“When I said I loved you, it was true. I wanted you to know in case...” In case Guerrero had carried through on his threats. Logan shook his head. “I know you hate me—”
“No, I don’t.”
He wouldn’t let the hope come, not yet. Not hating someone was a long way from loving the person. “I should have told you the truth about your mother the first day I met you. I was scared,” he admitted as he stared her straight in the eye. “Scared you’d walk away. Scared that I’d see disgust in your gaze.”
“Is that what you see now?”
“No.” But he wasn’t sure...
“I read the reports about my mom’s accident. Her death wasn’t your fault. I know you tried to save her.”
It hadn’t been enough. It would never be enough.
“You aren’t your father. You aren’t like him.” Her lips pulled down. “And I’m not like mine.” Her breath whispered out in a sad sigh. “Maybe things could have been different for them, too, but now it’s too late.”
Too late for their fathers. But... “What about us?”
Her lashes lowered. “What do you want from me, Logan?”
Everything. “A chance. Just give me a chance, Juliana, to show you what I can be.”
“I already know what you are.”
&n
bsp; The pain in his chest burned worse than the stitches. “No, you—”
“You’re the man that I love.” Her lashes swept up. “I’ve known that since the first time you kissed me.”
Hope could be a vicious beast. It bit and tore inside of him, ripping past the fear and driving him to pull her ever closer.
Her legs bumped against the bed. Her lips were just inches from his. “Juliana, don’t say it unless...”
“Unless I mean it? But I do mean it.” Her left hand lifted and pressed lightly against the line of his jaw. “Logan, I love you.”
He kissed her. His mouth took hers, rough, hungry, because he couldn’t hold back. He needed her too much. Always had.
The pain of his wounds didn’t matter. The pain of the past years—being without her—didn’t matter. She was with him now. In his arms.
He pulled her even closer. She stumbled against the bed and laughed against his mouth. That laugh was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard.
He wanted to spend the rest of his life making her happy, hearing her laugh and seeing the light in her
dark eyes.
He wanted forever with her.
His tongue slid past her lips and tasted that laughter. So sweet. Just like her.
“Logan...” she whispered as she pulled her lips from his. “We can’t. You’ll get hurt...”
“The only thing that can hurt me is being away from you.” That had gutted him before. Hell, this wasn’t the time. Not the place. But... “Marry me.”
Her eyes widened. She tried to pull away. He wouldn’t let her.
“Logan, you just asked for a chance, and now you want forever?”
He smiled, and for the first time in longer than he could remember, it was a real smile. His chest didn’t burn anymore. He didn’t feel as if he’d lost a part of himself.