Page 26 of Ignited Heat

She smiles and starts bouncing on the cushion next to me.

"Yay, is this about when I can move in? Cause I can be packed in one hour, tops."

"Cassie…"

"You…you don't want me here?"

"I'm no good for you."

"Wait. Do you want me here or not?"

"I lead a complicated life."

"Answer my question, Jason."

Her demeanor has changed to a hostile one, and if I thought the rest of the Lee family was a little bit scary, this woman is showing me what scary really looks like.

"I want you here."

"Then why are you pushing me away?"

I stay silent. I'm not about to throw her family under the bus.

"Right.” She nods and frowns. “This has the Lee family all over it. Jason, we're good together. I want to make a life with you. I lo…"

"Don't.” I hold up my hand. “Don't say it. I agree with your family. What could I possibly give you?"

"Well, let's see. Happiness, a comfortable life, passion, love, children."

She keeps counting off on one hand and is about to start on the next.

"Danger, uncertainty, loss," I say.

"Are you still taking jobs as a mercenary?"

"No."

"Have you cut ties with those people?"

"Not completely."

"Are you willing to do it? I mean, you don't need the money anymore, do you?"

"I am willing and I don't need more money, no."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I'm not a good man."

"I think you're the best man I know, besides my father, that is."

"You make it sound so easy."

"It's because once you make the decision, it is. Jason…"

She reaches for my hand again, but instead, I pull her onto my lap, being careful with her cast and my own wound.

"Jason, I've loved you from afar for the longest time, but the time we spent together the past few months, I got to know another side of you, and that's when I realized I had only been infatuated. But now, I'm in love—completely. With you."

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