Page 101 of Falling Like Leaves
“If he tries to tell you Jake is more important, tell him to remember that I know how to get rid of a body,” Sloane says.
I grab a jacket and head a few blocks over to Cooper’s house. I’m about to knock on the front door when the garage door opens.
Cooper walks out and spots me. We stand there staring at each other for a moment.
“Did you talk to Jake?” I ask, like I’m tearing off a Band-Aid.
“Yeah.” He gestures to the garage. “Come.”
I huff out a breath. Not knowing where things stand between us is killing me. He grabs a bag that was sitting in the driveway, and I follow him into the garage, where his truck is parked.
He hits a button on the wall, and the garage door lowers. As soon as it’s closed, Cooper strides over, lifts my chin between his thumb and forefinger, and kisses me.
“We’ve only kissed in the dark wilderness,” he says. “I had to fix that.”
I look at him through my lashes. “No complaints here.”
He grins at me, but it’s hard to reciprocate when I don’t know what’s going on.
“Does this mean things are okay with Jake?” I ask.
He sighs. “They’re as good as can be expected, I think.” I wilt. “ButI think we’ll be okay. Eventually.”
“What’d he say?” I ask.
“Just that I should have told him I liked you, which… he’s not wrong.” He runs his hand through his hair, leaving it disheveled. “And that I should have told him when I was even considering acting on how I was feeling, which, again, he’s not wrong. I messed up.”
“It was a complicated situation.”
“All I had to do was be honest. That part wasn’t complicated.” He turns and leans against his truck. “But since you apparently had a talk with him already, it helped that he knew who you were to me years ago.”
“So… what about us?” I ask.
He draws his eyebrows together. “What about us?”
I look at the floor. “I don’t know. I mean, Jake was a big concern of yours from the start. If he’s upset…”
Cooper pushes off the truck and stands in front of me. He tucks my hair behind my ear, then gently lifts my chin so I’m looking at him. “I already told you I’m not letting you leave without trying to see what this could be.”
“Okay, but—”
He puts his finger over my lips. “Stop. Jake will be fine.Jake and Iwill be fine.”
I nod, and he moves his finger. “Now, I told you to come over for a reason.”
“A reason other than ending my panic attack?”
“Yes.” He points to plastic bags lining the wall. “I went to the store today and bought, well, everything.”
“For…?”
“For the parade. We’re transforming the truck, right?”
“Oh. Yeah. Okay.”
“But I have no idea what I’m doing,” he says.
I walk over to the bags and start pulling stuff out, checking what he bought.
