Boomerangers: A second chance romantic comedy (Cajun Girls Book 1)
Boomerangers: Chapter 30

I retrieve the folder of documents I’ve so carefully prepared from my briefcase, placing them on the desk, as I await Spencer’s arrival. My hands are tingling, my forehead blanketed in a light sheen of sweat. By nature, I’m not usually a nervous person, but this woman . . . She’s always been different. To be honest, I’m accustomed to having the upper hand where women are concerned, but Spencer LeBlanc holds all the cards, and I’m just hoping she’ll deal me in.

The bell chimes as the door swings open and Spencer rushes in. Her hair is wild and windblown. The apples of her cheeks and the tip of her nose red from the cold.

Spence drops her purse to the floor before shrugging out of her heavy coat, revealing a simple red tunic style dress with black leggings. Simple but beautiful. I can’t take my eyes away.

“Coop . . . Coop!” she snaps her fingers in front of my face. “Cooper!”

I shake myself out of a stupor. “Wha—Oh, sorry, babe. I was thinking.”

She chuckles. “Don’t hurt yourself. What’s so important?”

My heart is racing. What if she says no? “I ,uh, I wanted to see if you would look over some proposals for me.”

She screws up her face. “Um . . . okay, but I don’t know if I can be of much help.” Confusion is replaced with a slow smile. “Is this really what you called me out here for or are you just trying to disguise a booty call?” She laughs, placing her palms on my desk and leaning forward. Her tits are all up in my face, but I will not be deterred. I’m a man on a mission. “’Cause you know, I’d have come without the charade.”

Ignoring her attempt at seduction isn’t easy. I cough, turning my head before asking, “Can you have a seat for a sec, Princess?”

“Sureee.” She falls back into her chair, looking almost as nervous as I feel.

I hold the folder out to her across the desk. “I want you to look these over and tell me what you think.”

She nods, looking a little dejected. As she cracks the file open, bile begins to burn in the back of my throat.

Spencer’s lips move silently as she reads. Her mouth falls open and then closes. It opens again and remains until she’s finished reading. Her bottom lip begins to quiver and tears unabashedly roll down her cheeks. “We agreed no strings, Coop . . .”

“Yeah, well . . . that doesn’t really work for me.”

She pulls in her lips, swallowing hard.

Rising up from my chair, I walk over to kneel at her feet. “I want the strings. I want the ball and fucking chain. I want to be so tied to you that you can’t ever slip away from me again.” Loud sobs wrack her frame. “Spencer, I’ve tried doing life without you. For fifteen years, I’ve been dead inside, and in just a few months you’ve reminded me what it feels like to be alive.”

“These are adoption papers,” she says with disbelief, holding them out to show me.

“They are . . .”

“Y-your name is on them.”

I nod, getting choked up. “It is.”

She takes a few deep breaths. “You want t-to ad-dopt my baby?”

“More than anything.”

“He l-loves you so m-much.” She nods, squeezing my hand tight.

“I love him, too.”

“You’re not just doing this for me? You really want him? Because, this is forever, Cooper. Do you realize wh-what you’re asking for? Even if you ever decided to leave me . . . you-you couldn’t just abandon him. So, if you’re not ready to make a lifetime commitment to that baby . . .”

“I’m ready . . . for him. For you. For us. But, I understand what you’re saying and I swear to you that I want to be that boy’s father for no other reason than I love him.”

“Coop . . .” Her chest heaves with sobs. I grab the box of tissues from the desk behind me, pulling a few out and sopping up some of her tears.

She reaches her hand out and cups the back of my head, gently rubbing her fingers through the hair at the nape of my neck.

Slowly she nods, and my heart lodges in my throat. “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to share him . . . Cooper, you have no idea what you mean to me—to him. I’m trusting you to love him, to put him first . . .”

“I know how hard this is for you. I won’t let you or those boys down. I swear it.” I grab her other hand in mine, kissing each of her fingers as a tear drips from my eye. “I know that I’ve hurt you, and I, along with every other man in your life, have let you down. I know that I probably don’t deserve another chance, but I want it more than anything else in this world. Our life was meant to be lived together. If our time apart has convinced me of anything, it’s that you were made for me. And that kid may not carry my DNA, but by God, I don’t care. I love that little shit like my own and I want to be his daddy.”

Her head bobs, slightly. “Let’s do it,” she whispers, looking up at me through tear soaked lashes.

“Well, you do know that there are two proposals in that folder, and I’m gonna need for you to clarify here a little Princess.”

She begins to laugh through her tears. “Oh, Coop—”

Reaching into my inside coat pocket, I pull out the little velvet box, and she freezes. The color drains from her face as if she’s finally realizing that this is real. I remove the Verragio engagement ring that I spent a ridiculous amount of time agonizing over. It had to be perfect. I wanted her to love it. It’s a square cut diamond set high in an intricate setting—elegant without being gaudy. Just like my girl.

Her hand trembles as I slide it onto her finger. “Spence, I feel like my entire life has been leading up to this moment.” I look deep into her eyes. “I got off track for a while, but I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life as your husband. I promise to you that I will never take this second chance for granted. I love you. God, I love you so much. Be my wife, Princess. Marry me?”

Her face is torn. She wants to say yes. I can see the words on the tip of her tongue, and I came prepared. “Before you give me your answer, you should know that Lake and Landon have given us their blessing.”

She’s taken aback. “They’ve what? You spoke to them about this?”

“The night of the baseball game . . . I asked them how they’d feel if I asked you to marry me.”

“You did that?” Her hand traces the side of my face.

“I also told them I wanted to adopt Kyle and that I wouldn’t do so without their support. I didn’t want them to feel like I was leaving them out, because, babe, I would adopt them too if I could. You have to know that. I wanted for them to know that.”

She nods, unable to speak.

“They understood. They really did. They have a father, and Kyle doesn’t. They want him to have that, Spence. They are fucking amazing kids. I may not be able to legally make them mine, but I will be a father to them in every way that they’ll allow it.”

“Yes,” she whispers so low that I’m not sure I hear her correctly.

I clear my throat. “Say that . . . say that again for me, baby.”

“Yes!” she shouts, tackling me to the floor. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Cooper James.”

“You have no idea how long I’ve dreamt of bending you over that desk like that, Princess.”

I feel a sharp pain as she answers by biting my nipple before resting her cheek on my bare chest.

“Ouch.” I reach for her boob to retaliate, but she’s too fast. Spence jumps up, running naked across my office. I’m too busy watching that ass to get up and chase her. Rolling over onto my stomach, I prop myself up on my elbows to ogle her as she begins to dress.

“You just gonna lay around the office naked?” she asks, flustered.

“I’m just enjoying the view for a minute.”

“Well, stop it. You’re embarrassing me.” She hurriedly pulls her dress on before her pants, covering up all the fun bits.

Without a lick of embarrassment, I stand in all my naked glory to join her across the room. “Don’t ever hide from me, Spence. You have nothing to ever be ashamed of. I love every inch of your body, and I plan to stare at it often, so get used to it.”

She nods, wrapping her arms around my neck and leaning in for a kiss. Just before our lips connect, I exact my revenge.

“You motherfucker!” she yells, grabbing her tit.

I wink before strolling across the room to put on my clothes. “Hurry up, babe. There’s something else I want to show you.”