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“Tate, we agreed. We’re friends, nothing more. I told you there can’t be anything more for me. Because of Daryn.”
“Nice excuse. But I don’t buy it anymore.”
She frowned. “I don’t—”
“Let’s leave Daryn out of this for a minute. If you didn’t have her—if it was just you and me—would you be sending me away?”
“I… That isn’t relevant. I can’t pretend my daughter doesn’t exist.”
“I’m not asking you to. I’m asking if she wasn’t in the picture, would you be interested in me?”
“I think you know the answer to that,” she said, the memory of their night together deepening her voice.
He nodded in satisfaction. “You care about me.”
It wasn’t a question.
“I…could,” she admitted grudgingly. “If things were different.”
“You know what I think, Kim?” His voice was as gentle as his hands when he took both of hers in his. “I think you’re hiding behind Daryn to protect yourself.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re wrong about that. I can take care of myself. I can deal with disappointment and loss. I don’t want Daryn to have to learn how so early.”
“You’re so sure there’s going to be disappointment and loss,” he said solemnly.
“Because there always is,” she whispered.
His fingers tightened around hers. “I’m not those men from your past, Kim. I’m not your father or your stepfathers or Daryn’s father. I come from a long line of men who create families and then stay with them for a lifetime. My grandparents have been married fifty-four years. My parents will celebrate their thirty-fourth anniversary in November. I had an uncle who divorced his wife once, but they rem
arried two years later and stayed together until he died. We stick, thick or thin.”
His mouth tilted into a little smile. “When my dad had the talk with me—the one about always using protection?—he told me a real man doesn’t have kids he isn’t willing to raise. He told me not to make commitments if I wasn’t prepared to do whatever it took to fulfill them. He told me if I couldn’t offer everything I have—my heart, my loyalty, my entire future—then I shouldn’t be making any offers at all. I took those words to heart. I’ve had girlfriends, but they knew from the start that I wouldn’t be pressured into saying anything I didn’t mean or making promises I couldn’t keep. I’ve never told any woman I loved her. Until now.”
Her hands jumped in his. “You—”
“I love you,” he supplied when her voice faded. “I have for months. And I plan to stick around for however long it takes to convince you that you can count on me not to take off when the going gets rough.”
“Tate, I—”
“You’re sick. You’re feverish. I’m unshaven and grubby from a night in a rocking chair. I didn’t exactly choose the most romantic moment to spring this on you, did I?” he asked ruefully. “But maybe that helps make my point? Even after the night I just spent, I’m in no hurry to leave. And even when you’re sick and feverish and trying your best to chase me away, I want you so badly my teeth hurt.”
Her pulse rate jumped. “I can’t—”
“You aren’t ready. I understand. I just thought you should know how I feel. You keep saying you don’t want Daryn hurt, that you don’t want to be hurt yourself, but I’m telling you that if I leave now, it wouldn’t be because I don’t want to stay, but because you would be sending me away.”
She found herself wanting so badly to believe him that she ached with it, an ache she didn’t even try to blame on her illness. Tate was in love with her? Or thought he was. But there was no way he could guarantee it would last a lifetime, despite his family history.
As for herself—she loved him so much her heart felt close to bursting with it. Like him, she had never allowed herself to truly fall in love before, not even with Daryn’s father. But Tate’s hesitation had been more noble than hers; he had worried about hurting someone else, while she had feared being hurt yet again. She’d said she was shielding Daryn from heartache—and that was true. But was Tate right that she had used her defense of her daughter as an excuse to protect herself, as well?
“Take all the time you need to decide whether you want to give us a chance. I promise I won’t rush you. If you want me to stay away from Daryn until you feel you can trust me, I’ll do it, though I have to admit I’ll miss her,” Tate added with a glance at the quietly playing baby. “It took me a while to wrap my head around the enormity of the responsibility, but I know now it’s a challenge I’m ready to take on. I’m willing to make the same lifelong commitment to Daryn that I am to you. I can’t imagine ever regretting that decision.
“I just hope you won’t shut me out entirely while you decide how you feel about me,” he finished quietly. “I’ve missed you every day since we parted last. The Wednesday lunches weren’t the same without you. Nothing is the same without you.”
Kim raised her hands to rub her temples in slow circles. She wanted nothing more than to burrow into Tate’s arms and tell him she loved him, too. For the first time since childhood, she was tempted to entrust her heart to someone. But was she really prepared to entrust her daughter?
“I do need time to think,” she said, her voice raspy again. “I can’t deal with this right now.”
He looked penitent. “I know. I’m sorry about my lousy timing. Why don’t you go lie down again? I’ll take care of everything in here.”
