That first night he'd seen her again, for the first time in over four years in the grocery store, the most innocuous place he ever could have imagined seeing her face, Coop's kneejerk reaction had been to get angry. He hadn't been able to wrap his mind around why she'd show up here, to this place that had been entirely free of her because this is his home, his town, and she's the one who'd left in so what right did she have to show up here like that?

It's different now. Something's changed, something he can't quite put his finger on but ultimately, he thinks that what he'd needed the most was time. There'd never really been any closure between them, not when things had ended the way they did, and it's not like he necessarily feels like things are all patched up between them now but at the very least, Coop can understand why she'd left. It hadn't been because she didn't love him or that she didn't want to marry him; she'd been afraid, and he knows how powerful fear can be.

"It shouldn't have taken us this long to talk about it," he says, reaching out to gently grasp her hand. The touch is just a touch, he doesn't want to imply anything or make her feel like she has to react to it a certain way, it's simply meant to be a comforting gesture between two people who are getting to know each other again. "I know it's my fault that it did, but I'm glad it's happened now. I know you came here because of Raleigh, but I-- I just want you to know that no matter what I've felt over the years, you never stopped being important to me."