Intercepting Love (Second Chances #5)(66)

“You know that once the guys see this they’re going to have a lot of questions. I wanted to save this embarrassment from Cooper, but now it’s all going to come crashing down on him. I’m afraid of what he’ll do. I know how he’s handled his stress in the past, and I don’t want to see him get that low again. ”

In my heart I knew Cooper wouldn’t fall back on his pain meds to deal with the stress. I hated that others couldn’t see how far he’d come. He was stronger than that now.

“He’s not going to go back to that,” I stated wholeheartedly. “You have to believe me. If I thought he had a problem I would tell you. You know I would.”

I would never let Cooper’s drug problem slide by if he was still addicted to them. Even though we were involved, I would never jeopardize the team by letting him stay.

Sighing, Joel nodded and took a seat at the table. “I believe you, Kate, it’s just we’ve started the season out so great and now this has happened. He’s probably most upset about what they said about you.”

“About me?” I gasped. “What would be said about me?”

Frantically, I skimmed over the rest of the article until I saw my name. Once I turned the page, I choked in horror, angry tears welling in my eyes. “Oh my God. Why the hell would they write that?” Falling back into one of the kitchen chairs, my hands shook as I read the rest of the article, struggling to take in a deep breath. Again, my past had been misconstrued and made to look like I’d be the end of the famous Cooper Davis.

Suddenly, it dawned on me. That was why Scott’s mother turned herself in. She didn’t need to send a third warning because I was staring at the f*cking thing. The rest of the article was about how Cooper needed to stay away from me since I was known for making my boyfriends so miserable that they killed themselves. They even put a picture of Scott in the paper and described how he overdosed on pills, hoping that Cooper wasn’t next.

It also went on to mention that Cooper’s standards had lessened since he went from a successful woman like Claire O’Briene, to his many one night trysts with famous celebrities and models, finally ending with someone like me who couldn’t hack it as a physician since I dropped out and decided to be a physician’s assistant.

“How did you find this?” I asked, gritting my teeth. If I ever saw Scott’s mother again, I was going to slap the shit out of her. I thought she had gone too far with slashing Cooper’s tires, but this was way worse.

“They’re everywhere, Kate. When I went down to the lobby to eat breakfast, I saw one lying on a table with Cooper’s name in plain sight. Knowing it’s one of those stupid gossip magazines, I didn’t think much of it until I saw the pictures. Do you think it was Scott’s mother who did this?”

“I have no doubt,” I huffed, glaring down at the article. “Cooper’s gone through so much shit the past couple of weeks and it’s all because of me. What if he gets tired of it and doesn’t want to deal with it anymore?”

Joel tapped me on the chin with his finger, wanting me to look up at him. “Then you’ll have your answer, Kate. I love Cooper just like a son, but if he gives up that easily then it’s his loss. You deserve someone who will fight for you no matter what. Besides, he’s kind of used to the tabloids running his name through the mud. You should’ve known your name would be dragged through this as well by getting involved with him.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t think anyone would waste their time talking about me.

“Thanks, Joel,” I murmured sadly. “We’ll deal with it somehow. I just wish I knew what to do.”

Joel got to his feet and pushed his chair under the table, tenderly squeezing my shoulder before walking toward the door. “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it here in Arizona. Why don’t you get your things packed up? I’m sure Cooper will be back soon. I’ll talk to the team once we’re all together back home.”

After Joel took his leave, I walked around the suite in complete silence while all of the memories from the night before replayed in my mind. I did my first strip tease, and slept outside under the stars for the first time in my life as well. I held those memories close to my heart while I packed up our things.

He had already been gone an hour, and I was beginning to think he wasn’t going to come back in time before we had to leave for the airport. I didn’t want to leave without him, but I would if he needed more space. For the first time in my life I was happy, and I didn’t want to lose it.

I was determined to do whatever I had to do to keep it that way.





As soon as I left the suite, I knew who I needed to call. There was only one person in the literary business who was widely known and could get shit done … Shelby Dawson, a.k.a. Paige Monroe, the well-known journalist. Before I injured my shoulder, she had interviewed me for a ten page spread in the illustrious Physique Sports and Fitness Magazine.

I didn’t want to call her on a Sunday, but I had no choice. Scrolling through my contacts, I finally found her number and dialed it, taking a seat on a secluded bench out in the courtyard of the hotel.

“Hello,” she answered.

“Shelby, hey it’s Cooper Davis. How are you?”

“Well, I’ll be damned. I’m doing great, how are you? Did Bryan call you or something? I told him I was going to get in touch with you tomorrow.”