Page 68 of Bachelor Cop Finally Caught? (Hot off the Press! 2)

“No. To be honest, I was relieved. I told myself I just wasn’t ready for fatherhood. Truth was, I wasn’t eager to have a child with Melanie. I never was.”

Lindsey drew a deep breath. “I’m sorry things went so badly between you and Melanie. But I still don’t appreciate you comparing me to her. I had no intention of trapping you into marriage. And I would never have betrayed you the way she did.”

“I’ve never compared you to Melanie. I just didn’t want to get involved in another relationship for the wrong reasons.”

It hurt to hear him say that. To hide her emotions, she walked to the water’s edge and idly picked up a small, flat stone. “Because you think I’m merely infatuated with you?”

“It seemed like a distinct possibility to me. And I wasn’t the only one who worried about that,” he added a bit defensively.

She let the stone go, watching it skip four or five times across the surface of the water before it finally sank. “You could have discussed your concerns with me. Or you could have trusted me to know my own mind.”

“There was just too much at stake this time.”

“Because I’m B.J.’s sister. Too many connections. And you were probably feeling protective toward me. Afraid I would be hurt.”

“All of that is true,” he conceded. “But mostly I was afraid the infatuation would wear off. That I would be hurt. Because I never mistook my own feelings for infatuation.”

Her fingers closed tightly around another small stone. “What did you feel for me?”

“The same thing I feel now. I love you.”

The stone fell from her suddenly limp hand, landing with a soft plop in the water at her toes. “Like a little sister?”

“I haven’t thought of you as a little sister since the first time I kissed you. Probably for some time before that. I just wouldn’t admit it—not even to myself.”

She blinked rapidly in a futile attempt to hold back a wave of tears. “Then you love me?”

Though she wasn’t looking at him, she heard him swallow before answering, “Yes.”

She turned then, finding him watching her with an anxious expression that twisted her heart. “How can you love me when you don’t trust me?”

“I would trust you with my life,” he answered firmly. “But I was afraid to trust you with my heart. It took me a while to get past that cowardice. But I’ve done a lot of thinking, and I know what I want now. More than anything I’ve ever wanted.”

“You aren’t afraid now?”

“Maybe a little,” he admitted. “But I’m willing to take the risk—if you still are.”

“What…?” she had to stop to clear her throat. “What made you change your mind?”

“I missed you too much to risk losing you forever,” he answered simply. “I haven’t been able to sleep since you’ve been gone. I couldn’t eat. Damn it, I couldn’t even work.”

That made her eyebrows rise. “That’s a shock.”

“It was to my staff, too,” he admitted with just the faintest touch of wry humor. His half smile faded almost as soon as it appeared. “When you left me, you told me you were over me. I can’t blame you for being mad at me. I was a dumb jerk, and I hurt you badly by treating you so insensitively. All I’m asking is a chance to win you back. I’d like to take you out on dates. In public. I want to court you the way I should have from the beginning. Will you give me that chance, Lindsey?”

Her breath caught in her throat, temporarily preventing her from answering.

He took a step toward her. “I’m prepared to beg, if necessary.”

That loosened her voice. “No, please don’t do that. I’m trying very hard not to cry.”

He frowned. “Is that good or bad?”

She swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I hate to cry. It makes my face all red and splotchy.”

“You’d still be beautiful to me,” he assured her.

A watery giggle escaped her. “Okay, don’t overdo the courtship stuff. All I wanted from you was your trust, not a bunch of flowery compliments.”

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