Page 64 of It Must Be Love

"Are you?" she asked meekly.

I wanted to scream at her, the rage inside me profound. Since I'd seen what happened to her, my emotions were all over the place.

"Is that what you think?" I challenged, still angry.

She cast her eyes down.

"I don't like confrontations," she had told me, and here I was goading her. She had no reason to trust me, believe in me. We didn't know each other; we were just finding one another, and I wanted a full pardon and then some for how I'd treated her in the past. I was a selfish asshole.

"Baby, I'd never do that to any woman ever. It's not who I am." I cupped her cheek and lifted her face. Her eyes were watery, and I hated myself. "I care about you. I really do. I'll never hurt you on purpose. I promise you that. Never again."

She just kept looking at me, her lips trembling.

"Can you believe me?"

She shook her head almost imperceptibly.

"I understand." I wanted to hit something hard. With my callousness, I'd damaged a wonderful and kind woman to the point that she had no trust left in people. Her brother, her sister-in-law, Ann…so many people hadn't helped either, so many people who should have. "I'll earn your trust."

Now, she looked surprised.

"I'll show you that you can trust me. It'll take some time, but I won't let you down. Okay?"

She looked just about as steady as a newborn foal trying to find its feet.

"What do you want from me?" she asked in a small voice.

I smiled. Fuck, she was something else.

"I want you to be you."

"What does that mean?"

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do with me. You don't have to say anything you don't want to say. You wear what the fuck you feel like. Eat what you want. Talk to me about anything or nothing. You're the boss."

She chuckled then and sniffled. "Can you ever not be the boss?"

I brought her closer, and she automatically cuddled into me.

"I know I'm an arrogant asshole. I don't know if that will ever change but what I can tell you is that I'm going to work very hard at being a better person for you."

"Why?"

"Because you make me want to be someone you trust."

Someone you can fall in love with.

Whoa!! What the fuck?

Chapter 23

Naya

Christmas Day dawned with a hush over Boston, a blanket of snow lending an almost magical stillness to the world outside my window.

Amias didn't stay the night, but he came back the next morning with scones and coffee. He kissed me as soon as he saw me, one of those "hi, baby, how are you," good morning kisses that no one ever had given me. It was casual. I was completely confused, and Amias knew it.

"I told you I was coming back in the morning." He found plates and set them on my dining table, getting pretty comfortable in my house after one evening spent here.