Temporarily Yours (Shillings Agency #1)(38)
Author: Diane Alberts

“O…kay.” Kayla studied Susan. “Where the heck is all this coming from? How much did you drink?”

“Enough.” Susan giggled and grabbed Kayla’s hand with a surprisingly strong grip. “Come this way.”

Susan practically tugged Kayla across the room. And like a good Southern lady, Kayla kept the smile on her face, as if it wasn’t weird that her bride sister was dragging her across the freaking reception hall or anything.

When they reached the men’s bathroom, just outside the hall, Kayla dug in her heels. “Why are you taking me in there? I assure you I’ve seen one before—it isn’t pretty.”

Susan laughed. “Don’t worry. You’re not going in there. You’re stopping right here. Just stand still.”

And then Susan was gone.

Kayla scanned the room around her. The bathroom was to the left, and to the right was a sitting room of sorts. Gold couches, potted plants, dark wood tables and a mirror completed the décor. Oh. And Cooper.

Cooper was there, too.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, taking a step toward him and then stopping. “Why did you come?”

He gave her a tentative smile. “Can you come in?”

God, she’d missed him. “No. I’m staying here.”

“Fine. I’ll come to you.” He reached her side, but stopped a few steps away. “I missed you.”

“It’s been a day.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “It’s hardly long enough to miss someone you barely know.” But it was.

“You think I don’t know you?” He raised a brow. “I think I know you better than anyone else in that room. They might know the ‘you’ that you show them. But they don’t know the real you. Not like I do.”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. You’re not supposed to be here. We were done, remember?”

“What if I changed my mind?” His eyes locked on hers, green and irresistible. “What if I’m here to tell you I want to be with you?”

Then she would be speechless. But after talking to her father, ironically enough, she understood where Cooper came from with his determination to cut ties with her. And she didn’t want him worrying about her worrying about him.

And she surely didn’t need him making all of her decisions for her. “What if I changed my mind, too?” she said, her voice coming out as little more than a whisper.

“You’re angry at me.”

“I’m not anymore. I was.” She pursed her lips. “But I get it now. You have noble intentions, and I do, too. You deserve to leave without having me dragging you down. You have a job to do…and I have a wedding to enjoy. So if you’ll excuse me?”

“Wait!” He stumbled forward and tried to grab her hand, but she backed out of his reach. “I want to—”

“Kayla, are you okay?” her mom asked, coming up behind her and hovering like an anxious mother hen. “Why are you here?”

Cooper flinched. “I needed to talk to her. I got Susan’s permission first.”

“Well, you don’t have mine.” Her mom crossed her arms. “You can take yourself right on out—”

“Mom.” Kayla shooed her away. “I’m fine. Just let him talk to me, and you go have fun. I can handle myself.”

“Fine.” Her mom’s eyes narrowed on Cooper. “But I’ll be watching you.”

Cooper nodded. “I know.”

When they were alone again, Cooper heaved a sigh. “Where were we? Oh, right. I was about to tell you—”

“It doesn’t matter what you were going to say.” Her heart twisted. “We’re done.”

He held a hand out. “Please. Don’t say that. I’ll stay for you. I want to stay for you.”

“Stay?”

Her breath slammed out of her chest. He would give up his job for her? That was exhilarating, wonderful…and horrible, all at the same time. Because she wanted to say yes so damn badly. Wanted to be selfish and let him stay.

But it’s not what he wanted. He’d been pretty damn clear about that.

And what about next time his demons over losing Josh reared their heads?

“Is everything okay over here?” her father asked.

Kayla closed her eyes and counted to three in her head. By the time she hit three, she was ready to talk again. She opened her eyes and then managed a smile. “Yes, Dad, everything is fine. We’re just talking.”

Her father scowled at Cooper. “I’ll let you talk, but I’ll be—”

“Watching him,” Kayla finished dryly. The moment was so frustrating she couldn’t help but shake her head. “Yeah. We got it.”

Cooper choked on a laugh, but covered his mouth to hide it. “I won’t be long, Mr. Moriarity.”

Her dad nodded. “Good.”

Then he left, too. Cooper grabbed her hands and squeezed them tight. “I’m going to say this quickly in case someone else comes up. I’m f**king serious, Kayla. I want to stay with you.”

She bit down hard on her lower lip. “Look Cooper, what we had was fun. Great, even. And I’ll miss you, but you need to stick with Plan A. I won’t be the one to take you away from it. Not in a million years.”

“But I want to stay. You’re not listening.”

“No, you’re not listening. I realized something today, watching Susan and Max. Watching my mom and dad, even. I do want a future with someone, a good one. And for a little while, I wanted that someone to be you. But I’m not going to compete with something that happened in the past. I’m sorry about Josh, about what his fiancée is going through. I’m sorry that you feel responsible for it. But I’m right here, right now. And I think I’ve got a pretty damn good grasp of the things I can and can’t handle.”

He blanched. “Kayla, I’m sorry.”

“I don’t need your apologies.” She lifted her chin. “And I’m not finished yet. I can handle someone not being here. I can handle the man I love being in danger. But what I can’t handle is the fear that he’s just going to run off whenever he decides it’s best for me, regardless of my input. I want a partnership where I have a voice that’s heard, even if the man in my life is halfway across the globe in a war zone when he hears it. So…there. Good luck with your job. I have to go back in now.”