Come back to Me by Kathy Coopmans Excerpt Reveal

I sat in my office for the better part of the morning

yesterday, staring at a long list of things to do now that winter is upon us. There

was no way in hell I was going to be able to look it over if I didn’t pull my

head out of my ass. I have always taken every job I’ve had seriously. Pushed myself

to the limit. But when the woman you love is mere feet away from you after

years of you not being able to touch her, then your job goes down with it. At least

it has for me.

I’m anything but calm. I’m fucking seething.

I came home from seeing her in that window and beat the hell

out of my punching bag until my knuckles were raw. I thought about moving so I

would never have to see her again. Then quickly changed my mind because the

thought of her eventually finding someone else, another man touching what

belongs to me, made me want to put a bullet through my head. I’ll die if I find

out someone has. I had to call Hunter to calm me down. He laughed for all of

ten seconds. Then he sobered right up and started paddling in the opposite direction.

“You man the hell up, boy. Right your wrongs and fight for that girl. I can’t

imagine what she’s going through. Can you?” he said. My jaw dropped. His words

punched me in the gut. But to hear him say the words that have been rotting

away in my stomach had me falling back in a chair. My legs were no longer able

to hold me.

I wasn’t about to argue with him when what he said was

right. Not to mention, I respected the man. Adriana has and still is living in

hell. We both have.

Then I drank. My mind kept fading back to last night, how

she went from her playful, seductive way to a traumatized victim of life’s

cruelty. It was written all over her face, her body. She’s on the verge of

falling apart, and even though she held herself together well, when she turned

around her face gave it all away.mMy beautiful Adriana is barely keeping it

together. I could see right through her. She’s lost.

My mind goes back to this same day years ago. Burning blue orbs

watched my every move, sending blood straight to my dick. Those eyes needed to

be staring down at me while she rode him. I lifted my hand to reveal a sexy-as-hell

corset. My own blues traveled up and down her body. Fuck, this would look good

on her. It was purple. My favorite color next to the nude of her creamy-white

skin. She immediately looked away when her sister strolled in dressed in

clothes that looked like she’d slept in them. Hair a mess and eyes so red you

would have to get up close to see their true color. I went from being turned

the fuck on to royally fucking pissed. On our anniversary, no less.

I did my best to pay attention to what was happening between

the two of them as my fingers flexed around the silky material in anger.

Adriana loved the feel of silk. I loved the feel of her. But the sight of

Alexis being here was enough to make me sick. My ears were hurting as I tried

to pay attention to what they were saying.

“What on earth is she doing here looking like that, damn

her?” I grumbled. I knew what she was doing, and I hated her all the more for

it. She was trying to save her ass before I had the chance to try and set her

straight. To backpaddle. And the part of her that wasn’t high on whatever her

choice of the day was, was eating away at her. She knew she fucked up in the

worst possible way. Stupid bitch. I didn’t like her before. I hated her now,

and I had every reason to.

Adriana and Alexis argued for minutes. I knew Adriana wasn’t

buying her excuses. She had heard them all. All except the one I threatened

Alexis to keep hidden. I was ready to break the two of them apart when her

sister stormed out of the store and those once burning eyes quickly smoldered

out with tears. With the garment still in my hands, I made it to her just

before her legs gave out. I took her in my arms, cradled her to my chest, and

held on tight while she let it all out. All the time knowing this was our last

anniversary to be together and it was fucking ruined.

Everything about Adriana mirrors the same as that incident years

ago. She’s barely holding herself together. The sadness, the shame, the guilt.

Not a one of them is her fault. It’s fucking fate. The word so many people in this

fucked-up world we live in believe in.

“I don’t know what to do. I had every intention of telling

her everything last night. Fuck, I even brought the file with me so she could

read it, because I wasn’t sure I had it in me to tell her how my greed in

trying to give her the world nearly cost her life. She’s so fucking broken over

everything that has happened to her that I’m afraid she won’t be able to handle

this.” I’ve never believed in fate. Not until she moved here. What I used to

believe in was a love so powerful it can’t be stopped no matter how much a person

tries. No matter how many unmovable obstructions are thrown in its path. Love

always finds a way. I’m just not so sure of it anymore. This whole thing is a

riddle full of confusing. I just need to get her back.