“Oh, God.” Tessa’s words were but a whisper. “Oh, God. Oh, God. You’re still here. That means…”

“No, that’s not what it means, Tessa. There aren’t any pictures.”

“But,” she argued.

“I had to placate Marcus for a while. I told him I didn’t give a shit about the pictures and gave him the story of how we broke up. I knew it was a risk, but I’ve known him for a long time. Most of what he says is bullshit, and I was banking on this being bullshit too.

“As soon as the opportunity arose, I went to talk to Chad. We had a nice long chat and yes, Dalton was there to supervise so I didn’t kill him. He confirmed that there weren’t any pictures. Marcus had told Chad he’d be working on a record deal for him if he could produce something. Luckily, I was able to intervene when I did. Or rather my father was.

“I had to stay away from you. I needed Marcus to believe that there was no chance of us getting back together. I was banking on the press keeping the story hot, although I had no idea they were hounding you. So, for the first couple of days, I kept an eye on Chad and my father kept an eye on Marcus. Once we had enough on Marcus, my father had planned to confront him. My father coming here means it has all been taken care of.

“Marcus won’t be working in Nashville any longer, and you don’t have to worry about Chad. Now that he’s out of the way, the press will likely leave on their own or at least drop the story.”

“So there weren’t any pictures?”

“No, darlin’. No pictures.” Cooper tilted his head, studying her for a minute. He had no idea about the relationship she’d had with Chad, but he didn’t like her reaction. “Should there be pictures, Tessa?”

She glared up at him, but just as quickly as the defenses went up, they came down. “Not that I know of. None that I would’ve allowed willingly,” she admitted. “I swear, Cooper. I’m not like that.”

“Tessa, you don’t have to explain yourself to me. I know how you are. I know who you are. I know you’re a very passionate woman, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s his loss that he was too stupid to know what to do with that.”

Tessa looked down at the ground for a long time. Cooper wanted to give her some time to process what he was telling her. He hadn’t stayed away because he wanted to. And he was just waiting for his father to give him the go ahead. The fact that his dad was back in Devil’s Bend told him everything he needed to know. Everything was taken care of. And not a minute too soon.

“So you didn’t stay away from me to hurt me?” Tessa continued to look down at the ground, and it broke his heart to know how much he’d hurt her.

Marcus was the only reason he had stayed away, even though Cooper had tried to convince himself that she deserved better than him. He still felt she did, but… Well, even if Tessa said otherwise, Cooper was selfish and he didn’t want to give her up.

“I hated that I couldn’t tell you, but Tessa, I had to protect you. I didn’t want to stay away, but until I was sure I could get Marcus under control, I wasn’t willing to risk you.” Cooper kept his eyes on her as he paused.

The sad truth filled his chest as he watched the most amazing woman he’d ever had the pleasure of meeting. She was so strong, so resilient, and so deserving of every happiness in the world. “I still think you deserve better than me.”

When a genuine smile formed on Tessa’s mouth, Cooper’s insides churned. He still hadn’t learned to be patient, so waiting for her to say something was killing him.

“I don’t want better,” she said, and he caught the humor in her tone.

Moving in closer, pushing his body between her thighs, Cooper cupped her face and locked his gaze with hers. “That’s good because from here on out, you’re stuck with me, Tessa.”

“I think that might just be a punishment I can handle,” she whispered back as Cooper leaned forward.

He didn’t care how she looked at it, as long as he had Tessa, he intended to spend the rest of his days doing his damnedest to make her happy.

“I love you, Tessa.”

“I love you too, cowboy.”

Chapter Thirty Five

“Don’t you think we should probably get out of the house at some point today?” Tessa asked Cooper the following afternoon when they were still cuddled together in her bed.

Cooper’s sexy growl sounded from behind her and she smiled. Ever since they’d said the “L” word to one another the day before, Tessa had been as high as a kite, better than any drug in the world. And the hours they spent making love the night before, proving just how deep their feelings were for one another, had left her even more invigorated, despite the lack of sleep.

Because of all of the hoopla that was going on with the press, she and Cooper had gone to work at The Rusty Nail on Saturday night. Although they had expected the worst, the night hadn’t been as bad as she had expected. Luckily, Dalton had come in to yank everyone’s attention right off of them and over to him. The man was good at that.

Well, him and David, Cooper’s father. To her surprise David and Becca showed up at the bar and when all was said and done, the reporters had been settled somewhat.

Tessa wasn’t sure the press would ever get tired of following Cooper around, but then again, why would they? She knew just how amazing he was, so it only made sense that everyone else knew it too. That didn’t mean she wasn’t happy when she and Cooper were able to sneak into her house and lock the rest of the world outside for a few hours.

But now those hours were up, and she really needed to get out of bed. Just when she was going to roll over so she could get the day started, Cooper pinned her back beneath him, a huge smile on his face as he loomed over her.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked.

“Hmmm, I was thinking breakfast might be in order.”

“Breakfast?” Cooper asked as he glanced over at the alarm clock on her bedside table. “It’s a bit late for that, don’t you think?”

Tessa tilted her head to read the numbers on the clock. Ok, so he was probably right. Three o’clock in the afternoon meant breakfast was more like supper.

“I need a shower,” she teased as she pretended to try and push him off of her. She knew as well as he did that if he wasn’t willing to move, he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Is that an invite?”

The devilish gleam in Cooper’s eyes said he was ready for another round, but the aches in her body said she needed just a little time to recuperate. “Sorry, cowboy, you wore me out last night.”

“Darlin’, that was nothin’ compared to what I plan to do to you later.”

“Later?” she asked, groaning as though the thought was distressing. In fact, Tessa looked forward to later. As long as she could lay next to Cooper every night for the rest of her life, she was more than willing to endure whatever he could dish out.

“Yes, later. Like tonight.”

“To–” Before she could get the question out, Cooper’s finger was pressed against her lips, effectively shutting her up.

“Tonight. Tomorrow night. The night after that…” Cooper leaned in, replacing his finger with his lips as he pressed a sweet, gentle kiss to her mouth.

“Hmmm, I like the sound of that,” she whispered.

“In fact, I intend to wear you out for the rest of our natural lives.”

Tessa’s body stilled, the urge to panic rose in her chest, but before she could say or do anything, Cooper grinned down at her.

“You’re learnin’.” Cooper laughed, kissing her again.

“Learnin’ what?” she asked, confused.

“Not to freak out on me.”

Oh, she wasn’t so sure about that. Keeping herself closed off to everyone was a conditioned response, one that would take time to get past. Granted, when it came to Cooper, her heart had been freed from the chains she’d had it locked in for all these years, but that didn’t mean her first instinct wouldn’t be to hide within herself.

Cooper’s eyes darkened, his brow furrowed as he studied her for a minute. When she thought he would push her to talk, he surprised the hell out of her by rolling off of her and climbing out of bed.

“Where’re you going?” she asked, suddenly nervous that she’d upset him.

“Shower. Isn’t that what you said?”

Tessa watched as he padded across her bedroom and then out into the hall. She heard the sound of the shower come on and she sighed.

What the hell just happened?

Knowing that talking to the ceiling wasn’t going to get her any answers, Tessa forced herself out of bed. Grabbing Cooper’s t-shirt, she pulled it on over her head and then made a beeline for the kitchen. While he was in the shower, at least she could make coffee.

Tessa met Havoc and Harmony in the hallway, their tails wagging, their big, furry heads looking up at her with such love, she felt her heart swell even more.

“I bet y’all are starving,” she told them as she made her way past.

“I fed them this morning,” Cooper called from the bathroom.

He fed them? When did he get out of bed? Rather than going to the food bowls, she opened the back door and let them out to do their thing. A few minutes later, she had the coffee on and was heading back toward her bedroom.

She passed Cooper in the hall, the comfortable feeling of him moving around her house so easily was both unsettling and… welcome. There was no other way to put it. After the last week, being without him had been the most difficult things she’d had to endure since…

“Shower. You. Now,” he ordered with a swat on her butt that made her jump.