No Turning Back (Breaking the Rules #4) - A.M. Madden Page 0,33

hand in mine, I kissed it gently and said, “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

She didn’t look as convinced as I tried to be while she nodded. “Okay, then let’s do this.”

We found Cooper plating bagels at her island, and when we approached, he focused on Riana. “How are you… ?” His eyes flicked to Ryder before he hesitantly said, “Um… feeling?” It was obvious he didn’t know if I knew.

“I feel fine. Maybe a little tired.” Riana looked at me before adding, “I kind of conked out on him last night while we were watching a movie.”

“I hated moving or waking her, so that’s kind of the reason I’m here.” I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to justify my presence in her condo on a Saturday morning.

When Cooper smirked, Riana waved a hand in his direction. “Stop. That’s just what happened.”

“I believe you,” he countered, and a silent conversation seemed to occur between them. I could tell they were close… very close. That twinge of jealousy once again reared its ugly head. The bond they shared was transparent. I wish I hadn’t known part of that bond came in a physical sense. Especially when he leaned closer and placed an unsolicited kiss on her forehead. I had to keep reminding myself there was nothing between them. Maybe once I met his husband, I would stop seeing him as the man who had slid into my role after I left her.

“So you two chat for a few minutes. I’ll be right back,” she said, her gaze pinging between us. “Yeah?” We both nodded, giving her the thumbs-up she seemed to need.

Once she’d retreated down the hall toward her room, Cooper leaned closer. “Look. I know all about your relationship, and how devastated she was when you left. But you’re engaged, and—”

“I’m not engaged.”

Assuming the worst, he countered, “Sorry… married then.”

“I’m not married either. I’m single, and I want Riana back in my life.” There was no point beating around the bush.

“Did you end your relationship because of Riana?”

“No. It was over before I even arrived in Miami. Running into her was the best thing that has happened to me in years. And… before you say anything else, I know all about her decision to be your surrogate.”

My admission appeased him a bit. “Between us, I worried she rushed into that decision.” That made two of us. His eyes drilled into mine. “Going through a pregnancy will be stressful enough. I just don’t want her getting hurt.” While it pissed me off that he assumed I’d be the one to hurt her, my history in already doing so didn’t bode well for me. Sensing my annoyance, he shrugged. “Sorry. I’m very protective of Riana. Ricky and I both are.”

He meant well, and getting off on the wrong foot with Cooper wasn’t something I wanted to do. Softening my expression, I responded honestly by saying, “We most definitely have that in common.”

Cooper began saying, “As long as—” His mouth clamped closed just as Riana sauntered back into the room.

“Everything okay?”

“Don’t you worry your pretty little bedhead about it,” he teased. “I take it combing your hair wasn’t what you needed to take care of?”

Her hand flew up to pat down the messy waves. “There better be a cinnamon raisin in there, Stanton… or I’m kicking you out.”

He dug into the bag and produced her required flavor with a smirk.

“Okay, you can stay.”

Riana seemed to sense the tension between Cooper and me during breakfast but kept things light through her conversation. We chatted about Ricky, who needed to be on the next voyage of their cruise ship because of a personnel issue. Planning for his return, Cooper nailed me down with an invite to dinner. He asked about my job, making me wonder if he was truly interested in what I did or if he was gathering information for future reference.

It wasn’t exactly a strained interaction. Speaking for myself, I had more I wanted to say before Riana reappeared, more I wanted to know. I could only assume Cooper had as well.

The opportunity to do so came shortly after when she wiped her mouth with a napkin and then said, “Okay. We need to talk.”

Cooper griped, “It took you long enough to say that.”

“I was thoroughly enjoying my cinnamon raisin bagel.” She folded her arms in a challenge. “So it’s obvious there’s an elephant in the room. Who wants to go first?” Cooper looked at me, I at him, and Riana