Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
Not really, but it didn’t matter. “I want to be with her.”
“But in the back of your mind, what does your life look like twenty-five years from now?” His father asked the question that threatened to turn his stomach. “Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it because I know you have.”
He had. He saw himself with Kala and a couple of kids, and he would work as a pilot and she would…
Damn it. He told himself over and over that he would be whatever she needed him to be, but did he mean it?
His mom stood and wrapped him in a hug. “You need to be patient. With her. With yourself. It’s okay to sink into this relationship, but you have to be realistic. You have to be ready to compromise.”
He knew in that moment there would be no compromise. He knew it deep in his gut, a feeling he’d avoided since he was a kid and he’d felt her pull. It had always been her. In some ways, he had tried to figure out how he could have it all, have her and the white picket fence he’d thought he wanted as a kid.
Fuck it. All he wanted now was her. None of the rest of it mattered. They would have kids or not. They would stay in this life or move on to new careers when they got older. The only thing he wasn’t willing to compromise on was spending his life with her.
But he knew it would worry his parents if he didn’t at least pretend to think about what they’d said. “I will spend some time thinking about it.”
There was a brief knock and then Kala was in the doorway, her eyes on him. Her expression was blank, and he wondered exactly how much she’d heard. His girl was a brilliant spy. It wasn’t like it shocked him she might have listened in.
“We need you in the conference room, Cooper,” she said quietly. “I’m afraid we have the footage from the police, and it’s not exactly great.”
“Kala,” his mom began.
Kala gave her a half smile that proved she didn’t act around her family. There wasn’t an ounce of humor or happiness in her expression. “Sorry, Eve. We have to go. Lena’s here, and Cooper needs to keep me from punching her in the face. She’s extremely pleased with herself.”
She turned and walked out. His mother frowned. “She heard something. Damn it, she’s going to take it all wrong.”
And he would have to deal with it. Lucky for him, sex was now firmly on the table, and after the night before he kind of thought it might work on her. He only knew one thing.
She wasn’t getting away from him this time.
* * * *
Kala sank down into her chair, grateful someone had dimmed the conference room lights.
It was awesome to know Eve McKay still thought she was a time bomb waiting to hurt her baby boy.
Well, it wasn’t like she was planning on marrying him. It had been right there on the tip of her tongue to explain to Alex and Eve that all of her intentions toward Cooper were perfectly sexual, and they didn’t have to worry. When he found his perky former cheerleader ready to have his babies and make him all the sandwiches he could eat, she would fade away into the shadows and never be seen again.
Could she do it? The idea of walking away from her team made her heart ache, but could she hang around and watch them all get married and be happy and she would stay…Kala?
She would be a terrible mother. She wasn’t affectionate. She wasn’t sweet and kind and loving.
“Are you okay?” Lena asked from her place at the end of the conference table. She’d been sitting in the shadows for more than twenty minutes. She’d been the one to bring them the footage they were about to review.
Kala cocked a brow and turned her way. “I’m fine.”
Lena stared at her for a moment. “Is it about the footage? I told you what’s on there.” Lena had been waiting in her office when she’d come in this morning.
“And I know that sometimes cam footage doesn’t tell a person the whole story.” She knew what Lena thought, but Lena came in with preconceived notions. Or maybe she herself was the one with a hard belief when she should keep an open mind.
“Do you not trust me?” Lena asked with a sigh as though she couldn’t believe such a thing. “Drake himself sent that footage. He would be here if he wasn’t accompanying Louisa.”
Kala noted she didn’t mention TJ. Lou would be the important one to someone like Lena. TJ was just another soldier, and he could be replaced. There were certainly days when she thought about replacing her cousin, but she didn’t like the idea of someone else thinking he wasn’t important. “Of course I don’t trust you. I don’t trust anyone.”