Becca hiccupped. Dean had just told her he loved her, and for the life of her, she couldn’t find the words to respond. She stood frozen, stunned beyond anything she could have imagined. Of all the things he could’ve said, this was the last she expected—and the way he said it, the rawness in his voice, shook her to the core.
It wasn’t just empty words. He meant it. She could feel it. He loved her. Not the version of her carrying her sister’s core, not the woman chosen by fate. He loved Becca. The broken, vengeful woman who had no intention of staying.
But love wasn’t something she had space for. It wasn’t part of the plan she’d clung to with every ounce of her being. She hadn’t come this far just to fall for someone else, not even someone like Dean.
Her heart was still wounded. She might
