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His hand curled into a fist on the table. “What are you talking about? We’re both having a good time. Great sex. You’re the woman I want to be with.”
“The woman you want to be with right now.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
Another piece of her heart crumbled. “For you, nothing. But there’s a lot wrong with it for me.” She could only nudge at the corners of the truth. “I can’t keep hanging around all your razzle-dazzle. That’s not my world. I’m a homegrown Chicago girl. You’re . . . the stars.” She managed a creaky smile. “‘Star light, star bright,’ and all that.”
“That doesn’t half make sense.” His hand opened. Pointed. “You’ve told me how you see things, so I know you’re not looking for an engagement ring.”
The way he said it was a knife through her heart. She wasn’t a romantic. She wasn’t. She didn’t want rings and bridal veils. That wasn’t her. But his casual dismissal of any kind of future made her throat close up.
She had to be tough. That’s who she was, and that’s what he expected. She pulled in a thread of air. “A woman’s never dumped you, has she?”
“We’re not talking about dumping.”
“In other words, no. You’re the one who does the dumping. You don’t know how to deal with any other scenario. Don’t you see? This isn’t about me or about our relationship. It’s about your need to win.” It was the truth and maybe he knew it, too, because he grew hostile.
“I don’t need you psychoanalyzing me.”
“It’s for your own good, and, yes, I really am breaking up with you.”
His lips thinned. “You’re a quitter, Piper Dove. I never thought I’d say that about you, but you’re running away from the two of us like a scared teenager.”
So true. With her emotional survival at stake, what else could she do? “I’m not running away. I’m being pragmatic. We’re two different worlds, Coop. It’s time I go back to mine and you go on with yours.”
“Is that what you really want?”
“Yes. Yes, it is.”
He came to his feet and threw down his napkin, his expression as cold as she’d ever seen it. “The hell with you then.”
***
Coop stalked upstairs to his office. Where did she get off? Tonight was supposed to have been a celebration. He’d planned to surprise her by asking her to move in with him, an invitation he’d never offered any other woman. And what had she done? She’d spoiled the whole thing.
Leave it to Piper Dove to take something straightforward and turn it into a mess. They had fun together. They saw life the same way. What was so hard to understand about that? But instead of appreciating what they had, she had to screw it up.
She was right about one thing, though. He didn’t like to lose. Especially when there was no need for it. He made up his mind. He’d ignore her for a couple of days, give her some time to miss what they had. Get tough with her. Because toughness was something Piper Dove understood.
***
Her final four nights working at the club were hell, but she’d promised Tony she’d stay till the end of the week, and she couldn’t leave him in the lurch. The story of Coop and his false accuser had played big in the media, and the club was packed every night. Whenever she turned around, there was Coop.
Saturday finally came. Her last night. With all the publicity, any lingering debate about leaving Coop alone on the floor was over. Jonah had organized the bouncers so one of them was always at his side. Until tonight, Piper had been able to beg off “Coop duty” because, as the only female bouncer, she already had too much territory to cover. But on Saturday Ernie called in sick, and she had to take her turn.
Coop had made it easy for her to keep her distance by acting as if she didn’t exist. He was proving what she already knew about him—how much he hated to lose. She missed their closeness so much that she ached—those intimate glances they’d exchanged, their shared amusement over some inanity only they found hilarious. All of it gone.
It was also her last night sleeping above the club. Amber was happy to have an apartment-sitter, and tomorrow Piper was moving in. By tomorrow this chapter in her life would be over. The worst chapter.
The best chapter.
As she watched one of the hair-swishers pressing in on him close enough to leave another makeup smear on his shirt, Jonah tapped her on the shoulder. “Time for you to take over with Coop.” He glanced toward their employer. “What’s with you two, anyway? I haven’t seen you guys talk all week.”
She was leaving, and Coop was staying. She had to do the right thing. “Coop dumped me. In the nicest possible way, of course. He?
??s the perfect gentleman.”
“No shit? I figured you guys were gonna last a little longer.”
