The Risks We Take Duet Box Set

28. Cooper

COOPER

“ C ooper?” Carys asks with a tremble to her voice.

Looking for the truth I should have given her earlier.

“You didn’t tell her?” Emerson glares at me with daggers in her eyes.

I turn on Linc. “You told her before I could tell Carys?”

Before Linc can get any words of defense out of his mouth, Carys grabs her purse and throws a few twenties on the table, then stands.

“I’m obviously not privy to something the three of you know. So I’m just gonna go and let you discuss it amongst yourselves.” The look she gives me is glacial before she gracefully walks away.

I sit there for a second, dumbfounded, knowing I fucked up and not sure if there’s a way to fix it until Emerson kicks me under the table.

“Get your ass up, Sinclair, and go after her. You’ve had all afternoon to tell her, and you didn’t. Fix it.”

Fuck . She’s not wrong.

When I stand, she smacks Linc on the chest. “And you’re a moron who doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut.”

I ignore the two of them and push through the front door to find Carys standing by the curb. Her dark hair is hiding her pretty face, and the warm wind is blowing her black sundress around her knees.

“Carys . . .”

She turns back to look at me, and the tears clinging to her long lashes gut me.

“What do you want, Cooper? To talk?” She blinks and straightens her spine in a move I recognize well.

Shit .

That’s not a good sign for me.

“You’re leaving again, aren’t you?” She moves her hands to her hips and waits me out as I try to figure out how to answer her.

The family sitting on the bench next to the door waiting for their table to be ready seems more invested in this conversation than I’m okay with.

“Can we talk about this in the car?”

“Want to fuck me again first? I’m sure we could find all sorts of fun ways to stall if we get creative.” Carys turns away from me as a Toyota Corolla stops at the curb. “Sorry to disappoint, but my Uber’s here.”

The driver rolls down the passenger side window and says something to her. She steps toward the back door, and I see fucking red.

“Carys, stop.”

“Sorry, Coop. I’m not Wanda. I don’t like commands.” She opens the door, and I push it closed.

I pass the driver a twenty. “Sorry, man. She’s going home with me.”

“ She can speak for herself. And she doesn’t want to be stuck in a car with you.”

A cheer comes from the family behind us, and I drag my hand over my face.

I wrap my hand around the back of her head and hold her still. “Baby, I’m leaving in a few days. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, but I was just so damn happy to see you that I wasn’t even thinking about it. I was only thinking about you .” My thumb caresses her cheekbone. “Now, will you please get in the goddamned Jeep so I can grovel in fucking private? I don’t want to waste any of the next few days fighting.”

My strong girl breaks down in tears, then buries her face in my neck. “I don’t want you to go.”

“I don’t want to either, baby. But I have to.” I hold her in my arms, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair.

“Girl. Don’t let him play you like that,” comes from the same family as before, and my grip on Carys tightens.

“Can we get in the Jeep now?” I groan.

She lifts her head and runs her fingers along my jaw, then nods.

I press my lips to her forehead and offer up a silent prayer she’s going to forgive me. We’re quiet as we get in and head back to the house while I try to figure out what to say, but Carys isn’t in the mood for quiet.

“When do you leave?” She crosses her legs and angles her body toward mine. “And why doesn’t it sound like Linc’s going too?”

“First things first. Are we going back to my house or yours?” Not that it makes much difference for the drive home.

“Depends... Has Emerson been sleeping at your house or mine? Because I’d rather not continue this fight, knowing Linc and she are in the next room.”

“Mine it is then. Linc’s been crashing at your place most of this past week.” I place my hand, palm up, between us and wait to see if she’ll take it. And my girl doesn’t disappoint.

She laces her fingers through mine and tugs our joined hands into her lap. “Ready to answer my questions now?”

“I’m being sent to Virginia Beach for six to eight months to help out Bravo Team. I just found out yesterday.” I come to a stop at a red light and turn to look at this gorgeous woman who I know I’m hurting. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything earlier today. I was just so damn relieved to see you, baby.”

Carys runs the pad of her thumb over our joined hands, sending electricity coursing through my body. Her voice trembles as she asks, “When do you leave?”

“The day after tomorrow.”

She exhales a stuttered breath, and I lean into her.

The light changes to green, and the car behind us honks impatiently.

“Take me home, Coop.” She grips my hand tighter.

“To your house?” I have zero fucking clue how to read this woman right now, but I know I’m treading a fine line.

“No.” She squeezes our hands. “To yours.”

We drive for the next few minutes in silence.

It’s not until we’re parked in my driveway that she drops my hand and then climbs into my lap, her legs on either side of mine. She’s so small against me, so fragile and yet so strong.

I rest one hand between her shoulder blades and the other possessively on her thigh.

How the fuck am I supposed to go months without her?

Carys’s hands grip my shoulders, and her piercing green eyes steal a piece of my soul. “Don’t do that to me again, Cooper. Don’t fuck me first and then rip my heart to shreds afterward. If we’re going to work, you’ve got to make sure I know exactly what’s going on. No hiding. No secrets. I need to know.”

Her hands slide up my neck as her thumbs skim my jaw. “I’m not a na?ve little girl. I don’t need to be protected. I need to be loved. I need to be respected. And hiding something that big from me... letting me find out from Linc or Emerson, and in front of our friends instead of in the privacy of my room, wasn’t okay.”

“I won’t always be able to tell you everything.” I tilt my head back against the seat and run a hand over her soft hair, tucking it behind her ear. “But I’ll tell you everything I can. I promise you, it’s you and me. You’re my endgame, Carys.”

“You and me, Coop. That’s all I need.” She leans her head down and brushes her lips over mine.

“Me too, baby. Me too.”