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Neo surged to his feet “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t know she was there until too late, but hey It wasn’t like you said anything she didn’t already know, right?”

No, but that didn’t matter “You said she looked stricken”

“Ohi, I’ is still working for her”

“You were ave him an innocent look he didn’t believe for athings best left alone”

“Maybe Cass didn’t want them left alone”

“Maybe you should have minded your own damn business”

“Maybe instead of yelling at o fix this”

“And how a your head out of your ass and go fro his best friend right in the face But dary at It was hi love that when it found its way into his life, he’d done everything but stand on his head to pretend it wasn’t there He’d denied any deeper feelings, denied the resurfaced yearnings he’d hadn’t allowed through ti for love For a family For what others had and he had never known

Neither had Cassandra, not really Her life had been almost as barren as his own and still, he had withheld his emotions from her Why?

He was ashamed to admit it was because of fear He, Neo Stauy, was terrified of not being worthy of his precious pianist’s heart

Just as he had somehow not been worthy of his parents’ love Only wasn’t that the thinking of his bruised child’s heart? Didn’t he realize as an adult, a rational thinker, that surely it was his parents’ deficiency—not his—that accounted for the lack of love in his life

And didn’t he owe Cassandra so more than the residue of a painful childhood he’d left behind hio?

Silent tears rushed down Cass’s cheeks as she let herself into her house She was furious with herself for crying, but couldn’t stop the eht