Cooper (Wild Boys After Dark, #4)(12)
He knelt before her and took her face in his hands, waiting for her to look at him. He ached at the anger and sadness written on her face, making him revisit the idea of tracking down and pummeling whoever had done this. But that wouldn’t help her right now.
“I have equipment you can use. Don’t worry. You’ll get your photos.” He didn’t need the money from this shoot, and even if he did need it, he’d give her everything he had without a second thought.
She huffed a breath. “I don’t want to take your equipment, Cooper. I’ve gotten along just fine for four years without you. I can certainly get along for a weekend. I’ll just—”
“Cici, not for one second did I mean to imply that you couldn’t handle this. I know you can. Hell, you can probably handle far more than I can. I’m sure it wouldn’t have taken you years to find yourself after…” Fuck, why was he going there? He redirected his thoughts and said, “I’m here, and I have extra equipment. Let me help. Think of it as being from one friend to another.”
She rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips. “I don’t usually sleep with my friends.”
“From what I remember, we were friends when we were sleeping together before, or at least we were by the end of the first night. Why should that change? I mean, despite the fact that you probably have at least some hatred for me for being an ass and disappearing from your life.”
“You’re not an ass.”
“Thanks. My fishing expedition paid off.” He laughed, and she smiled, which had been his goal. “Cici, I want to help.”
“But you need your equipment,” she snapped, looking adorable even though her eyes were narrowed with anger and she was determined to be self-sufficient.
“No, actually, there was a time when I thought my equipment was everything. But equipment isn’t something I feel like I need anymore. It’s something I want and enjoy. You’re someone I want, enjoy, and my heart tells me that you’re the only person or thing I need, and I will gladly share my equipment with you.” He said with a hint of seduction to ease the mood, “All of my equipment,” which made her smile.
He pressed his lips to hers and drew her to her feet. “Come on. Let’s report this to the police, call the insurance company, and then I’ll be your equipment caddy for the day.”
Chapter Five
CICI HAD BEEN angry and nervous when she was filling out the police report, but Cooper had remained by her side, offering comfort and strength. He’d asked a hundred questions she hadn’t thought to ask about the investigation and how it would be handled, and he’d even called his eldest brother, Logan, a private investigator, to be sure he didn’t leave any stone unturned.
Cooper had also spoken with the head of security for the hotel and made arrangements for them to keep an eye on her room, which she thought was overkill, considering the police seemed to think the break-in was a random act. Then again, with just the little Cooper had shared with her about the attack on his parents, she imagined that any random act of violence stirred a boiling pot of emotions in him. Every protective thing he did brought her love for him closer to the surface. She knew she had to be careful, and they needed to get to the bottom of the last four years—and Melody—but she couldn’t stop her heart from opening up to him no matter how much she tried. The truth was, she knew it had never fully closed.
Everything he did, every word he said, showed her that he was still the loving man he’d once been. Still, there was no missing the intensity in his gaze while dealing with this mess, or the way he stared off in the distance with a pained look on his face, like he was reliving the nightmare of the attack on his parents. That’s when she saw the haunting brutality of his past. In some ways, she sometimes saw hints of darkness in her own face. Not because of the distance between them, but because while becoming a mother was the absolute best thing she’d ever done in her life, it was also the hardest. She worried constantly about being a good mother, teaching Melody the right things, showing her the right path for her, even if it wasn’t necessarily right for Cici. Melody had Cooper’s fearless confidence, and Cici wanted to encourage that side of her, even if it sometimes scared her. Yes, mothering was definitely not easy, but every worry, every sleepless, dateless night was worth it.
Hours later, the festival was bustling with anticipation. The film festival had grown tremendously since the last time Cici had been there. Now the festival boasted five luxurious theaters and acres of property. She and Cooper had been lucky enough to both be chosen for photo calls for the first two shows. Only two hundred photographers were chosen for the photo calls, giving them better access to the stars as they arrived for the films.
She watched him now as he checked the lens of the camera hanging around his neck, propped the extension pole with another camera perched high on the end against his hip, and checked the remote shutter. He must have asked her a dozen times before they’d arrived if she was sure she wanted to still go through with the shoot, and probably another half a dozen times since. His concern for her well-being was one of the many traits that had made her fall in love with him in the first place. And when he’d completely cut off communication with her, it was one of the things she’d missed the most. Over the years she’d wondered if she’d imagined all those wonderful things about him. If she’d glamorized the week they’d shared and magnified it to epic proportions to rationalize her feelings for him. But she knew the minute she’d seen him last night that that hadn’t been the case.