No one’s perfect, but we learn from our mistakes and we grow. This brought us closer together because you trusted me and let me see you at your lowest. It takes a lot of courage to do that.”
A slow smile spread across his lips, and I leaned over and kissed him. Chuckling lightly, he teased me with his tongue, tracing my lips lightly. “So where do we go from here, love?” he asked.
With a grin on my face, I slid off the bed and put my shirt and skirt on. “I say, we go wherever it leads us, and right now we need to go on our date … I’m starving. I’m sure Lara will rush our order if we go to The Carolina Tavern.”
His eyes lit with humor and he smiled. “Well, what about dessert? Will we be getting that as well? I seem to recall there being a massive selection there the other day.”
“Oh, you’ll get dessert,” I told him, “but it’s not going to be at the restaurant.”
“Well, then what are we waiting for, love? Let’s go.”
Taking my hand, he led me out of my room and down the stairs. Even though he had a smile on his face, I could still feel the turmoil brewing underneath the surface. Hopefully, by the end of the night I could convince him enough that I was fine and that everything would be okay. I didn’t want him to hurt anymore.
I wished there was a way to turn back time and do things all over again. I would’ve gotten my shit together and stopped taking those pills a long time ago. Kate spent all week trying to cover up what I did to her and all because she didn’t want to hurt me. How the hell did I get so lucky as to have someone like her love me?
“You’re not going to get drunk and pass out on the bathroom floor this time, are you?” I joked as we walked inside of the restaurant.
She smacked me on the arm. “Ha-ha, very funny. No, I don’t plan on drinking a single thing while we’re here other than sweet tea.”
Just inside the door, Lara stood off to the side, surveying the dining room. When she saw me and Kate walk in, she smiled and sauntered over. “Hello, Kate, how are you? I haven’t seen you in a while. Usually you come by a couple of times a week.”
What was she talking about? Lara’s seen Kate a lot over the past couple of weeks.
“Yes, I know,” Kate replied. “I’ve been so busy this past week that I hadn’t had a chance to come by. Are you doing well?”
“Much better, thank you.” Turning to me, she grinned and held out her hand. “I take it you’re Cooper Davis. I’m Summer … Lara’s sister, or twin as it will. By the look on your face I figured you thought I was her.”