Diving ahead, she spoke into the microphone. “My name is Haleigh Rae Mitchner, and I’m in love with Cooper Ridgeway.”
A collective gasp echoed from the crowd while her mother said, “You’re what?!”
Ignoring her parent, Haleigh charged on. “Cooper, I know that I screwed things up. And I know that I don’t deserve you. But I want to. I want to be the woman that you see when you look at me. Because you make me want to be a better person. You’re the most generous, caring, beautiful man that I’ve ever met, and you gave me your heart without hesitation, knowing that I was damaged goods.”
“Haleigh—” he started, but she kept going.
“Of all the stupid things I’ve done, hurting you is the worst. And while I can’t undo what I did, I vow to wake up every morning for the rest of my life determined to make it up to you. If you’ll just give me a second chance, I swear that you won’t regret it. Not for a moment.”
A hush fell over the crowd as Haleigh finished pouring her heart out. Even her mother held silent. A miracle if there ever was one. But when Cooper too stayed quiet, Haleigh began to shake. This was it. She’d given it her all and it didn’t work.
Cooper wasn’t going to forgive her.
When the silence had carried for what felt like minutes, Haleigh’s knees threatened to buckle. Fight-or-flight kicked in, and she was about to drop the microphone and take off running when Cooper finally said something.
“Haleigh Rae, I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember.” He closed the distance between them, passing the microphone back to Zac without breaking eye contact. “And there is nothing you could ever do that would change that. Not now. Not ever.” Cupping her face, he leaned close. “You’re mine, Haleigh Rae. My one and only. And I’m never letting you go again.”
The moment their lips touched, the crowd erupted in applause, but Haleigh couldn’t hear them over the echo of Cooper’s words in her ears and the beat of his heart beneath her hand. If she lived another hundred years, nothing would ever top this moment. This was the real thing. The best thing that would ever happen to her.
Chapter 30
Contrary to his mother’s prediction, the car rally did not top the festival of the fall before for most money raised in the Ruby project, but the total came close and more than half the slots for the next month’s rally were booked and paid for by the end of the day. To declare the event a success would be an understatement, but the real win for Cooper had been Haleigh. He still couldn’t believe she’d put her heart on the line in front of such a huge gathering, never mind the entire KARD listening area.
And, of course, her mother. Meredith Mitchner had stared pinch-faced as her daughter clung to Cooper’s arm, beaming with love and pride, immune to the older woman’s blatant disapproval. The conversation that followed had been one of the oddest of Cooper’s life.
“I love him, Mother,” Haleigh had stated. “I don’t want to lose you over this, but I won’t bow and scrape to win your approval anymore. And I won’t give Cooper up for anything, so it’s up to you what happens between us.”
Staring daggers through his skull, Mrs. Mitchner had said, “Do you expect her to give up being a doctor to stay home and churn out children?”
Stunned by the question, Cooper had answered, “I don’t expect Haleigh Rae to give up anything. If she wants to stay home someday when we have kids, that’s up to her, but I’d never demand it.”
His future mother-in-law had given a curt nod of approval. “Good. I don’t understand why such a public scene was necessary, but if you’re happy, Haleigh Rae, then that’s all that matters.”
“Who are you and what have you done with my mother?” Haleigh had asked.
“For heaven’s sake. You act like I’m a monster,” she’d said, rolling her eyes. “Now I suggest you go home and take a shower. You look like you slept in those clothes and your hair is a mess.”
Haleigh had laughed as her mother walked away. “She’s never going to like me, but that went better than expected.”
“I like you,” Cooper had said, pulling her tight against his side. “I like you very much.”
Turning into his arms, she’d said, “And that makes me the luckiest girl in the world.”
Two days later, Cooper felt like the lucky one as he witnessed yet another side to the woman he loved. Standing outside the entrance to JW Property Management, Jessi paced the sidewalk, on the verge of an impending meltdown.
“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Haleigh calmly assured her. “You wanted to know who your father is and now you know. No reason you can’t leave it at that.”