huffed. “Fine. I will.” Her eyes connected with Cooper’s. “First, you need to know he’s not engaged or married.”
“I know that.”
“You do?” He nodded while Riana looked surprised but continued, “When we were a couple, Ryder had come back to New Jersey. He saw us together, on the beach. It was in the summer, before we…” Her pause held weight. “Well, before we both realized something was missing.”
Cooper glanced my way. “Why did you come back?”
“I wanted her with me in California. I never had the balls to ask when I left. She was in a new job, finally settled and over all the years of stress she endured after her mom passed away. I couldn’t bring myself to ask her to give all that up for me.” I flipped my focus to Riana. “I should’ve asked you all along. That’s on me. But like I said, after some time had passed, I made up my mind to go back for you.” Her big brown eyes glistened a bit while I went on. “I wasn’t surprised to see you with someone. Why wouldn’t you be? It was dumb to not ask before I took that leap of faith.” I then turned back to Cooper. “It’s a regret I’ll never get over.”
“But you did,” he countered. “You were engaged to someone else.”
“Cooper.”
“What?” he asked with a shrug.
“I was never engaged. That was a misunderstanding. Yes, I was in a relationship in California, but you can understand that sometimes things don’t work out.” His brows rose a tad at my dig. Undeterred, I kept my focus. “Seeing Riana in Miami that night, I knew right then and there I needed to try again. Only, she also assumed I was engaged based on something my best friend had told her when they ran into each other in Manhattan. And I also assumed you two were still a couple when you popped out looking for her at the club in Miami. Once we figured out that wasn’t the case, and we were both unattached, I wasn’t going to waste another minute apart.”
When I glanced at her, our eyes connected and held, until Riana pulled her gaze away to stare at Cooper. “For obvious reasons, my news became a barrier, though.” Cooper’s mouth flapped open just as Riana raised her hand. “Don’t say it.”
“You have no idea what I’m about to say.”
“Yes, I do… and I don’t regret any of it, Coop. That didn’t mean I wasn’t nervous to tell Ryder. I had no idea how he would take it.”
“Understandably. Any man would be shocked over that news. You are about to be pregnant. Mood swings, morning sickness, and all the other stuff that comes with it.” He waved a hand in my direction. “If Ryder is the one, you can’t blame me for feeling guilty tying you up with a pregnancy for the next year or so when you two should be reconnecting? Shit, Ree, you could be carrying our baby as we speak.”
They were discussing me as if I weren’t there. Sensing my annoyance, Riana threw me a smile that instantly calmed my nerves. She then turned toward Cooper and said, “Ryder understands why I did this and accepts my reason and my reality. He knows I’m in this for the long haul and may have to try again if it doesn’t work. Ryder coming back into my life at this point may be bad timing, but it happened for a reason.” She looked at me. “Right?”
“Right.”
As if not believing our verbal confirmation, Cooper studied my face. “Look, man. Am I concerned for Riana’s well-being? Of course I am.” He didn’t need to know why the entire situation freaked me out. Nor did he need to know that, like Riana, I didn’t want children someday. None of that mattered. What did matter was being with the one woman I ever really loved. So what was I to say, except the truth? “I know she’s getting the best care during this process. I know you and Ricky ensured she has everything she needs or wants… and I thank you for that. Mainly, I want her to be as stress-free as possible.”
Throwing my words back, he said, “We most definitely have that in common.”
“Good… then we’re on the same page all around.” The next thing I said I aimed at Riana. “She’s very important to me, and I’m not going anywhere.” Her fingers tightened between mine as Cooper considered my admission.
Only time would tell whether