COOPER IS GONE.
I run to the door and peer out into the hallway. I don’t see him, but he can’t have gotten far. I swallow down the curse I want to shout. My heart is aching for him. But anger is coursing through me too, white-hot and dangerous. It’s not directed at his uncle, though. I don’t give a fuck about him, so long as he gives Cooper back his money.
Behind me, someone grunts. I whirl around. Richard has Blake backed up against the wall, his arm right over his windpipe. “Here’s what’s going to happen,” he says, his voice lethally soft. “You’re going to give my son back every fucking penny you took from him. And once you’ve done that, you’re leaving and never coming back. Stay the fuck away from my children.”
“Dad,” James says. “Dad, don’t—”
Blake shoves Richard back, making him stumble, and cocks his fist. James lunges forward, but before he can intervene, Richard dodges Blake’s punch and nails him in the jaw with his own. His wedding ring cuts across Blake’s cheek. Blake howls, covering his face as he stumbles. Richard just straightens up, adjusting his tuxedo jacket as he examines his knuckles.
“Penny,” James says, pushing me to the door, “Go find Cooper.”
I stop in the doorway. “No.”
“No?”
I look around him at Richard. “You know, you’ve been a shitty dad to him.”
He blinks. “Excuse me?”
Blake, still crumpled up on the floor, laughs. “Oh, this is funny.”
“Shut up,” I snap at him. “You’re an impotent fucking worm and I hope I never see you again after tonight.”
“Holy shit,” James says. He looks a little scared of me, which would please me under other circumstances, but right now, I ignore him, taking a step closer to Richard. I’m getting the drift of how he operates, but what’s the use of love if you’re not open about it with the people you care about?
“All he’s ever wanted is to feel like you cared.”
“I do care.” He winces as he rolls his shoulder. “I would do anything for him.”
“So tell him! Tell him that!”
“He knows that—”
“No. He doesn’t, that’s the problem. Do you know how excited he was to tell you he made captain? And how upset he was when you didn’t tell him how proud you were? Maybe if you weren’t so shitty about telling your son that you loved him, he wouldn’t feel like he needed to buy his uncle’s affection.” I spit out the words. Maybe I shouldn’t be speaking like this to my future father-in-law—at least, who I hope will be my future father-in-law—but whatever. He needs to hear it. If he just fucking listened to Cooper, if he’d given him what he needs, none of this would have happened.
Richard looks stunned. Good. I hope he hears what I’m saying. I wipe at my eyes; I started to tear up in the middle and can’t hold them back any longer. “You need to tell him how you feel—otherwise he won’t trust you, and he’ll just keep getting hurt. Trust me, I know.”
I stride over to the door and yank it open. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find my boyfriend. Because I love him, and I’m not afraid to tell him that.”
I gather my skirt and run down the hallway. In the movies, they make this look easy, but it isn’t in the slightest. I almost trip over my own heels, only steadying myself thanks to whatever modicum of balance that years of figure skating has left me.
In the lobby, the woman at the reception desk says, without looking up from her computer, “Looking for a boy?”
I rub my knee, which is protesting. The cold is going to suck, but I need to catch Cooper before he gets too far away. “Yes. Which way did he go?”
“Left.”
“Thank you!” I call as I run out of the building.
The air hits me like a freezing shower. This dress doesn’t have straps, and my jacket is in the coat check, which means I’m a block of ice in under ten seconds. I grab a scrunchie from my clutch, throw my hair into a messy bun, and bunch up my skirt again. A man walking a tiny, sweater-clad dog whistles as I run by. I give him the finger while I’m still in motion, which makes me feel badass, but then I nearly slip on a patch of ice. My knee screams at me. I keep on hobbling. I don’t see Cooper anywhere. Where are we again? Right below Central Park, I think. I’ve never been to this part of the city.
It would be so stupid to get lost while trying to find my boyfriend, but it’s not like I can stop now. He has a heart of gold. I can’t even imagine how much pain he must be feeling.
“Cooper!” I call. It’s relatively quiet here, but I hear nothing but faint honking and the echo of my voice. I take out my phone and call him. It goes to voicemail.
Fantastic.
I look up at the sky. Where would he go? He could’ve gotten an Uber, but we were planning to stay at the Plaza overnight, so it’s not like there’s anywhere else to go. I guess he could’ve gone to the train station, but he wouldn’t leave the city without me. The nighttime sky is as smooth as a mirror, with an impressive number of stars dotting the deep blue. I know if I wanted to clear my head, I’d find the nearest ice rink, but we’re in the middle of Manhattan.
Then I remember: there is a rink nearby.
