Page 217 of Fury

She met my gaze in the mirror once more. “I feel like the me I want to be. The me I’ve always wanted to be, but was never usually on the outside—sexy, in charge of myself. Powerful. Bold.”

I gripped her arms. “That’s the Tania I know. This one right here. Very powerful. Very bold.”

“That’s the act I put on for everyone. Or when my back is up against the wall.”

“No.”

“Yes. There’s a part of me that’s still a scared little girl. Scared of the dark, scared of twisty roller coasters, scared without her daddy, scared of bikers wielding knives.”

My chin lifted. “That’s not the Tania I know. No. This Tania is only scared of being alone, of not being enough.”

She bit down on her wobbly lower lip, a tear slipping down her cheek. Her fresh scar visible on her chest.

I pressed into her. “I know. Don’t I know?” My voice a hoarse whisper.

“You know.”

I wiped the tear from her face. “Hadn’t we said no more tears?”

“Tell me you’ve kept to that deal all these years.”

I made a face. “Nope.”

“Didn’t think so. Me neither.”

I sniffed in air. “It’s all right. We’re tough, you and me.”

Tania covered my hand with hers. “I’m glad you’re in my life again, whatever your name is.”

I laughed.

This is what mattered. This.

Tania pressed the side of her face against mine. Her peppery flower scent rose between us, capturing the rush of emotion in my veins like a snapshot.

“I really, really am glad,” she said.

I wouldn’t have made it without you.“Me, too.”

A small smile tugged on the edge of my mouth. “You’re really falling for Butler?”

“Yes,” she breathed, her lips pressing together.

“You’re questioning it? Maybe it’s too soon after your husband, and you need to be on your own for a while?”

“I’ve been on my own for years and years. That’s not what I want.”

Such conviction.

“Then, what is it?” I asked.

“I’m questioning myself. Maybe I don’t have what it takes to go the distance.”

“That’s the fear talking.”

“Says the expert.”

“We’re talking about you now,” I shot back.

---