Page 119 of Vengeful Union

“Like a teacher’s pet?”

“Something like that.”

She throws her head back and laughs. “Pretty sure I’ve only ever dated class clowns.”

I frown. “Wouldn’t have pegged you as one of those women who likes bad boys.”

She snorts, kicking at a rock on the gazebo. “What makes you say that? I fell in love with you, didn’t I?”

My heart skips a beat at her words, but I don’t let on.

I point to myself. “Nerd. Remember?”

“You’re certainly not a nerdnow,”she argues.

“I guess I’ll go back to being one, now.”

Lara swallows visibly, quickly standing up. “It’s getting a little chilly. Let’s go back inside, maybe take a bath?”

She’s uncharacteristically quiet in the bathtub, just resting against me, her head hanging down, the ends of her hair darkened by the water.

“Everything okay?” I kiss her shoulder.

She mumbles something I can’t hear, and I wrap a hand loosely around her throat, tipping her chin up so she has to look at me.

“I’m fine.”

I just raise an eyebrow at her, and she sighs, shifting around in the bath water to face me.

“This is just... a lot to process.”

“What is?”

“Everything.” She lets a long breath out through her nostrils. “Being kidnapped, nearly being killedtwice. You.”

“Me?”

She nods. “The way I feel about you. It’s different than anything I’ve ever felt.”

“Have you been in love before?”

“I thought I had. Now I’m not so sure.”

I nod. “I don’t think I ever have. I never allowed myself to get close to anyone.”

“My da wouldn’t let me get too close,” she says with a fond smile. “But I know he was just trying to protect me.”

“I can’t blame him. I always wanted to protect Bree in the same way.” I laugh. “Once, when she was fifteen, some kid followed her home from school. She wanted to take him to her room, so I went in there with him. He was gone in fifteen minutes.”

Lara snickers. “Sounds like something Gray would have done to me.”

“Yeah, he seems to be the overprotective one.”

“You noticed?”

“Kind of hard not to.”

Lara nods, pinning her hair up so she won’t get it any wetter.

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