Page 195 of Only Be Mine

“Dangerous,” he replied with a faint smile.

I didn’t return it.

“About John.”

The remote stilled in his hand. “Okay,” he said carefully.

“About how fast everything happened after he disappeared.”

Trevor muted the television.

“I stepped in because you needed someone,” he said. Not defensive.

Not yet.

“I know.”

“And I would do it again.”

I believed that, which made it worse.

I reached into my pocket.

His eyes followed the movement automatically.

Slowly, deliberately, I set the ring on the coffee table between us.

The gold caught the light.

It didn’t spin. It didn’t roll.

It just sat there.

Trevor didn’t look at it immediately.

His gaze stayed on my face.

“What is that?” he asked.

His voice was steady.

Too steady.

“You tell me.”

His eyes remained on mine a moment longer, then they dropped.

I watched it happen; the moment recognition flickered across his expression. Not shock, not surprise.

Recognition.

And something else.

Resignation.

His jaw flexed once.

He leaned back into the couch, slow, and deliberate.