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“I don’t want your world darkened by mine, Quinn. That isn’t fair to you when you are the bright spot in my life. You are sunshine, lighting up the shadows of my life, and I can’t have you dimmed.” God, this man could seriously melt the snow in the middle of a New York winter.
“Well, maybe my light is strong enough to keep out this darkness too,” I say, hoping he’ll tell me what’s going on. I’m not trying to be nosy because I honestly don’t think I want to know, but by telling me, it will help ease the load on his shoulders, and that’s all I want for him.
Cooper takes a deep breath and leans back, separating us like if he’s not touching me then the darkness can’t get to me either. I brace myself for the words. “A girl was murdered the other night. But, Quinn... it wasn’t just that she was killed. That was horrible, but it’s what the bastard did to her. He sliced her up. All over her body.
“I’ve never seen anything so cruel. We think she was alive while he did it, too, and I… I can’t get the thought out of my head of how much pain she was in while she died. No one deserves that. And now, the town I swore an oath to protect, isn’t safe anymore, and I’m not sure I know how to get us through this.”
Cooper looks me dead in the eye as if he’s preparing for me to run while imploring me to stay. He looks so unsure it brings tears to my eyes. That poor girl, going through something so terrible, and then for someone as kind-hearted as Cooper to have to see her like that. I can’t imagine.
I move in closer and slide my arms back around Cooper. My heart is breaking for both the girl and this amazing man. “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry this happened. I’m sorry that poor girl had to go through something so terrifying, and I’m sorry you had to see it. But you know what?” I lean back and put my hands on his face to make sure he’s listening. “She is also lucky because she has you to find out who did this to her. You are the best person to get her justice, and you won’t give up until you do.” I look at Cooper a little longer to ensure he knows I mean what I say, and he nods at me, telling me he heard me.
He leans in and kisses me for all he’s worth, and I know, in that moment, Cooper will have my heart forever.
27
COOPER
“Ben, I know you’ve had a bit of trouble recently, but it’s time to move on, honey,” I hear Quinn say as I walk through the door of what will be Paint and Paper,the gallery Quinn’s helping to open. I’m not sure how I feel about her calling someone else “honey”, but by the look on her face, she’s not doing it out of love. The place is noisy with a few construction guys working and talking.
I watch as her eyes roll back so far into her head I’m afraid they may get stuck. “You went on one date, Ben, and while I know you’re a romantic, that doesn’t constitute a love connection,” she says, making me chuckle. She finally sees me, and her face breaks out into a megawatt smile.
It’s been a few weeks since the break-in, and I honestly can’t remember what it was like to not have her in my life. Her laughter has brought me so much joy, and it feels as if we’ve been together for years instead of weeks.
She holds up a finger telling me it’ll be another minute, so I go find Levi to keep me busy while I wait. The space has really come along in the week and a half that Levi and Max have been remodeling. They’ve hung the drywall and are in the middle of installing light oak floors. There are faux brick columns evenly spaced to break up the room and what looks like a makeshift desk made out of sawhorses towards the back of the room.
I find Levi in the back room, putting together shelving units to house the inventory that won’t fit on the walls or in display cases. His navy hat sits backward on his head, and his tool belt is slung around his hips. We look identical to each other with the exception of our eyes, his are hazel while mine are more brown.
“Hey, bro!” Levi says as I walk towards him.
“Hey man, it’s looking good out there,” I say, giving him a quick hug.
“Thanks. Yeah, it’s coming together nicely. We’ve only got a few weeks to go, and we might be able to speed that up a bit if all goes well,” he says.
Quinn comes around the corner and walks straight to me, lifting her chin so I can kiss her hello. Just like always, a quick peck isn’t enough and we both fall in deeper. I’ll never get enough of the way she kisses. She completely opens up for me, and every time it both humbles me and sets my blood on fire.
“Get a room,” Levi huffs, making us laugh and, much to my dismay, pull away from each other.
“If you could kiss like that, you’d be more understanding, Levi,” Quinn says with a wink. Throughout the renovation, they’ve been getting to know each other better and I love that they’ve bonded.
“Oh, sweetheart, I can kiss a helluva lot better than that, I just don’t want to watch the two of you do it,” he says with a cocky grin.
“Okay, we do not need any more information,” I say, stopping Levi from going into any more detail about his “skills”. He chuckles as Quinn and I turn and walk away, sending a wave over my head to say goodbye.
“So, what brings you by, handsome?” Quinn asks as we walk back out into the main lobby.
“I wanted to see my girl and check in on how things were coming along. I haven’t seen it since they ripped out the carpet and wallpaper.”
She smiles up at me and grabs ahold of my waist. “I’m glad you stopped by today. We’re getting so close to being done I can hardly believe it. Did Levi tell you they might be done sooner than we thought?”
“Yeah, he did. What will happen when they’re done? Are you going to open right away or do you have to wait?” I ask her. I have no idea how any of this works, but watching Quinn jump into this venture with both feet has been amazing. I always knew she was smart, I mean, she was a lawyer for Christ's sake, but seeing her in action makes me so incredibly proud to be by her side through it all.
“Well, we already have an opening day party planned for the end of July when we thought the renovations would take longer. All of our marketing materials and stuff have the date on it, so we can’t change that, but if the renovations are done early, I’ll have more time to prepare for opening day, which will be helpful.”
“Got it, quicker renovations mean not as many late nights for you. I’ll tell Levi to get his ass in gear,” I joke, making her laugh. “I wish I could stay and take you to lunch, but I’ve got to get back to the station.”
“No worries. I’ve got several more artists to call to get an idea of what inventory we’ll have.”
“Can I come by tonight if it’s not too late when I’m done?” I ask her. Despite my objections, Quinn decided to move back into her house after the break-in. I wanted her to stay with me, both to keep her safe and because I loved having her there, but she thought she’d look weak if she never went back to her house, and I couldn’t blame her. She kept my house key though so I feel like that was a win.
