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Chapter Twenty-seven

It was crazy, but thein love with her, theanywhere She hadn’t tricked hi for her had happened all on its own, despite the fact that love wasn’t supposed to be in his plans

His chest clenched tight at the thought of leaving both Heather and the kids he couldn’t i with her now, behind too soon But even though he knew he should be letting her go find soive her forever, it turned out he was just as much of a selfish bastard as he’d always been

Which hy even thoughts of how crushed his mother had been by his father’s sudden death couldn’t stop hied my mind"

He slid his hand into her hair the sa love Because that’s what it had always been, right froed my mind"

"No," she protested in her beautiful, stubborn way He wouldn’t want her any other way, even as she said, "You can’t change your mind about love when you don’t even believe in it, remember?"

"I never said I didn’t believe in love," he clarified "I just said I wasn’t looking for it But I didn’t know you were co into my life I couldn’t have known" He looked into eyes that were so beautiful, whether lit with laughter or hazy with passion "I meant it when I said you were mine From the first moment I set eyes on you, I knew it You knew it, too, Heather That the first time we met, the first time we touched, the first time we kissed, I was yours"

She didn’t try to deny it this ti for this I don’t want this"

Didn’t she see how strong she was? Strong enough to make better decisions than her mother ever could have? For the millionth time he wanted to tear her father apart for the way he’d hurt his beautiful daughter She’d been innocent, pure like Emma onceuntil her father had destroyed her faith

"I love you, Heather"

Love for her had been there, inside of hi Heather surrounded by his fa how perfectly she fit in with everyone else he loved, had just s for her all the more undeniable

Her beautiful face was full of so ed just looking at her

"How do you always do this towith the dark knowledge thather profess her love to hio and die on her too soon, just like his father had

Shoving the darkness away as he had a thousand times before, he whispered back, "What do I do, Heather?"