Not the Marrying Kind(57)

He wished.

“I could handle us when we had an end date in mind and it was all about the sex, but then we had to go and complicate it with stupid emotions and it all got too hard and I said those horrible things to you and—”

“Ssh…” He placed a finger against her lips. “Do you love me?”

He held his breath, waiting for a response. What seemed like an eternity later, she nodded and all the air whooshed out of his lungs. “Then we can work out the rest.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, as if in pain. “What if love’s not enough?”

“It’ll have to be.”

Her eyelids snapped open to pin him with a doubting glare. “Every relationship I’ve ever known has been dysfunctional. My folks loved each other, too damn much, and at the expense of their kids. My sis loved her hubby and that didn’t stop their relationship from imploding. Hell, even Ashlee just broke up with her fiancé. I don’t trust love.”

He cupped her face with his hands. “Do you trust me?”

“I–I–don’t know.”

He didn’t release her, leaving her nowhere to look but at him. “I didn’t leak your identity to Stan. Lou did that accidentally. I’d never betray you like that.”

“I’m sorry.” Tears filled her eyes again.

“Hey, I’m scared, too. Love sucked until I met you.” His gaze landed on the piece of paper that had fallen from his fingers and tumbled onto her desk. “But you changed everything for me. How I view myself. How I handle emotions. And if you don’t believe me, maybe this’ll convince you.”

He handed her the document, waited impatiently as she unfolded it and read.

Her mouth opened and closed before she finally stared at him in wide-eyed shock. “Is this—it can’t be—”

“It is. Equal partnership in Divorce Diva Daily. Whatever financial backing Sara needs, she has it. Lou already approached your sister and she’s all for it.”

That sneak Sara. So that explained her smirk when she’d told her the truth.

“But what about your deal—”

“I told Stan the deal’s off.”

This time her mouth dropped open and stayed that way.

“I’ve spent my life busting my balls trying to prove to everyone what a big guy I was. Rich. Powerful. Holding all the cards. I wanted to lord it over those people from my past who thought I was worth less than the dirt on my shoes. But you know something?” He tapped his chest. “What you made me feel in here? That’s all the recognition I need.”

To his shock his eyes misted over and he blinked. “You made me feel, Poppy. You. With your exuberance and smiles and love. And I want to spend the rest of my life making sure you know how much I love you back.”

This time when she burst into tears, he didn’t hug her.

He kissed her until she smiled against his mouth.

Good.

Because he intended on making her smile for the rest of her life.