He steps closer to me and I think I stop breathing for a second. “Remember when I asked you if you believed in loving something and setting it free to find out if it’s meant to be?”
“You told me you were more of the school of if you want something you should pursue it aggressively.”
“I finally understand the difference. If you want something, you pursue it aggressively and nothing gets in your way. If you love something, sometimes you have no choice but to set it free so it can find its way back to you forever. It killed me to let go, but I’d do it again if it meant your happiness in the end. That’s how I know.”
“Know what?” I whisper with apprehension, although my heart opens wide with hope.
One hand grasps my waist and his other rises to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. “Know that I love you. In a way that is irrational and incomprehensible, but is the only thing that has ever made sense to me.”
My eyes close, trying to quell the deluge of tears I’m no longer able to keep at bay. It doesn’t work, the downpour comes. “I thought I’d lost you.”
Cooper cups my cheeks, his thumbs catching the salty stream as he moves in closer. “Shhh … I know,” he says. “I know. I’m sorry. But I knew you’d have given up anything for a chance for Kyle and I had to do it.”
“I missed you every day.” My soft cry intensifies. Weeks of pent-up emotions all break free at once. “When we went back to Barbados, I saw you everywhere I looked. Losing you felt like I lost a piece of myself.” Crying turns to an ugly sob.
He lets me weep it all out, holding me tightly while it all washes away. Sadness, anger, regret, doubt, hurt. When I finally calm, he brings his hand to my face and wipes away every last tear. Silence falls between us as our eyes meet and I confess what I’ve known for months but never admitted out loud.
“I love you. So much.”
His eyes close, relief softens his face as he draws me near. He kisses my forehead, then presses his to mine. We communicate with only our eyes for a long moment. I watch in utter amazement, completely captivated as a transformation in his gaze takes form. The golden sunflowers in the middle of his beautiful green sea blossom, coming alive again.
The allure of our attraction can’t be denied and neither can the love. He cups the back of my neck with one hand, and the other strokes my cheek. Slowly, his mouth grazes over mine. It’s a whisper-soft touch, but it’s enough to awaken every nerve in my body. Lord, I want this man. Love this man with all of my heart.
“Remember the first night we met in this room? I had the little chip I always carry with me out for luck?” I push my lips against his again.
“Every time you swiped your little finger over it, you won.”
I smile. “Winning wasn’t luck. That was talent. I wished for you.”
“You didn’t have to wish,” he breathes. “You had me from the moment my eyes landed on you.”