Page 76 of Theirs to Treasure

That offer is more likely to get me to agree to see him again.

Still not moving away, he twists a lock of my hair around his index finger. “You know I love you.”

My eyes fill with unshed emotion.

“I fell in love with you that first moment at the Bella Rosa. Your innocence, your bravery…”

“Zev, please…”

He gives me a gentle kiss.

“I will always be here for you, my sweet princess.”

How long has it been since he’s called me that? And how desperately I’ve missed it. “I love you,” I confess. And I do.

Stepping back, he closes the door, and he remains where he is, watching until my car is out of sight.

Seeing him may not have been a good idea.

His easy camaraderie and affection have left me more desperately lonely.

The tears have never left my eyes, making my eyes blurry.

Needing a moment to sift through everything Zev has told me, I pull off the road into a restaurant parking lot.

As if he’s sitting next to me, I replay his words. “Protecting you is the only way he knows how to show love.”

In that moment, I’d dismissed what he’d said.

But now…

The truth hits me like a physical blow.

This is so difficult because I’ve fallen in love with Forrest, the hard, unreachable man.

Maybe he’ll give me his devotion, his money, and his time.

But he will never give me the one thing I cannot live without.

His heart.

Sobs wrench from me as I lose the last thing I’d held onto. Hope.

CHAPTERTWENTY

Harper

Though I haven’t wantedto let Zev’s words about Forrest impact me, they do.

I can’t stop thinking about him as a little child and all the things he went through. They tug at my heartstrings and has impacted my ability to sleep.

Though I have empathy, I can’t allow the knowledge to sway my opinions.

I have to have control over my own life, or I’ll end right back here.

“You look like you are a million miles away.”

At the sound of Amelia’s voice, I shake my head and look up from the screen where I was inputting information. “Sorry. I didn’t hear you come in.”

---