“I so was.”

He gave me a squeeze. “In all their years together, how many signs do you think Lowe gave his wife?”

“I know, but—” I tried to cut in.

I failed.

“I never met her,” Merry spoke over me. “But every word said about her was that she was nice, people liked her, and no one said she was dumb. Men like him, it’s part of the sickness, sweetheart, finding the skills to hide he’s sick. He needed something from you and he turned on the charm to get it, by that time having had years to hone his skills at manipulating things to get what he wanted to feed the sick at the same time hide it. He played you, Cher. That’s all he did. The reasons why were worse than the usual player who uses those skills to get you in bed or a con man who does the same to orchestrate his score. But in the end, that’s all it was. And you are far from the first person, woman or man, mother or not, who trusted someone enough to get played.”

I was staring at him again because something about the way he laid that out felt like a knot was being untied inside me. It had been tied together to hold back something important, something crucial, and whatever that was, it finally was let loose.

Or maybe it was that and freaking out on him, attacking him, and dissolving into a sobbing mess in his arms.

Whatever…that knot loosened, that thing inside me untied, it loosened something else.

My mouth.

Thus, I blurted, “I love you.”

“No shit?”

I didn’t stare at that.

I blinked.

Then I asked, “I say, ‘I love you,’ and you say, ‘no shit?’”

“Babe, had my head in my ass, bein’ my own brand of stupid, so I didn’t see it. But when I looked back, I saw it.” His lips quirked. “So yeah. No shit. Seein’ as you been in love with me a long time.”

Oh fuck.

He’d figured that out.

“I have not,” I lied.

“Liar,” he called me on it.

I started to push away.

His arms got tighter.

“Cherie, I love you too.”

He sounded like he was struggling not only against me pulling away but also laughter.

Regardless of the fact that I totally…fucking…loved hearing those words directed at me from Garrett “Merry” Merrick’s beautiful mouth, I was me.

So I stopped pushing and glared at him. “I know. You shared that when you had me pinned against the wall.”

“Honey, you drew blood and nearly got me in the balls…twice. It was either pin you or let you have at it and then go to the emergency room.”

I felt my eyes get big. “I drew blood?”

“Back,” he grunted. “Nails. It’s nothing.”

I stretched to try and see his back. “Let me see.”

“It’s nothing.”

I glared at him again. “Let me see, Merry.”

“Not right now. Later. Now, one thing we gotta get straight—”