I went to the bar and bought a bottle of Patron tequila as his friends returned to the table. I moved past them and went to sit with Terry, Jay, and Harold. As I sat down, Jay smiled sadly at me and Terry wiggled his eyes. I unscrewed the bottle and poured everyone a shot. I’d downed six before they’d even finished their first and my heart pounded as I saw the guys Cooper was with leading Coop out of the bar.
I glanced towards their table and saw a cell sitting there, exactly where Cooper had been sitting. Rolling my eyes, I moved over, grabbed it, and followed them outside. He was leaning over, throwing up and his friends were all backing away from him.
“Cooper,” I called and one of the guys recognized me.
“Bailey Walker,” he said with a grin as I nodded. He moved over and hugged me. “It’s Pete, Peter McPherson.”
I stared up at him and saw him properly for the first time. He was tall, athletic, and his sexy blue eyes twinkled as they stared down at me. His dark hair was spiked, and he had on a brown shirt with dark jeans. He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine.
“God, I’ve always wanted to do that, but Coop threatened me with disembowelment if I ever came near you, but you are stunning. Do you live in town?”
I smiled and nodded as Coop barreled towards us murmuring, “No… no… NO!”
Pete turned to the other boys, winked at me, and put me right in it.
“Since our groom is so drunk; his stepsister has agreed to take him home. Onto the next bar, guys.” Everyone cheered and followed Pete down the street, and I wanted to follow too, kicking him repeatedly on the shins. Cooper came towards me and leaned on my shoulder.
“Bails, take me home.”
I rolled my eyes and called my cell from his, guessing his password the first try. It was the date of our first time, three-seven-one-zero. I couldn’t believe it, and Jay answered my cell a few seconds after the second ring. I explained what had happened and asked him to bring my jacket, handbag, and cell out.
He appeared a moment later finding Coop leaning against the door and me pacing in front of him.
“Put him in a cab,” he spoke urgently, “and come back inside.”
I shook my head knowing I couldn’t do that. He’d never make it home.
“He won’t make it alone, look at the state of him.”
Jay nodded at me.
“Fine, take him to my apartment, I’ll stay at Harold’s.”
I leaned up and kissed his cheek, murmuring a thank you against his skin.
“Be careful and if you need to, call me.”
“I will,” I muttered in annoyance as I moved back to Cooper’s side and lifted his hand over my shoulder. It was only four blocks to Jay’s and it normally took me twenty minutes, but with Coop in the state he was, it took me over an hour. My feet were on fire, and as soon as we made it into the elevator, I slipped my heels off. Coop hadn’t spoken in the last hour, but he still looked a little green.
We entered the apartment, and he asked if he could take a shower and borrow a shirt. I nodded and grabbed his old running shirt from the dresser in the dressing room. It had lived there since I’d moved in with Jay after college. I set it on the sofa and changed from my dress into a tank and some shorts, making coffee in the kitchen as Coop walked out from the shower, dressed only in a towel.
My mouth still watered at the sight of him and his eyes widened as he took me in watching him.
“Is that coffee?” he mouthed looking longingly at my cup and I nodded slowly. He moved across the room and lifted my cup from my hands, taking a deep drink. My eyes went everywhere, his toned abs were right in front of me, but it was lower down that caught my gaze and held it.
“Bailey,” he spoke as I swallowed guiltily, looking up towards his face. He leaned over me and captured my mouth in a kiss. For a moment I forgot, I forgot about Jan and their wedding and how much of a shit he was as I got lost in the kiss. He swept me up into his arms, dropping the towel and exposing his rock-solid erection as he moved against me. He walked us back into the living room, and he dropped me down onto the couch.
He grabbed my shorts and pulled, gasping in surprise when he saw I wasn’t wearing panties. He pulled me towards him and closed his mouth over my clit, licking and sucking. He pressed his fingers into me and continued to drive me on until I came apart around his hands. Before I’d even finished clenching, he was inside me, pushing hard into me. My hands roamed up his back and I squeezed his shoulders as he slowly began showing me how good he was. Sweat rolled down his back as he took me at a punishing pace, and I ran my nails down his back gently.
“God, Bailey,” he murmured as I slid my hands onto his ass and pulled him into me hard. He pushed harder and harder and eventually we both splintered apart in orgasm.
As my breathing slowed, the realization of what we’d just done hit me and I gasped, drawing his eyes to my face.
“Bails, what is it?” He watched me as a tear rolled from my eye, and he brushed it away, sucking the moisture from the pad of his thumb.
“Are you…” I tried, but I choked on my words. “Are you still engaged?”
He nodded sadly at me and glanced guiltily away. Clearly, I wasnt enough for him to leave her, i thought as pain shot through me.
“This was a mistake, we should never have done this,” I spoke and shrugged out of his grip, grabbing my shorts and running into my room.
As soon as the door closed behind me, I collapsed on the floor. What had I done? What had we done? Oh my god, he was marrying someone else and I’d just fucked him on my friend’s sofa. He’d cheated on her with me. He’d made me a cheat.
He didn’t try to follow, and I crawled into my bed heartbroken at the fact that we’d just had sex, but more so over the fact that he was still marrying her. I heard the apartment door click closed as a wave of emotion washed over me. I never wanted to see him again. He’d used me again, and he never would again. I swore to myself that it was completely over.
The next few days were busy, work started on the apartments above the gallery and I spent most of my time at work, pulling long days and seeing Zane and Sam only at home. This became my routine, and I worked from eight a.m. until eight p.m. Monday to Saturday, spending Sunday with the kids as September passed and I organized things in Paris via Skype and emails.
Pierre was going to be my general manager and when the third week in October hit, I was ready to leave. My mom and Shawn had flown to Hawaii for Coop and Jan’s wedding, but I hadn’t spoken to them, any of them since the night I’d slept with Coop.
The stress of moving and opening my own gallery was making me nauseous and I didn’t need any more stress from anyone. Three days before Cooper was due to be married there was a knock at the door of my office.
“Come in,” I called out wearily and the door opened to reveal Cooper and Pete standing there.
“Bailey, hi,” Peter said, and Coop glanced around my office seeing my boxes all packed and ready for me to leave. I smiled at him woodenly and gestured for them to take a seat.
“Hi, what can I do for you?” Pete smiled as he sat down, but Coop stayed standing with his eyes darting around the room.
“As you know, this big lump is due to be married in three days, and we’re all flying out tonight, but Jack was supposed to be taking him to the airport tomorrow only he’s gone and broken his leg, the idiot. So, we were wondering if you could do it?” My eyes widened and I shared a horrified glance with Coop. He shook his head gently and I nodded at him.
“I’m sorry I can’t, I’m swamped. I’m moving to Paris on Monday and I haven’t finished packing.” Pete glanced between us and stood up, speaking into Coop’s ear. Coop turned and left the room, closing the door as he did.
“Truth is,” Pete said as the door closed, “he’s having cold feet, and he needs to know you’ll be okay with him getting married. He needs you to do this so he can move on from you and be happy.”
I sat back, shaking my head when Pete leaned closer.
I glared at him, but he was right so I nodded as tears stung my eyes, and he leaned over and kissed my cheek.
“I’ll tell him you’ll see him at ten a.m.” I waggled my head again, trying to speak and failing as the lump in my throat threatened to choke me. He stood and walked to the door, closing it softly behind him.
Fuck, why did I let myself get suckered into taking him to the airport? Maybe I could get Zane to take him instead, and I could just stay away from him.
The rest of my day passed in a blur and I threw up a few times over the day, plus my chest was killing me. I’d put on an old bra that morning and I wondered if I needed to go shopping for new ones because they were rubbing and hurting me. At seven-fifteen I was sitting working things out on my calendar when I noticed my period was late. I wasn’t just late; I was almost three weeks late.
Fuck, no, this couldn’t be happening. I couldn’t be pregnant by him, could I?
I rushed out of the office and went to the pharmacy down the road, picking up four pregnancy tests and ran back to the office. I took one after another and each one came back positive. I was pregnant and the only person I’d been with over the past few months was Coop. Holy shit.
The night passed in a blur and in the morning as I was getting ready, it took me ten minutes of putting my foot into my top before I realized what I was doing wrong. Another few minutes and I was finally dressed. I rushed out the door without coffee because the smell was making me nauseous and I didn’t want to be sick.
As I drove to the house, I considered telling him, but I couldn’t. He was getting married; he’d already made his choice, and I couldn’t do that to him.
I reached Shawn’s house and pressed the horn once. He was standing on the porch and as he came down to the car, putting his suitcase in the back seat, I got a good look at him, noticing he’d lost weight and his eyes were off, but I shook it off and began the drive to the airport.
We were both silent on the drive. I couldn’t speak to him. I didn’t know what to say. As he left the car, something fell out of his suitcase and I reached back and picked it up. It was the other half of my bear’s heart.
My eyes filled with tears as I held it and when he reached in, taking it out of my hands, he met my eyes and his pain shone through. I climbed out of the car and walked slowly to his side. As we stood side by side staring into the airport, I spoke in a low voice.
“Cooper,” I whispered, “don’t…” I swallowed as pain washed over me, before trying again, “Don’t do this. Don’t marry her.”
He shook his head, straightened up and muttered, his voice hoarse,
“I need to do this. I’m so sorry, Bailey, but I have to do this, for you and for me. Together we’re fucked up, and we bring out the worst in each other. You deserve the world and some guy who’s”—he sucked in a breath— “some guy is gonna give you the world and treat you like a queen. I’m only sorry that it’s not me. Your arms are the only place I’ve ever felt home, but I can’t be the guy who gives you everything.”
He stopped speaking, breathing harshly as he pulled me into his arms, kissing the top of my head before he whispered, “Goodbye, Bails.”
He dropped his arms, stepped back, and ran his finger over my cheek before he turned and walked away from me to enter the airport. I sucked in a breath, but I couldn’t stop the tears from falling. He turned back once and the full extent of his pain showed as his face crumpled, but he shook his head, scrubbed at his eyes, and a moment later went inside.
I climbed into my car and drove home, locking myself in my room as I contemplated bringing up our baby alone. I could do it, I had money, and I was strong, so I would just have to find the will. I allowed myself a few hours to completely purge him from my system and then I called the airline, booking myself on an earlier flight.
I would do it alone. I would go and leave here and never look back. I didn’t need anyone to complete me and once our baby was here, I’d shower him or her with enough affection that it wouldn’t matter that their daddy didn’t know about them. That they didn’t know how much their mommy loved him because I’d have them, and they’d be all I’d need to make me happy. He might have been my home, but the tiny growing baby in my tummy was my future, and my home was with them now.
The baby was all I needed. Somehow, I’d be the mommy they deserved and teach my child that love is always okay. Who they chose to love would always be okay with me, and I’d never break my child’s heart because I didn’t accept their choices. It wasn’t fair to destroy their happiness and I’d move heaven or hell for my child to be happier than I had ever been growing up.
As I curled up in bed, I heard my cell chime and glanced at the message.
I didn’t know goodbyes could be so hard, but I feel like my heart has been ripped out. I’ve always loved you and I need you to do one thing before I delete this number. I need you to promise me one thing. Find someone who deserves you, who makes you smile and wants everything with you because you deserve it, Bailey Walker. I’ve loved you forever, but I need to let you go and let you fly free because I want you to be happy and all I do is make you miserable. Take care, my beautiful Bails.
Love always,
Coop
I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t promise him that, but I could promise myself that I’d let him go, that I’d move on because I deserved that much. I had been holding on to him for so long, that I needed to stop and let those memories go. I drifted off with tears in my eyes and my bear clutched to my chest, as I finally let go of the past with Cooper. He was gone, and he wasn’t coming back. My acceptance lightened me enough that I began to look forward to the future, not back into the past and that was what I should have been doing all along.
He was finally my past, but Paris and my baby were my future, and I held on to them as tightly as I could as sleep overtook me, and for the first time in years I slept soundly.
To be continued in Stepsister
THE END
My heart hammered in my ears as I heard Bailey beg me to stay. I wanted to, more than anything, but my dad had threatened her. He’d told me her dad had cashed in her trust fund and that Bailey was only able to buy into the gallery she part-owned with his help.
I couldn’t ruin her future. I’d already ruined her past. I was just ruining everything with her and I hated myself for it.
The night of my bachelor party I’d slipped and allowed myself to have just one more taste, but when she’d run from me, I’d realized what a massive screwup it’d been. I was supposed to make her hate me more not let myself fall in love with her all over again.
My voice broke, but not as much as my soul did when I answered her plea.
“I need to do this. I’m so sorry, Bailey, but I have to do this, for you and for me. Together we’re fucked up, and we bring out the worst in each other. You deserve the world and some guy who’s…” I had to suck in a breath. This shit hurt so much that my palms were sweating as we stood outside her car.
“Some guy is gonna give you the world and treat you like a queen. I’m only sorry that it’s not me. Your arms are the only place I’ve ever felt home, but I can’t be the guy who gives you everything.”
I wished I could be the one. The one to give her everything she deserved, but I wasn’t. I never could be and it was killing me. I pulled her into my arms one last time, breathing harshly as I pressed my lips to her forehead.
My heart broke as I whispered, “Goodbye, Bails.”
As I turned and forced myself to walk away from her, every step caused me physical pain and I had to force myself to keep my eyes forward I had to go through with the wedding. If I turned and went back to her, I’d never leave and my dad would screw her over.
I spun back once to see her scrubbing at her face and my legs wobbled, but I grabbed on to the cart that was holding my luggage and managed to keep stan
ding. My whole body shook as I forced myself to walk into the airport and away from her.
I heard a car start and when I glanced back once more, she was gone. I’d lost Bailey Walker, probably forever. My legs shook and my palms were soaked in sweat as I pushed my luggage towards the check-in desk.
The girl there was cheery and chatted away to me as she checked me in, putting my tags on my luggage and waving me off. I needed a drink. Making my way to the airport bar, I spotted Jan’s sister and her cousin and swerved to avoid them.
I couldn’t deal with them. They were so excited and I was barely tolerating Jan. My temper was short and my body shuddered in revulsion when she touched me. When Bailey touched me I came alive, but with Jan it was as though something inside me died each time.
My eyes scanned the room and I saw the first-class lounge up ahead, but Kirsty and Kayla were standing outside a shop directly across from it and where their husbands were I didn’t know. I moved slowly towards them, hoping and praying that they’d stay engrossed in whatever it was they were looking at.
I was so busy watching them that I didn’t see Gregory or Martin until I walked right into them.
“Sorry,” I muttered and turned away, with a curse under my breath.
“Cooper, my man.” Greg put his hand on my arm stopping me and smarmed over to me.
“How’s it going? You all set for Saturday?”
I wanted to shake him off and run, but my dad’s threat played over and over in my mind. He’d destroy her if I did. He’d ruin her and I’d never be able to forgive myself if I let that happen to her, so I smiled and shrugged, shaking his arm off.
The next second Kirsty flew over with a shriek and started talking at a million miles a minute. I tuned her out until she mentioned Bailey’s name.
“Well, she just told Henri that there was no way Bailey was coming and that was that. I mean, your stepmother trying to get her daughter to your wedding when she’d almost screwed you both up the first time. How absurd…”
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