Page 97 of Trust No One

“The business? Well, yeah, I do. It’s the only thing I want to do. But I want to be more than your business partner. I want to be another kind of partner to you, as well.”

Mel’s heart jolted in her chest. She swallowed hard. “What… what do you mean?”

Dev’s throat worked as if he were gathering the courage to speak. “I love you, Mel. I want another chance with you.”

It sounded as if the words were foreign to him. As if he’d never uttered them before. And he probably hadn’t.

For a long moment, she was so stunned she couldn’t speak. Hope stirred, and she stubbornly squashed it down.

“That’s the adrenaline left over from our confrontation with Kingsley,” she managed to say. “Once you think it through, you’ll regret saying that. Regret asking for something you don’t really want.”

He shook his head before she’d even finished speaking. “You’re wrong, Mel. I do want it. I want everything with you. I love you. I’ve never said that to another woman. And I sure as hell don’t plan on saying it to any other woman in the future.” He reached for her hands, and when she didn’t reach for his, dropped them to his side.

“When you stopped Kingsley from taking that kid, I was so damn proud of you. But I was also terrified. I knew Kingsley would kill you the first chance he got. I saw him inject that syringe into you, and I wondered if you were already dying. It killed me that I hadn’t been able to stop him from shoving that needle into your arm. Killed me that I’d failed you.

“Seeing him dragging you onto that plane, unable to defend yourself, made me realize what I’d lose if you died. I’d lose everything that really mattered to me. And it took that madman shoving a needle into your arm to open my eyes.”

He swallowed hard once. Again. “I love you, Mel. I think I always have, but I refused to acknowledge it. Refused to accept how I felt about you. I told myself I didn’t want to be tied down. Didn’t want to be in love.”

He cleared his throat. Blinked several times.

Mel didn’t want to believe him. Didn’t want to accept what he was saying. Because when he came to his senses and realized that wasn’t how he felt, it would be too devastating. Having everything she wanted handed to her, then snatched away, would destroy her. Shecouldn’tbelieve him.

Swallowing hard, she said, “So why should I believe you now, Dev? Because Kingsley scared the crap out of you? Give yourself a little time and you’ll be back to your usual self. Catting around. Keeping it superficial. Running when anyone says the word ‘love’.”

He shook his head. “You’re wrong, Mel. I know how I feel about you. What I want. And that’s you.”

How could she allow herself to believe him? To take that leap with him? What he was saying was the complete opposite of everything she knew about him. If she allowed herself to believe him, she’d be completely crushed if he left.Whenhe left.

If he meant every word he’d just said, he’d just given her everything she’d ever wanted. But…

The pain she’d felt when he’d rejected her in Kabul would be a tiny scratch compared to the eviscerating agony of having him and losing him again.

How could she take that chance with Dev? With his track record in relationships?

“I’m pretty sure you don’t want what I want, Dev.”

“And what would that be, Mel?”

“I want marriage. To a man who believes in marriage as much as I do. Whowantsit as much as I do. I want a real relationship with my husband.” She took a deep breath. And here was the deal breaker. “And I want kids. Lots of them. I know that’s the last thing you’d want.”

He swallowed. “Define ‘lots of them’.”

Mel lifted her chin. She knew how to freak him out. “Eight or nine.”

“Jesus Mel! You want a whole baseball team of kids?”

“I always wanted more siblings that just Zoe, but it…” She looked away. “It never happened.”

“Maybe we could compromise on two or three kids?”

Mel sucked in a breath. Kids weren’t the deal-breaker. Dev with children tying him down? She didn’t think he’d ever seen himself as a father.

She crossed her arms over her chest. Protecting her heart? Narrowed her eyes at him. “Committing to a dinner date freaks you out. But you’re saying you’ll have three kids with me?”

“We wouldn’t be having them all at once,” he said. “I’ll have time to get used to the idea.” He locked his gaze with hers. “And you wouldn’t want kids right away, anyway. Right? You’d want to make sure we’re solid. That I’ve changed. That I could be a good partner to you.”

She frowned as she studied him. “Where is all this self-awareness coming from?”

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