Page 59 of Wicked Obsession

Fisting her hands was a reflex, but it didn’t help her tamp down her anger. She didn’t try to modulate her tone.“Good times?”

This smile was more genuine. “That plan didn’t last long. I got in over my head with you pretty quick and I didn’t want to move on, but I was sure you wouldn’t feel the same way. That sooner or later you’d realize I wasn’t good enough for you and you’d end it. So I did things I thought would limit the damage when you dumped me.”

“Like making sure I didn’t get to know your friends. And refusing to meet mine.”

He nodded. “I tried to keep our lives as separate as possible. It was a stupid plan and it didn’t work worth shit. Losing you hurt like hell on fire and it didn’t matter that you hadn’t hung out with my friends.” Ryder’s hand covered hers, his fingers curling around hers. He cleared his throat, but his voice was thick when he said, “I love you, Langley.I’ve been in love with you for a while and was too stupid to see it.”

Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times before it occurred to her that she had no idea what to say. She could tell Ryder she loved him, too, but the things he had problems with weren’t going to disappear. “And what about my background? That won’t change, and I don’t intend to pretend my trust fund doesn’t exist. If you begin to resent the money or my education, any relationship between us is doomed.”

“Do you believe that I love you?”

She didn’t have to consider it long. Ryder wouldn’t say it if it weren’t true, and Langley had been confident about his feelings for her until she’d thought about his reluctance to include her in his life. That had raised doubts. “Yes, I believe that.”

Ryder nodded. “Do you love me?”

“That’s beside the point.”

“No, it isn’t. How we feel is the whole point. Do you love me?”

The badgering was annoying, especially when he was ignoring her concerns, and she huffed out a long breath before snapping. “Of course, I love you. Only an idiot wouldn’t know that I’ve been in love with you for months.” More months than she was going to admit.

His smile was slow, sweet, and so smugly satisfiedthat she scowled at him. Ryder’s hand stroked hers, soothing the sharp edges of her irritation.

“You have no reason to believe this, not given how I’ve treated you, but your money, the differences in our families, upbringings, and educations aren’t going to be issues between us. I promise you that.”

“You might feel that way right now when the memory of my being wounded is fresh in your brain, but what about five years from now? What about when I spend money on something you think is frivolous or too expensive? What if I want to take you to Europe on a vacation and stay at a luxury hotel? I don’t want to worry about you becoming angry every time I shop.”

“What about you? Can you handle my being gone for months at a time and not being able to tell you anything about where I was or what kind of mission the team was on?”

“I grew up the daughter of a diplomat. I’m used to secrecy, to not knowing what’s happening. Would I rather you were home and not out on dangerous missions? Of course, but I knew you were Special Forces when I started dating you and I wouldn’t ask you to give that up.”

“Then we’re set.”

“Oh, no, we’re not.” Her temper frayed at his complete disregard for her concerns. She tried to rein it in, but then decided not to bother. Hewanted her to tell him to go to hell when she was angry with him, well, she was beyond angry. “I’ve addressed what you were worried about, but you’ve completely ignored my concerns. Why do you think you can brush aside my fears as if they’re nothing?”

“I haven’t brushed anything aside.”

“Bullshit.” He looked shocked. “Yes, I said bullshit. Basically, what you said to me was don’t worry your pretty little head over it, and that is complete and utter rubbish. I have more cause for my misgivings than you do for yours. I’ve already dealt admirably with you going on missions and telling me nothing. The same can’t be said about your reactions.”

His hand tightened over hers. “Yeah, okay, you’re right. Maybe it’s because there’s nothing I can say to prove my change of heart. You think that I’ll forget the moment of clarity I had when I understood how unimportant the differences between us are, but you don’t grasp how hard the realization hit me.”

She opened her mouth, but Ryder shook his head.

“Let me finish. I asked myself what if you had grown up in another blue-collar family, had worked your way through college, and gotten a high-powered job where you earned the kind of income your trust fund gives you? Would it be aproblem for me? The answer was no. That doesn’t mean we won’t ever argue about money, but I won’t resent the fact that you have it or that you’ll spend it. Yeah, I will balk when you want me to accept you paying our way on expensive vacations or buying me shit because I don’t want you to ever believe that I’m taking advantage of you. I don’t want your damn money, I want you. I loveyou.”

“I know you don’t want my money.” That had never been in question.

Ryder took a deep breath and eased back on his intensity. “When I think about my future, I see you with me. I see us married, going through life as a team, laughing, arguing, making up, making love, making babies. I want everything with you, Langley. Only you, forever you.”

Tears welled and her heart filled her chest, but Langley couldn’t quite make the leap into the abyss.

“I know,” he said quietly. “This is my fault. Let me ask you this—if I hadn’t messed up on the drive to the airport, if I’d agreed to one of your invitations would you have these doubts?”

Would she? “Probably not.”

With a nod, Ryder said, “It was one mistake.”

“At the cabin—”

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