Page 93 of Omega's Refuge

His sincerity washed over me and guilt nudged me. “But what if you’re lying?”

His arms tightened. “I’m not lying,” he whispered against my ear. “I’m not letting you blow up what we have with each other because of some lie Vance told you. You’re just scared. It’s okay, Tanner.”

I mumbled, “You feel sorry for me, don’t you?”

“Hell, no.” He laughed gruffly. “I don’t feel sorry for you at all.”

I frowned. “If you didn’t change your mind about being with me, why’d you say you let me down earlier?”

He sighed. “Because I wanted to spend our first night in our new placetogether, but I couldn’t get away from the guests any sooner. I felt like I let you down. You had to spend the whole evening alone. But I swear I wasn’t with Vance. I have no interest in Vance, not romantically or any other way.”

Could that be true? My heart ached because I wanted it to be. I wanted Rex to be the man I believed he was. “If… if Vance isn’t special to you, why do you have a photo of you two mixed in with your family photos?”

He hesitated. “I have a photo of me and Vance?”

“Yes. In your little box thing,” I mumbled.

He sat up on his elbow. “If there’s a photo of Vance and me, I don’t know how it got in that box. When I was grabbing my stuff from my cabin Itossed a stack of photos in there. Maybe that’s how it got in the box? But to be honest, I don’t remember even having a photo of me and Vance together.”

“Well, it’s there,” I grumbled. “I saw it with my own eyes. You looked awful cozy too.”

He grunted. “I’m happy to toss it or burn it. It means nothing to me, Tanner.”

I turned my head, giving him a suspicious glance. “And I’m supposed to just believe that?”

“I would hope so.” He frowned. “I’m telling the truth. I swear I don’t give a damn about Vance or that photo.”

He sounded so vehement, it was hard not to believe him. I rolled over to face him. “Youpromise?”

“Of course.” He grimaced. “Do you want me to go tear it up right now? Shall I get the aim and flame? I will. Just give me the word, and it’ll go up in smoke.” He started to move away off the bed. “I’m going to go get that photo right now and burn it right in front of you.”

I grabbed his arm, laughing gruffly. “There’s no need to do that.”

He sat back down on the edge of the bed, studying me. “There is if you don’t believe me. I swear that photo means nothing to me.Vancemeans nothing to me.” He swallowed hard. “But you do, Tanner. You mean plenty, and it hurts that you don’t know that.”

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I’m just scared to trust anyone.”

Empathy shifted through his gaze. “Yeah.” He reached out and touched my cheek. “I’msorry. I should be more understanding.”

I winced, feeling sheepish. “No, you’ve been plenty understanding. I… I overreacted because Vance got under my skin.”

He scowled. “He had no right to interfere. I promise you, I was never serious about him. I never told him we had a future.” He lifted one shoulder. “We were just… convenient for each other.”

I clenched my jaw, disliking the idea of them beingconvenientfor each other. It brought up images I preferred not to have in my mind. “This situation is bringing out all my insecurities,” I admitted.

"You don’t need to feel insecure. I’m happy about claiming you and helping raise the baby. This isn’t just me doing you a favor, Tanner. We’re both giving each other what we want and need. There’s no reason to doubt that.”

His blue eyes were so earnest, it was impossible not to believe him. A sense of relief rippled through me as I realized I’d been tricked by Vance, not Rex. Rex was exactly who I’d thought he was.

“Are you still upset?” he asked.

“No. I can’t help feeling paranoid after what Steve did. That’s why Vance got under my skin. But I… I should have trusted you, not him.”

“You been through a lot. I understand.”

I was relieved he wasn’t holding a grudge, and I patted the bed next to me. “Come closer.”

“You sure? I can sleep on the couch if you want.”

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