He blew out his breath. “Let’s not talk about that, okay? Whatever happened in the past, the point is, I don’t want you to walk away now. I can’t stand the thought of it.”

“Okay,” she said so quietly he almost didn’t hear.

He reached out and nudged her chin up. “Okay?” he asked. 

“I want to stay. I have no idea how we’ll work all this out, but I want to try.”

Satisfaction ripped through him, so savage that for a moment he couldn’t breathe. He had to temper his reaction because he wanted nothing more than to grab her, haul her into his arms and hold her so...