“Bryce?”

Hearing him say her name made her realize she hadn’t answered his question. “Are you sure you want to win back my heart, Kaegan?”

He brushed his lips across her chin. “My life won’t be complete until I do.”

She bit her lower lip again while thinking about just what winning her back could entail. Catalina Cove was a small town, where some people made it their business to know everything. “If we get back together people are going to talk.”

He pulled back and lifted her chin so she could look into his eyes. “Will that bother you?”

Seeing the intense look in his eyes, she understood why he was asking. “No. Being your girl didn’t bother me and it wouldn’t bother me now, Kaegan. It’s not the talk I’m worried about, but my heart. Your father took joy in spreading the word that you’d dumped me, although he’d kept them guessing as to why.”

“Now those same people will see me busting my ass off to get you back. They’ll realize whatever the reason that tore us apart was me and not you and I’m trying hard to get my act together.”

She didn’t say anything for a minute, knowing more than anything she would like things between them to be like they used to be. No issues with trust. “Okay, Kaegan.”

“Does that mean you understand that I want more from you than spending time in my bed? That I want you back in my life? That in winning you back I intend to make sure you know, that you will always know, that you’re the only woman I want? The only woman I need?”

More than anything, she wanted to believe all that he’d just said. “I want to believe you, Kaegan,” she said, fighting to keep her voice from breaking when emotions tried to consume her.

“Neither of us can change the past, Bryce, although more than anything I wish that I could. I wish there was a rewind button where we could return to that night when I’d come home unexpectedly to surprise you. But we can’t rewind. We can’t go back. All we can do is move forward. Will you let me work hard to earn your love and trust again? Will you give me that chance?”

Bryce drew in a deep breath, no longer able to deny his request. She was taking a chance with him, this man who’d been her best friend, lover, confidant and protector. However, more important, she was taking a chance with her heart. “Yes, I’ll give that to you.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

KAEGAN GLANCED UP at the man who walked into his office. Brody Dorsett had graduated from Catalina Cove High School the same year he had. Brody, who was parts French, African and Spanish, had also been born and raised in the bayou. His ancestors had been known as Bayou Creoles. Like others, Brody had left the cove to go to college and had taken a job elsewhere. He’d lived in Memphis, where he’d been a fire captain for a number of years.