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“Man, that’s tough.”

“I don’t know how he’d have coped without Huxley. That kid is an angel.”

“They both seem pretty incredible. You must be so proud of them.”

“I am. I just wish I could say the same for the man who’s meant to be taking care of them.”

45

GARRETT

My chest hurts as I listen to Cooper tell me about his brothers and what they’re having to deal with. Losing a parent at such a young age is heartbreaking, but even just touching on what Ryker has been through…fuck.

Cooper’s eyes hold mine, and the air between us crackles. It’s been this way since the very first time we made eye contact, and it doesn’t seem to be stopping. I really fucking hope it never does.

“You snuck out of bed.”

“You were sleeping. I didn’t want to disturb you,” he says, entwining our fingers. “I wanted to…” I frown when he hesitates. “I wanted to look online to see if⁠—”

“There isn’t anything,” I blurt. It was the first thing I checked this morning.

“Nothing?”

“Nothing.”

I watch as the tension drains out of him. His shoulders drop and his expression softens, and the next thing I know, he lunges at me, his lips on mine, and I’m losing myself in him all over again.

“Oh fuck,” he grunts as we roll off the couch. Cooper lands on his back, cradling me against him like a little kid.

“This is becoming an all-too-common occurrence. You should put a thicker carpet down here or something.”

Cooper laughs, and it’s the most incredible sound after watching the way he shut down last night. I hated those walls he put up between us. I honestly thought he was going to bring our night to an end and demand he drop me home. The fact that he didn’t blows my mind.

“Did you mean what you said earlier?”

He searches my eyes as he tries to remember what that might have been.

“That we were gonna work out and go for breakfast,” I remind him.

“I mean, yeah, if you want to.”

“Do I want to watch you work out and get all hot and sweaty? Is that a serious question?”

He smirks. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he says, pushing himself off my body.

I want to cry out in disappointment, but I just about manage to keep it together.

“I'm going to put some clothes on,” he states once he’s at full height.

“You know, you really don’t need to,” I tease.

“You’re a nightmare,” he mutters as he walks away, leaving me with the incredible view of his ass.

“You love it.” I’m pretty sure I’m not imagining the ‘Yeah, I do,’ that follows.

After pulling on a pair of athletic shorts and a T-shirt, Cooper meets me in the kitchen for a protein shake before leading me toward his home gym. The last time he told me about this, it wasn’t ready, so I can only assume⁠—

“Holy shit,” I gasp when he pulls the door open. “This is insane.”