Love me if you dare
Zara said, very quietly, "and expect me to just be okay."
"I'm not expecting anything. I'm just telling you the truth." He looked down at his hands, and when he looked back up, there was something almost helpless in his expression, some crack in the composure she hadn't seen from him before. "For what it's worth — I know I don't deserve the benefit of the doubt right now. But I meant what I said in the library yesterday, before all of this happened. The housing idea. Working with you. None of that was fake, even if the bet was real. I'd like the chance to prove that, if you'll let me."