He was in so much pain. And I had fussed at him and walked away. I felt like utter s**t. Not just for the events of the morning, but because he had been the one to stand by me through everything since arriving in Belfast. He warned me about Ronan, saved me on multiple occasions, cleaned my wounds, handed over his car when I needed a vehicle, spent his evenings teaching me to fight, and when his eyes landed on me the smoldering intensity made me feel like the most desirable woman in the world. God, I wanted him. I gasped as realization hit me—he was the best part of my life and I was letting him slip away. Like the scared little girl he had accused me of being, I had used his past exploits and what had happened with Ronan as excuses to push him away without ever giving him a chance to prove
