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Chapter 28ReeseI’m still wide awake when my alarm goes off at six. I didn’t sleep at all. Instead, I stared at the shadows on the wall, my mind racing. No matter what I did, I couldn’t shut it off. Cooper showing up yesterday, the things he said, it threw me for a loop. I was slowly rebuilding my heart and one conversation with him, the pieces began to once again crumble.
I don’t know what to believe. Cooper has never lied to me, but he’s never wanted me with anyone, Hunter included. He had his chance to have me, and he pushed me away. Now he tells me he was wrong? How do I know that it’s his true heart talking and not just the fear of losing his best friend? My head is scrambled and my heart, well, like I told him last night, there is always going to be a huge void that only he can fill. That doesn’t mean I should just call off my wedding. I love Hunter; he’s a great guy. He’s good to me.
“Gah!” I scream into the quiet room. I hate him just a little for doing this to me. My phone alerts me to a message, and then another. Reaching for it, I see both Hunter and Cooper’s names. I read Hunter’s first.Hunter: Morning, future Mrs. Applegate. I can’t wait to marry you today.See? He’s so sweet and considerate.Me: I’ll meet you at the altar.My thumb hovers over Cooper’s message. Part of me just wants to leave it unread. He said his piece, and that’s that, but this is Cooper we’re talking about, and no matter how mad at him I am about last night, I still want to see what he has to say. Maybe he changed his mind? Things can go back to how they were before he came barging into the bridal suite last night.Cooper: I laid awake all night wishing you were here with me. What I wouldn’t give to sleep next to you every night and hold you in my arms. Pushing you away that night is my biggest regret. I would give up anything and everything to take my actions back. I wanted you, Reese. I wanted you more than my next breath, but I thought I couldn’t have you. I know now that I should have just been honest with you. Then today, I would be the one you walk down the aisle to. I would be the man who gets to change your last name and live the rest of his life showing you how much I love you. I want to be that man, Reese. No matter what happens today, or twenty years from now, you will always be the love of my life. The owner of my heart. I love you, Reese Latham. Please, baby, don’t marry him.Tears race down my cheeks, and my chest is tight. I place my hand over my heart and rub, trying to dull the pain. It’s no use, nothing can take the pain away. Cooper is finally saying everything I’ve longed for him to say, but it’s just not the right time.
Wiping at my tears, I dial Tessa and place the phone to my ear. “You’re getting married today,” she sing-songs.
“Tess.” My voice cracks.
“Oh, Reese. I’m almost there. I was on my way to drive you to breakfast. Give me five minutes.”
“O-Okay.” I end the call. After throwing the covers off, I go to unlock the front door. Tessa still has a key from when she lived here with me, but I don’t know if she carries it. Curling up on the couch, I let the tears fall. I don’t bother trying to wipe them away; they’re falling too fast for me to make a difference.
“I’m here,” Tess says a few minutes later. She drops her purse and keys to the floor and comes to sit with me on the couch. “What’s going on?”
Knowing that if I speak, I’ll sound like a blubbering fool, I pull up his message and hand her my phone. I close my eyes, not wanting to see her reaction when she reads it.
“He told you,” she says softly.
Her words have my eyes popping open as my mouth falls open, and I gape at her. “What do you mean, he told me?” I wipe at my cheeks with the backs of my hands.
“Last night, we found him sitting in his Jeep in the parking lot. He was a mess, Reese. He blurted out that he loved you. Not that that’s news.” She shrugs.
“What? Of course it’s news.” How could she think it’s not?
“No, really, it’s not. Anyone who knows the two of you can see it. I’ve seen it for years. I stopped mentioning it because you didn’t believe it or were in denial or whatever. Nix has actually called Cooper out on it a few times over the years.”
