Page 13 of Rock Pucking Bottom

Much to my surprise, she reached across the table and held my hand, sending tingles down my spine.

I loved it.

"I'll be there for you for now. But I want you to continue to seek out a real sponsor. Nobody needs to know what you do for a living. You're allowed to keep a low profile."

Emmy then stuffed a business card into my hand and got up to leave.

I liked that. It was so weird to see a business card. I tucked it into my back pocket, not knowing if I would actually take her up on the offer to call her with my problems. But I thoroughly enjoyed having her phone number.

Then I realized one thing: having her number would allow me to figure out if she was my mate and I could find her.

Chapter 11

Emmy

It'dbeenafewdays since I gave Cooper my phone number and I still hadn't heard a peep. Nor did he show up at the next AA meeting.

Which was a damn shame.

I reminded myself, not everyone was ready to open up and could stay clean. He probably wasn't ready just yet.

I turned onHockey Night in Canadafor some background noise. I folded myself on the sofa with my laptop so I could work on my novel and truly unwind.

My cell phone rang. I reached for it, and it surprised me to see it was a blocked number. Not unknown but blocked. I didn't think that was truly possible, but there it was.

I was tempted to send it straight to voicemail, but I was curious.

I thumbed the accepted button and raised it to my ear.

"Emmy Symon at your service."

I heard breathing on the other side, so it wasn't a robocall. But I wished whoever it was would just announce themselves already.

"Is it too late? I can hang up if it is."

His voice was so distinctively smooth and American that I knew it had to be Cooper.

I pushed my laptop off my lap and sat up straighter. This was the call that I'd been waiting for.

"It's okay. I'm awake and I'd rather have you call than for you to be lost in your thoughts."

He sighed, but there was just enough relief to his voice. "How did you know I was lost in my thoughts?"

It was refreshing how open he was with me, despite being so new to the recovery process. I was so used to people who were jaded, unwilling to change or put in the work.

"Cause nobody chooses to drink themself to death because they want to drink. They're running from something, and more often than not, it's their feelings or thoughts. So what is keeping you up tonight?"

I heard the poof of a pillow, which made me imagine him being half naked and resting on a bed. Just that image alone made my panties wet. I wanted that tall ginger hockey god.

Then I mentally slapped myself for even thinking about Eoghan in that way since it was so inappropriate. But fuck, he was gorgeous.

"Frankly, being traded sucks. I can't be my true self with the new guys, and drinking was one of the few things that made me forget how much it sucks to be here."

That made me ask the most obvious question since I was clueless what he was talking about and often just naming the problem can be therapeutic. "Why can't you be your true self?"

He sighed. "Believe it or not, I'm a major introvert. It's hard for me to connect with new people. Plus, I left home for the first time in my life. It was my pack, and it sucks."

One word that I picked up on but wasn't sure what to make of it was pack. He must have been super close to his friends and family. To be in your thirties and forced to leave home for the first time had to be really tough.

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