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His gaze grows hard.
"I know the episode in your childhood hurt you, and then—"
"What do you know about the episode?" That uncompromising tone of his voice is like a diamond edge.
I manage not to flinch, manage to tip up my chin and peer into his face. "Just that it affected you and your friends. I don’t know any of the details."
He searches my features, then slowly nods. "I’m not ready to talk about it."
"I understand."
"Do you?" He sets his jaw.
"Of course, I do. You’re not a sharing kind of person. So, for you to say that you’re willing to allow me to get to know you is huge. You’re not as beyond redemption as you think you are."
A muscle pulses at his temple. "And you’re the one who’s going to redeem me?"
"I am going to be your wife."
"Only in name."
"So you keep telling me. It’s as if you’re trying to convince yourself." I look between his eyes. "Is that what this is about? Are you worried you’re going to fall for me, Edward?"
His features shutter.
"Are you?" I ask again.
He sets his jaw and shoves his hand into the pocket of his well-cut pants in a gesture I’m beginning to see as a tell. "I will not fall in love."
"Will not?"
"I took a vow after my last…run-in with that particular emotion…that I won’t allow it in my life again."
"You took a vow?" I ask in a dazed voice.
"Love is not for me."
"But you do love your friends. I know you’re close to Sinclair and the rest of the Seven."
He nods slowly. "The seven of us have been through a lot. We have a bond that cannot be broken. I suppose, I do have a depth of feeling for them. Is it love?" He raises a shoulder. "Maybe. As for romantic love? That will not figure in my life again."
"Why is that? Don’t you owe it to yourself to be happy? Don’t you—"
"I promised myself not fall for anyone again."
I gape. "You promised yourself?”
"And that’s all you need to know."
"Wait, that’s not fair. You—"
The door is pushed open, and Tiny pops his big head around the corner. He looks between us, then shoves the door open the rest of the way. He walks into the room, past Edward and plants his rump near me. He looks up at me with his melting brown eyes—so different from my fiancé’s. Tiny may be a mutt, but there’s something in his eyes that's heartfelt and soft, like he carries his heart in his eyes. My fiancé, on the other hand? Carries his emotions buried behind so many walls… And while I may have seen some flickers of emotion in his gaze, they've been few and far between. As if sensing the turn my thoughts have taken, Tiny makes a whining noise.
"Aww, did you miss Eddie? Is that why you’re here?" I reach over and scratch Tiny behind his ears. He makes a purring sound and leans into my touch.
"Did you call me, Eddie?" His voice is shocked.
I risk a look at his face and find an incredulous expression there. It’s so unexpected, I laugh. Tiny lets out a small bark at that. "He agrees." I nod.
