Page 21 of Valkyrie's Choice

ISLA

Ihad about a million things to do in the office after I had taken two days off, but I hadn’t accomplished much of anything since I’d gotten here. I was in such a bad mood that Braylon actually told me that I needed to cheer up.

The only thing I could think about was the excitement in Cooper’s voice when he told me he was going to call his business partner. I assumed that meant they were going to discuss when he would be returning to California to step back into his role as their lead pilot, but a small part of me still held out hope that he wouldn’t be in a rush to get back to his old life because he wanted to stay in Screaming Woods with me.

“Hey, boss?” Braylon poked his head inside my office. “We just got an order from Cooper. Do you want me to do the delivery, or do you want to handle it?”

So much for my plan to put off talking to him until after work.

“I’ll go since I’m pretty much done for the day.” I pushed away from my desk with a sigh.

“Remember that advice you gave me about smiling at the customers?” Braylon patted me on the back. “You should probably take it for yourself since this one is your boyfriend. You might scare him off otherwise.”

I didn’t bother telling him that wasn’t going to be a problem since Cooper didn’t plan on sticking around anyway. I also didn’t worry about how long it took me to deliver the food he’d ordered. I took my time getting there instead of flying as fast as I could.

My stomach was in knots when I landed in the front yard. I took several deep breaths before striding toward the door. Before I arrived the cabin, Cooper flung the door open and beamed a huge smile at me. “You’re finally here! I was starting to worry that my order got lost.”

“Sorry about that. I wanted to bring your food out myself, but I was already exhausted. Work was out of control between catching up on paperwork, running payroll, and all the orders that came in.”

“Damn, it sucks that you’re having a tough day when mine is fucking awesome. I’m sorry, baby.” When I got close enough, he took the bag of food out of my hands and tugged me into the cabin. “Get in here so I can feed you and tell you about my call with Heath.”

His obvious excitement devastated me. “I’m not really hungry.”

“The food can wait until later then.” He set the bag in the kitchen area. “I’m too excited to eat right now anyway.”

After how close we’d gotten, it was so hard for me to accept that he was going to let go of me so easily. “When are you leaving?”

“Leaving?” he echoed, his brows drawing together. “Where do you think I’m going?”

“Back to California,” I mumbled, feeling as though I was about to throw up. “That’s what you talked to Heath about, right?”

“No, baby.” Cooper led me over to the bed. After making me sit down, he dropped next to me on the mattress and took my hands in his. “I’m not going anywhere. I would never leave you.”

I covered my mouth with my hand as all of the tension drained from my body. My relief was nearly overwhelming after how worked up I’d gotten over the thought of losing him. “But what about being able to pilot planes again? I thought you wanted to talk to Heath because you were ready to get back to work.”

“Losing my sight was the scariest thing I’ve ever gone through, but it was worth all of the pain and suffering because it brought me to you.” There was no missing the sincerity in his blue eyes as he held my gaze. “If I was never able to fly again, it would be worth the loss to have you.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I gawked at him. “Really?”

He brushed the wetness away with his thumbs and nodded. “Of course, baby. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I whispered, beaming him a watery smile.

“You better because there’s no getting rid of me now.” He claimed my lips in a deep kiss that left me breathless. “Especially since I already convinced Heath to expand our business to Screaming Woods.”

“What do you mean?”

Cooper explained his idea for their charter company to cater to the monsters I called friends. “That is brilliant. So many people can’t take to the air like me when they want to go somewhere. You and Heath could make such a big difference in their lives, giving them access to the world in a way they’ve never had before.”

“I’m glad you agree.” He pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “Having your support means a lot to me.”

“Whatever you need to get the business off the ground, count me in,” I offered.

He scanned the cabin before turning back to me with a grin. “How about a place to stay? My rental is up in another week. You wouldn’t want me to be homeless while trying to build up my business so I can stick close to you, right?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Is this your clever way of asking to move in with me?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged, his smile widening. “Is it working?”

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