Bliss: Entangled Hearts Duet #2

by Ryan, Kaylee

  I try to hold off, but the sensation is just too much. As my body stills, I release inside her. It’s a feeling I can’t explain. The magnitude of the trust we share, and the thought that one day she’s going to be growing round with our baby. My cock twitches at the mere thought, causing us both to moan with pleasure.

  My lips connect with hers before I slowly pull out and settle in beside her. I open my mouth to tell her that I love her when my phone rings. I let it ring, and Reese rolls over to look at me.

  “It might be important.”

  “You’re more important,” I say, kissing the top of her head and pulling her close. My phone stops ringing only to start again.

  “Coop, you better get that.”

  Reluctantly, I climb out of bed and dig around for my phone in my jeans pocket when I see it’s my attorney. “Hey, John,” I greet him.

  “Cooper, how are you?” he asks.

  “Never better,” I say, glancing back at the love of my life snuggled naked under the covers in my bed.

  “Glad to hear it. Listen, I have everything all set up. I just need signatures. When are you available?”

  “How long are you in the office today?” I ask him, glancing at the alarm clock beside the bed.

  “A few more hours at least.”

  “Reese and I are in town. I had some contract stuff to sign with my agent. We could be there in say an hour?”

  “Perfect. It’s good she’s with you. We can get this all done today.”

  “Definitely. Thank you, John. We’ll see you soon.” I end the call and place my phone on the nightstand.

  “See, I told you it might be important. Everything okay?” she asks.

  “Yes. I actually have a surprise for you. It’s ready sooner than I had anticipated. We need to get ready. I need to run a few errands while we’re out.”

  “Where are we going?” she asks, sitting up and letting the blanket pool around her waist. I climb onto the bed and capture a nipple between my teeth, gently nipping before sucking it into my mouth. “Coop,” she breathes.

  “I can’t fucking resist you,” I tell her, letting her nipple fall from my lips and moving to the next one.

  “I thought you said that we had to get ready to go somewhere.”

  Damn it. “Yeah,” I say, releasing her and moving off the bed. “You go shower. I can’t go in there with you or we’re never leaving, and we have things to do.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “To my attorney’s office. I have some more papers to sign,” I say vaguely.

  “Okay. I’ll be quick.”

  “He’s just about ten minutes away, so you have time.”

  I watch her as she stands and goes to her bag and grabs some clean clothes. “Everything you need should be in the bathroom. Check the closet for towels, and your favorite shampoo and body wash should be there too.”

  “How? When?” She looks at me, surprised.

  “I wanted to be prepared if you were to ever come stay with me.” I shrug like it’s not a big deal. To me, it isn’t. I just wanted her to feel welcome here, and maybe even fall in love with not only me but this place. However, I see the shimmer of emotion in her eyes, and I know it’s a bid deal to her. “Go.” I wave toward the bathroom. “Or I’m going to have to call him and tell him we have to reschedule,” I say, glancing down at my cock that’s already starting to grow hard for her yet again.

  “I’m going.” She smiles and disappears behind the door.

  Grabbing some clean clothes, I go to the bathroom down the hall and shower. I make a mental note that showering with Reese is absolutely the next item on our to-do list. After I give her this surprise. I’m not sure how she’s going to take it. I hope it’s received well.

  * * *

  “So, what kind of papers do you need to sign?” Reese asks as we’re walking into the attorney’s office.

  I was lucky Tessa called and talked to her all the way here; otherwise, I would have had to think of something on the fly. What’s luckier is that John greets us as soon as we walk through the door.

  “Cooper, good to see you.” He extends his hand, and we shake.

  “You too. John, this is my girlfriend, Reese Latham. Reese, John, my attorney.” They exchange handshakes and pleasantries before John leads us back to his office.

  “I didn’t expect to get both signatures today, but that will move this process along nicely,” John says.

  “Coop?” Reese whispers.

  “Actually, John. Reese doesn’t know why we’re here. Would you mind going over the details for her?” I ask him. I know that if I try to do it, I’ll fuck it up. Not only that, I want to be able to watch her reaction as she hears what I’ve done.

  If John is shocked that I haven’t told her yet, he doesn’t show it. “Of course,” he replies. He moves some papers around and then looks up at Reese. “Cooper has set forth the motion to create a nonprofit organization.”

  “Cooper.” Reese turns her head to look at me. “That’s amazing.”

  “There’s more,” I say, smiling at her.

  “These papers are the official filing for the nonprofit status,” John explains.

  “What kind of nonprofit?” she inquires.

  I nod at John. “The foundation will be set to help foster children. The conditions are clearly outlined. The foundation will provide suitcases and duffle bags for the children’s personal belongings,” he begins to explain. Reese keeps her eyes on his but reaches over and squeezes my hand. “Without giving you every detail, there will be things such as transition help for those going on to college, celebrations for those who are placed and adopted. Scholarships will be awarded each year, as well as group activities for those in children’s homes. That’s the basic idea of the foundation. I have a copy of the full outline with details of the foundation for each of you.”

  “I don’t understand?” Reese says, glancing over at me.

  “It’s not just my foundation, baby. It’s ours. We both have to sign today. I’ll be the President, and my job is to silently fund it, and hopefully use my career for fundraising and awareness. You are listed as the executive director of the foundation. You run it all. It’s all in your capable hands.”

  “What does that mean?” she asks with tears in her eyes.

  “It means that all the things you wished that you could do for your kids, you can do. Only this is on a grander scale. You will have free rein to organize fundraising and distribution of supplies, and everything else that’s involved. It’s a startup, so there will be a lot of work to get it off the ground.”

  “I-I can’t believe you did this.”

  “You said you wanted to do more. I’m giving you the power to do that.”

  “Cooper.” She sobs my name as she covers her face with her hands.

  “I’m going to step out and give the two of you a few minutes. Just open the door when you’re ready,” John says, standing and leaving us alone in his office.

  “Come here.” I pull her from her chair and place her in my lap. My arms wrap around her as I hold her close. Her tears come fast, but I’m there to catch them. “I thought this would make you happy,” I say, feeling her out. I think the tears are happy tears, but I’m not sure.

  “It does, Coop. You have no idea. This is…. I have no words. I can’t believe you did this for me.” She wipes at her cheeks with the backs of her hands.

  “Haven’t you realized by now I would do anything for you?”

  She nods. “I’m in shock. I don’t really know what to say to this. I don’t know…,” she says, shaking her head.

  Time to put it all out there. “I was hoping you would want to do this full-time. Run the foundation. I was hoping you would move here with me. That we could buy a house, change your last name, have a couple of kids. What is it they always say? And they lived happily ever after? I want that to be us, Reese. All of it. I want it all with you.”

  More tears, but an even brighter smile, greets me. “I gues
s we have some papers to sign.”

  I kiss her quickly before she moves to her seat, and I get up to open the door, letting John know we’re ready for him.

  “All right, so this is all the legal filings for the Latham Reeves Foundation.”

  “Oh my God,” Reese says breathily.

  “We can change it,” I tell her, then look at John for confirmation. “Right?”

  “Of course, we would just need to adjust the documents and reprint,” he says without an ounce of annoyance. With what I’m paying him, there better not be a sign of any.

  “No.” She shakes her head. “It’s perfect.”

  “Wonderful, let’s get started,” John suggests.

  John takes his time going through each document to explain what we are signing. Reese asks great questions, and they all boil down to one answer. This is her foundation to build and to grow. She smiles the entire time, and she keeps having to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

  An hour later, we’re walking out of John’s office with two folders holding identical information. “I can’t believe that you did this,” Reese says once we’re in my truck.

  “Good surprise?”

  “The best. Cooper, this is everything I’ve ever wanted.”

  “I know. You told me.”

  “And you listened.”

  “So, what do you say we grab some dinner since there are no groceries in the house, and we can go home and talk about what our next steps are going to be?”

  “Yes,” she quickly agrees.

  “What sounds good?” I ask, pulling out of the parking lot.

  “Anything. I’m starving. Let’s do something we can take home with us, though.”

  “There’s a great pizza delivery just down from me. We can call it in now and shouldn’t have to wait too long.”

  “We need beer if we’re going to be eating pizza,” she replies.

  “That’s my girl.” I turn the truck into the nearest gas station and hand her my phone. “It’s under Maurice’s. Order whatever you want. You know what I like.” I wink and head inside to get my girl some beer.

  Chapter 18

  Reese

  “Why did you let me eat so much?” I ask Cooper. We’re sitting on his couch with an open pizza box on the coffee table.

  “Told you it was good.” He smirks.

  “I don’t think I can move,” I say, trying to lean over and place my now-empty beer bottle on the table. He takes mercy on me and does it for me.

  “You want another?”

  “No. I’m good. Thanks though.”

  “All right.” He drains his bottle and sets it on the table as well. “Now, we talk.” He stretches his legs out beside me and pulls my feet into his lap.

  “Honestly, I don’t know where to start.”

  “Let’s start with now that it’s had time to really sink in, are you upset about the foundation?”

  “No. Not even a little. I’m… flabbergasted to be honest. That you would think to do something like that for me.”

  “I was hoping that would be your response. I know you pretty well, and you’ve talked a lot about wanting to do more. I can’t believe I’m getting ready to say this, but if you want to run the foundation from your apartment, we could make that work. You would just have to come back to Indy for contracts, etc. Everything will be done through John. He’s already on retainer for me anyway.”

  “Isn’t that weird for you? That you have an attorney on retainer.”

  “Yeah.” He shrugs. “At first it was really hard to adjust to all the changes, but I’ve accepted them now and have accepted that while I’m still me, the same old Cooper I’ve always been, I’m also now a professional football player, and that comes with status and prestige in most cases, and there is nothing I can do to change that.”

  “You’re wrong, Coop. You’re making changes. You’re changing the world. Look at what you did today. That’s amazing. I’m so proud of you and all that you’ve accomplished. What you did for the kids in the home, that meant everything to them.”

  “I did it for you, Reese.”

  I nod. This is my Cooper. The love of my life. The man who created a foundation to make my dreams come true. If this is a dream, I never want to wake up. “So, what are you thinking?” I ask him.

  “I told you what I was thinking. I think it’s your turn to talk.”

  “How would this work? I mean, if I give up my job to run the foundation, how am I going to support myself?”

  “I assume if I say that I’ll support you, that idea’s not going to go over so well?” he asks.

  “Not particularly. I mean, what would the media think, our parents, and friends?”

  “Fuck the media. Our parents and friends have seen this”—he motions between the two of us—“coming for years. It’s what we think that matters.”

  “I don’t know, Cooper.”

  “Fine. The foundation will pay you a salary, just as any foundation would,” he concedes.

  “But that’s taking away from the kids.”

  “Baby…” He chuckles. “You can’t have it both ways. Unless you’re leaning toward keeping your job and running the foundation from Columbus.”

  “You’re here.” I state the obvious.

  “And I want you here with me.”

  “I want to be where you are,” I confess.

  “What’s mine is yours, Reese. I created this foundation for you and for me. It was with the hopes that not only do you get to do what you’ve always wanted, reach more people, help more people, it would also bring you home to me.”

  “Tell me how you see this playing out? Where are we a year from now, five years from now?” I ask.

  “Married, and in five years a kid or two.”

  I get that fluttering feeling in my belly. The one I’ve come to associate with Cooper. Only he has ever made me feel this way. Thinking of our future, marriage and kids, it’s everything I’ve ever wanted. With him. Only with him. I raise my eyebrows, making him laugh. “How many kids are we talking, Reeves?”

  “As many as you want. At least two.”

  I nod. “I can be on board with that.”

  “This is what I see and what I want. I want you to give notice and move here with me. I want you living here before I have to leave for training camp. That commute for you to visit on those days will be short, and in the meantime, you can explore the city and dive into the foundation work. I want to come home to you every night, at least those nights that I can. When possible, and your schedule allows, I want you to travel to the games. I want to marry you and have babies with you. Do I need to keep going?” he asks.

  “No.” I shake my head as I fight back the tears. I’ve wanted this for so long. Not just everything he just described, but all of it with him. He is my dream, and through his love for me, he gave me mine. No way would I have been able to do all the start-up for a new foundation and get it off the ground holding down a full-time job. Not only that, but he heard me, and without me even knowing, he gave me the perfect career. Loving him and caring for our children as well as those who are vulnerable.

  “I have one more question,” I say, watching his reaction closely.

  “What’s that?”

  “Will you help me move?” I smile as I say it, but he just sits still, staring at me. There is a blank expression on his face. “Cooper?” I wave my hands in the air to get his attention.

  “Shh,” he whispers.

  “What are you doing?” I whisper back.

  “Memorizing the moment.”

  “So that’s a no?” I ask, amused.

  “That’s a hell fucking yes!” He stands and leans over me, pressing his lips to mine. His tongue traces my lips, and my hand goes around his neck, keeping him close to me. “You’re moving here? With me? When?” He fires off questions in between peppering my face with kisses.

  “Soon. I need to give notice and pack up my place.” Excitement bubbles inside me at this new start. With Cooper. It’s ever
ything I could have hoped for, yet it’s more. I’m deliriously happy.

  “So? A week or so?”

  “No, I have to give work at least two weeks.” It’s going to be hard to leave, but I just need to remind myself of all the kids I’m going to be able to help. I’m so excited to hit the ground running with this new foundation.

  “You should do it now. The sooner, the better. Hold on. Let me get my laptop.” He stands and rushes down the hall.

  “Coop! I’m not going to email them. I’ll tell them on Monday!” I yell after him.

  He comes back into the room with his laptop. “Fine, but we can start looking at houses.” He takes a seat next to me.

  “What do you mean, look at houses? I mean, I know you mentioned it, but we live here.” I motion around the room.

  “You said we.” He’s grinning like a fool. “You said we live here.”

  “Well, maybe not today, but in a couple of weeks.”

  “I love you.” He leans in and kisses me. “I signed a five-year deal, so we’re going to be here for at least five more years. I’d like to be here longer, but we’re going to need a house. The kids need a yard to play in, and you need an office to work from home,” he rattles on.

  “Coop.” I place my hand on his arm. “We don’t have to do this all at once.”

  “Yes.” He nods. “We do. I’ve been waiting for this, for us to start our lives together. We’re doing this, Reese’s Pieces.” He winks.

  It’s been months, hell, maybe longer than just months since he’s called me that. That was always his thing, and we lost that, but now we’re back. We’re better than ever, and it makes my heart happy. We each might have traveled the long road to get here, but I’m confident we’ll be traveling it together for the rest of our lives.

  “Okay, so what are we looking for?” I ask him.

  His eyes light up. “That’s my girl.” He types something into his laptop and then stops and reaches for his phone. I watch as he dials and places the phone to his ear. “Roger, hey, man, how you been?” he asks. “Listen, I’m ready for the realtor’s name. Does she have a website?” I hear him ask. “Thanks, man. Talk soon,” he says, ending the call.