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He caught a tear with the pad of his thumb “Tears over me?” he said softly
“Yes,” she said, then sniffed and blinked “You are theman I’ve ever met and I love you Madly and passionately”
He grinned, genuine happiness suffusing his face “I’d say mad and passionate sort of sums up our relationship”
“We’ll never be dull,” she agreed
“I can’t believe you were going to let me walk out that door today”
“I can’t believe you were planning to walk out,” she countered
He gave her a lopsided grin “Even if I had, I’d already formulated a backup plan”
“Oh?” she inquired “And ould that be?”
“To woo you and make such a pest of ether”
“I realized that long ago,” she said wryly
He looked surprised “Do tell”
Since they were being coured she owed hie crushes”
He chuckled “Now that I find hard to believe”
“Believe it,” she said firht? Why do you think it was so hu for me to have you of all people turn me in to my parents?”
“You were there because you thought I’d be there?” he asked, astonish on his face
She nodded “I figured if I acted grown up, you’d think I was Instead, you hauled me home as if I were a sack of potatoes”
He shook his head “If I’d known you were there for me, I’m not sure I could have resisted you up to now”
Noas her turn to look disbelieving “I thought you did a good job of acting as if I were completely resistible”
“Acting would be the operative word there,” he said dryly “Over the years, it became easy to treat you as if you were just a spoiled little rich girl It s too closely”
“You said so in the kitchen after I had turned the water nozzle on you—”
He set?”
“You referred to ‘what’s always been between us’ I thought you knew about e crush”
“No” He shook his head “I meant the electricity that practically crackles between us whenever we’re in the same room”
She reached out to caress his jaw, tracing the crescent-shaped scar on his chin “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
He sighed but his eyes reer sister of ehter of people who’ve treated me like a son” He paused “There’s a trust there that you don’t betray”
“Sometimes I wish they wouldn’t think of rumbled Yet, she had to respect Connor’s code of honor It was part of why she loved him, she realized
“I know, petunia” He turned his head and kissed her palm “But it’s only because they care”
“I luory with theh-handed overprotectiveness was just a way for you to show you cared”
“Oh, I cared all right” He gave her a quick kiss on the lips “But how did you come to that realization?”
“It was the night in the Berkshires When you were talking about your father and then going back into your old neighborhood to try to make peoples’ lives safer I realized that’s the way you showed you cared By protecting the people and things you loved”
He sive me too much credit, I did use some heavy-handed techniques where you were concerned”
“You don’t say?” she teased “Youthe key to ht in when I told you to get lost?”