Lydia shook her head. “It would be completely different, Dylan. I'm not financially helpless. I can provide for myself. I don't need you to support me and I don't need a pension.”
“I realize that now,” he replied. “It took me a while. Your independence looks really good to me. But… Lydia, you do understand what I'm saying here, right?”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “At this point, all you've said—or almost said—is that there's attraction between us that has a romantic element to it.”
He grinned, but with only a trace of humor. “Not going to take it easy on me, are you?”
“No,” she replied, leveling him with a terrifyingly neutral expression. “You haven't taken it easy on me. For years you've snared me with hope and longing looks. You captured my heart and wouldn't let it go, but you wou
