“Why didn’t you say so? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I told you I loved you. I told you I was all in, that you could trust me. Do you think I’m the kind of guy who can say something like that and then leave you?”

“Yes!” she said. “I thought that! Not because you’re a bad guy, but because you said you had to work.”

He chuckled. “There’s no doubt in my mind, I’m going to have to work. I bet this place only looks simple. I bet it turns into a giant pain in the ass.”

“Oh, Cooper, what are you doing?”

“I’m staying, Sarah. I’m not going to push you, crowd you or worry you. I’m just going to love you. I’m going to hang around here, close to you, until you trust me enough to get your dreams back.”

She stared at him for a moment. Then she put her hands on his cheeks and pulled his mouth onto hers, kissing him so deep and so hard it knocked him back a step. But he hung on to her. Then, against his lips, she whispered, “I do love you, Cooper. I do.”

He smiled against her lips. “I know, baby. I know.”