The Risks We Take Duet Box Set

25. Carys

CARYS

“ O kay, well, at least you don’t have mono.” My best friend, Daphne, sits across from me in a booth at the Busy Bee, our favorite bistro on Main Street in Kroydon Hills.

Her roommate, Maddie, sits quietly next to her with wide eyes, while Chloe hasn’t stopped laughing next to me.

I still felt awful as we packed up and drove home from the beach a few days after I had gotten sick, but at least my fever was gone, even if my headache lingered.

I spent most of the next week getting my work done for my online classes or sleeping. When I still wasn’t feeling back to normal the following week, Mom insisted I get checked for mono. But thankfully, the results were negative.

“Nope.” Chloe steals the cherry right out of the whipped cream that sat on top of my Belgian Waffles and pops it into her mouth. “No mono for our girl. Cooper gets to live another day.”

I smack my hand over her mouth and look around. “Could you please lower your voice?”

“Seriously, could you even imagine if he gave you mono? How the hell would you have explained that to your mom?” Daphne looks at me over the rim of her coffee cup with mischief in her eyes.

“No one has mono. I spent all last week with Chloe, and she’s still fine,” I protest.

Chloe’s hands wave around animatedly. “Wait a minute. We were together,” she points between the two of us. “But we weren’t together , together. You know what I mean?” She thinks about that for a moment. “I mean, I love you, but I’ve seen you naked, and there were no sparks.”

Maddie and Daphne giggle, and I slam my hand against the table a little harder than I planned on.

“Touchy, touchy,” Chloe mocks, then points at my half-eaten waffles. “You gonna eat that?”

I shake my head and push my plate her way.

I still don’t feel great—not sick, just tired.

Chloe and I did some business planning last week. We worked on a few ideas for upcoming designs and figured out what we wanted the second half of the year to look like for Le Désir. We also talked to a graphic designer about branding, met with the two boutiques that have been buying from us in the city, and spoke with someone about outsourcing the manufacturing when we’re ready. And I took all three of my second session summer finals.

I’m spent.

“What time is your flight, Carys?” Daphne knows I’m anxious to get back to California, especially now that Cooper’s training is over.

“Six-thirty tomorrow morning.” I take a nervous breath, wondering what it’s going to be like, and my bestie catches it.

“Don’t be nervous. It’s Cooper,” Daphne states like that makes any sense. “Are you really not going to talk to anyone about it before you go?”

Chloe throws an unopened creamer at Daphne. “What are we? She’s talking to us.”

“You know what I mean. The longer you guys keep this to yourself, the bigger the secret gets. The bigger the secret, the bigger the fallout.” Daphne looks at Maddie for support, but she just shakes her head.

“Don’t look at me. I don’t know the crazy family dynamic you’re all talking about.” Maddie reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. “You do you, Carys. Everyone else will either get on board, or they won’t. But you’ll have what you want.”

What I want . . . What do I want?

I’ve been asking myself that for months now.

I wanted to go to school in California. I begged my mom to let me go. I wanted the freedom. The independence. And I’m so glad I did it. But while I can’t wait to get back, it has nothing to do with school. I thought maybe I’d hate the summer classes less than I hated the previous courses. I was wrong. They were worse. Shortened semesters meant covering so much more during each class. I’m so glad they’re over, and I have a few more weeks before the next semester starts.

I keep thinking I’ve got things figured out, and I keep being proven wrong.

I’m going through the motions, but I’m not sure what the endgame is.

T he flight back to San Diego is brutal. The turbulence is enough to make me queasy. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m so anxious to get home, but the six hours spent suspended in the air feel more like seventeen. It gives me way too much time to contemplate... well, everything. So I do what I always do when I’m trying to make decisions.

I make a list. Writing things down has always helped calm my busy mind.

~ Is school for me?

It really isn’t, but can I design and run a successful lingerie line without a degree?

~ Is owning a lingerie company what I definitely want to do with my life, or would I rather design for someone else?

No. I want to design for myself. I want to see Le Désir in high-end boutiques around the world.

~ Cooper . . .

There’s no question about my feelings for Cooper.

But how do we navigate our nosey family?

I’ll give school one more year, then make my decision. I’m lucky my grandparents set up trust funds for Aiden and me years ago. I’m even luckier because my mother is the most financially savvy person I’ve ever known. And she’s spun the money left for us into two small fortunes. I could probably live off that for the next ten years without working a single day if I wanted to. But that’s not what I want. Chloe and I have already started to see a small-scale profit that I want to see grow.

I look over my list and realize I don’t have that many decisions to make.

I know what I want. Even better, I know who I want.

Now, I just need to figure out how to make it happen.

Luckily, the flight lands on time, and everything else moves smoothly. I’ve retrieved my luggage within an hour of landing, and I’m walking through the revolving door to find my Uber that’s in the waiting lane. But I don’t see my Uber when I step out onto the sidewalk.

I don’t even look for it because Cooper is standing in front of his beat-up old Jeep. His jeans are well-worn and torn at one knee. The faded blue t-shirt he’s wearing stretches across his chest and arms, making those eyes I love stand out even more. He looks comfortable in his skin. Confident in a way that’s totally Cooper. And maybe... just maybe, I’m getting there too.

Coop jogs across the lanes of traffic and scoops me up in his arms, crushing me to him.

I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck as I breathe him in.

“Jesus. I missed you, Carys.” He runs his lips along my jaw and over my lips.

“I missed you too. I’m so sorry I was sick when you left. We barely got to spend any time together.” I cling to him like it’s been years instead of weeks. Not willing to let go and not caring who’s watching, I kiss him with every ounce of pent-up need, frustration... and maybe love that I have for this man.

Coop groans deep in his chest, and I love knowing I do that to him. “You can’t control getting sick.” He puts me down and grabs my suitcase and carry-on. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Sounds good.” I open my Uber app and cancel my ride. Once we’re in the Jeep, Coop gets us out of the maze of airport traffic and onto the highway to go home.

“Do you want to grab something to eat first? There’s a great food truck a few minutes from here.”

I tilt my head toward him and lean back. “That sounds great, but don’t you have training or something? What exactly do you do during the day when you’re not on a mission?”

“Nah, we’re off today. We do a lot of training, though, to make sure we’re ready for every situation.” Coop stops in front of a taco truck a few minutes later, walks around the Jeep, and opens my door. “What are you in the mood for?”

I look at him, standing next to me, then lean against his chest, suddenly exhausted. “You,” I answer honestly. “I just want you.”