Free Evidence of Marriage by Ann Voss Peterson Page B

thing.”
    â€œSylvie didn’t feel that way. Bryce didn’t feel that way. If they had, we’d all be dead.”
    â€œYou’re being too hard on yourself.”
    â€œI’m being realistic. I’m not hiding from the truth anymore.” She forced her mind closed, shutting out the sensation of his fingers on her skin. “My adoptive father dictated how I should feel, how I should think.”
    â€œEd Gale was an abusive ass. I never dictated anything.”
    â€œNo. You didn’t. You rescued me. You fixed things for me. You took care of me.”
    â€œAnd how is that bad? That’s how a man should treat the woman he loves.”
    Loves. Not loved. As if she had to wonder how he still felt about her. Or at least, how he felt about his idea of her.
    â€œI have to learn to rescue myself. I have to take care of myself.” That wasn’t quite right. She tried again, groping through her mind for an emotion just out of her grasp. “No, I have to feel like there’s a me inside worth rescuing. A me that isn’t dictated by my need to please others. A core me. I know this makes no sense to you. You’ve always known who you are. It doesn’t even make sense to me, really. But if I ever face a tough situation again, I need something to draw on. Something inside me. I need to know I can pull myself through.”
    Darkness seeped into his eyes. Tension pulled his lips into a scowl.
    Her throat ached. She was doing a horrible job of explaining, but she didn’t know a way to make her feelings more clear. If only he could understand how she wanted to kiss that scowl away, curl up in his arms and forget all the questions and insecurities and shadowy emotions ripping her apart. Hewas the only man she’d ever wanted, the only man she’d ever loved. But she knew in every fiber of her being that for her, he was the wrong man. “You’ll always take care of me, Reed. It’s who you are. And as long as I’m with you, I’ll never learn to rely on myself. I’ll never really know who I am.”
    She turned away, toward the window. The drapes’ multiple colors blurred through burgeoning tears. Tilting her head back, she opened her eyes wide and tried to will them back. She wouldn’t let herself cry. She couldn’t. She’d already poured out too much.
    â€œOkay.” His voice cut her thoughts like a laser.
    â€œOkay?”
    â€œWhat can I do to help?”
    Swallowing into an aching throat, she turned back to face him, trying to read those shadowed eyes.
    â€œI meant what I said about not losing you to Kane. I’m not going to stay away from you. But if I can do anything short of that…”
    The breath she pulled into her lungs seared all the way to her toes. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected him to say, to do. But she hadn’t expected this. “Thank you.”
    He raked a hand through his hair before dropping it to his side. He looked around the room, as if he didn’t know what to do next, as if he didn’t even recognize where he was. “You’re going tohave to help me here. You’re going to have to tell me what you need.”
    She willed her voice to function. “You can let me do more than make coffee. Let me help with the investigation. At least as much as I’m able.”
    He nodded.
    â€œYou can stop shielding me from unpleasant things. I need to know what we’re up against.”
    â€œOkay.”
    â€œAnd you can stop worrying about me.”
    â€œI can’t promise you that.”
    â€œMaybe that’s a little too much to ask.” She gave him a half smile. “But have some faith in me, okay?”
    He stepped toward her. The light from the lamp illuminated his face, showing eyes dark with emotion, with sincerity. “That’s something I can promise.”
    Diana’s vision blurred once again. Those words shouldn’t mean so much