Page 78 of Desperate Measures

A small spark of hope flickered to life inside me the second she’d uttered those three words.

I love you.

I hardly recognized it at first. It was subtle. Barely a whisper of possibility.

But it spread quickly, warming the cold, guarded places I’d long kept locked away.

I never expected to hear anything like that, never dared to even hope for it, yet here it was.

An unexpected gift.

A fragile promise.

For a moment, I just stood there, the weight of those words pressing against my chest. It was too much to bear, and I had to do something.

So, yeah, maybe murder was a fucked up reaction to a confession of love. But that was me.

And another reason why I knew I was no good for her.

How could three tiny words be so powerful?

But it wasn’t just the words. Other women had said them, and I didn’t so much as flinch.

It was the fact they came from her that had me reeling.

She was everything I ever wanted. I tried to deny my feelings for her, but if Michaela was brave enough to say she loved me, I should have no problem telling her how I felt.

Was it love?

It had to be. I wasn’t sure since I didn’t exactly have a lot of experience with that particular emotion.

But what I felt was powerful.

I never thought I deserved it. Never imagined it would be mine to claim. That she would be mine.

But as I sat there stewing in the quiet aftermath of her words and my thoughts, I realized it was the only thing that made sense.

“I fucking love her,” I said aloud.

“Oh, uh, you good, bro?”

Connor Callahan was looking at me like I had three heads, and I rubbed a hand over my face.

I forgot I was in a meeting.

“Yeah, fine. Go ahead and give me the update,” I said, pretending to listen as the man droned on about the new security software he installed.

I love her.

I knew this marriage was more than a simple merger, but I’d lived so long in the shadows of my own doubts, convincing myself that love was a luxury I couldn’t afford.

But now, it was right there. Mine for the taking. But instead of telling her, I was sitting in my fucking office.

My phone buzzed, and I glanced down. Frowning, I read the informal text.

Sweetheart

Liam, I am not sure if you remembered, but tonight is my Uncle Josef’s Christmas party. I forwarded the invitation to you a few days ago, but you haven’t responded, and you’ve not been available to talk. So, I’m just texting to let you know I am on my way there now and will be spending the night. -Michaela.

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