chapter 23

“I want you,” he whispers, his voice low with feeling now. “I want this family. Once I realized you were single, available… I was consumed with feelings, Manila. I love you.”

I blink hard, a solid lump tightening in my throat.

“But I was scared to tell you, afraid that you would hate me. For hiring you for false reasons, for keeping this from you. I thought you wouldn’t understand.”

“Cassius. Stop.” I tilt my head forward to rest my forehead against his, our eyes still locked. “Of course I understand. I love you, too.”

“I want everything, Manila. You, the twins, a life together.” He closes his eyes again, a crease of pain crossing his forehead. “I can’t have more children. I’m infertile now. If you want someone who can, if you want a man who can give you more, I understand. But I won’t ever give up on wanting you, and my children. You must accept that.”

I pull him into a kiss before he can say anything else so stupid or insane. The kiss sears through me, the kind of kiss I feel all th