“Avoiding you. It’s been a full-time job.”
He nodded, as if he were agreeing with her. He was watching her so intensely, she had to look away. “Get it over with, Coop. Why did you send your shark of an agent after me?”
“I needed to talk to you, and you were making that impossible.”
She couldn’t soften in front of him. “I’m here. Say whatever it is you want to say.”
“You might not like it.”
“Then maybe you’d better keep it to yourself.”
“I can’t do that. It’s…” He hunched his shoulders against the wind. “It’s tough, that’s all.”
She thought she understood. “You want to end this on your terms, not on mine, so go ahead. Break up with me. You’ll feel better if it comes from you, and I can handle it.”
“I don’t want to break up with you.”
“Then what do you want?” she cried. “I won’t move in with you!”
“I get that.” A pair of pigeons scuttled between them. “I know you’re not strong enough to say how you feel about me, so I’m going to tell you how I feel about you.”
He was accusing her of being weak. Nobody did that, and she went on the offensive, throwing his words back at him. “You already did. You’re maybe a little bit in love with me, remember?”
“I only said it that way to keep from scaring you off.”
He’d thrown her off balance.
“You’re skittish about us,” he said. “You have been from the beginning, and if I’d told you the truth, you would have run. You still might, because I only think I know how you feel about me. I can read your mind about nearly everything, but not about this.”
She took a bittersweet morsel of comfort from knowing she’d protected herself, at least a little. “I’m not following this conversation, but when have I been able to follow anything you and your agent doppelgänger do?”
“I love you, Piper. I didn’t fall a little bit in love with you. I fell head over heels.”
The wind screeched in her ears, and her stomach pitched.
He didn’t move. Didn’t touch her. A chunk of her hair whipped against her cheek.
“I must have known for a long time,” he said quietly, “but I didn’t understand what I was feeling until that bastard had his gun on you, and I felt my chest crack open.”
She shoved her hands in the pockets of her sweater, not believing, fighting the lure of hope. “An adrenaline rush can make you feel lots of strange things.”
“I know all about adrenaline rushes, and they go away. My feelings aren’t going to do that.”
The bitterness of reality crept up on her. “It hasn’t even been two weeks. Give it time.”
“Can you really be so cynical?”
She didn’t feel cynical. She felt as fragile as spun sugar. She’d pushed his champion’s back to the wall, and he was fighting his way out in the only way he knew, by brute force.
“Take a risk, Piper,” he said. “I’m not Duke Dove. Tell me how you feel-the truth. Either you love me or you don’t. Dig deep. I need to know.”
She didn’t have to dig deep. But saying it aloud was impossible. Yet, if she didn’t, wasn’t she taking the coward’s way out?
She was hard-core. Hanging tough was how she lived. She shoved her fists deeper in her pockets. “Yes, I love you. Sure, I do. How could I not?” She threw the words in his face. “I love you enough not to let this go any further. We’re too different to have a future, so what’s the point?”
“The only thing different about us is our bank accounts.”
“A big difference.”
“Only if you believe money is all that counts.”
“And fame. And nightclubs. And Super Bowl rings-”
“Which neither of us has.”
“-and Hollywood girlfriends.”
“People say opposites attract. The funny thing about that is we’re not opposites. We’re the same person, different sides of the same coin.” A muscle twitched at the corner of his jaw. “Except I’m clearheaded and you’re not.”
“That isn’t-”
“Here’s what I don’t get: Why is it so hard for you to believe I could love you?”
He was trying to confuse her, and she said the first thing that came into her head. “I’m not beautiful. And you’re famous. And I’m not domestic.”
He turned belligerent. “Is that all you’ve got?”
“And your money.”
“You already mentioned that.”
A group of businessmen had spotted him and began to close in. She spun on them. “Not now!”
For once, Coop didn’t try to make up for her brusqueness with a good ol’ boy acknowledgment. He didn’t even turn.
The men shot her a few dirty looks as they backed away. She didn’t care. She’d play bad cop forever to protect him.
“Here’s what I know.” His intensity was scaring her. “Your father might have meant well, but he screwed with your head so bad that you’ve lost touch with who you are inside. It’s you against the world, and you’re scared to death of anything that makes you feel vulnerable.”
She had to fight back. “This coming from Mr. Tough Guy himself.”
“I’m stubborn and I’m driven, but I’ve never pretended to be invincible. You’re the one with the will of steel.”
“That’s not true!” she exclaimed. “I fell in love with you, didn’t I? And nothing could make me feel less invincible than that.”
“Which is exactly why you’re so hell-bent on pushing me away.”
He was wrong, and there was only one way she could make him understand that and end this forever. She’d have to go through with it. Gut it out until it was blindingly clear to him… and to her… what an impossible couple they were. She shot up her chin and glared at him. “Okay. I’ll do it. I’ll move in with you. We’ll give it a few weeks and then you’ll see.”
He drew her to his chest. “Oh, babe…”
She closed her eyes. Rested her cheek against his chest. Surrendered.
He clasped her face in his palms and pressed his forehead to hers. Their noses touched. He brushed the tip of his nose gently against hers. “The thing is…” he said. “That invitation’s off the table.”
“What?” She reared back. He’d thrown a fake. A classic quarterback fake.
“I’d trust Piper Dove with my life.” The tenderness in his eyes cut through her. “But I’m not ready to trust Duke Dove’s daughter with my heart.”
“Then what do you want?” It was nearly a wail.
“I want a legal document.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Marriage.”
She pushed herself away from him. “You can’t be serious!”
“I didn’t plan to bring it up yet. I intended to give you some time to calm down and get used to being loved. But now I see what a mistake that would be. You’re so jittery that all you’ll be doing is looking for reasons to break us up.”
“That’s not true!” It was exactly true. The plaza blurred around her, and her ears started to ring.
“You’re as stubborn as I am.” He brushed his knuckles across her cheek. “The way I see it, as soon as we’re legally married, we’ll both settle down enough to figure out how to make it work.”
“That’s crazy! Nobody does that.”
“Clearly. But these are extraordinary circumstances, and this is the only scenario I can see working for us.”
“It’s insane!”
“Probably to most people. But we’re different. So I guess you have a decision to make.”
“Isn’t it enough to say I love you?” Her words were nearly a sob. “You’re the best man I’ve ever known. Just hearing your voice turns me into mush. But that doesn’t mean marriage. I already said I’d live with you, and now you’re bullying me!”
“Kind of.” He touched her hair with his fingers. “But put yourself in my place. If you were me, what would you do about you?”
“I’d-I’d- That’s an impossible question.”
“Only because you don’t like the answer.” He tilted his head toward the building behind them. “I seem to remember there’s a marriage license office inside.”