“I know what we did that night went against everything you believed. I knew you were giving me a precious gift, that you would never have succumbed to temptation unless you were absolutely certain we were destined for the altar. That’s where I thought we were headed too.”

The warmth of his familiar touch seeped into her cold fingers, bringing with it a cavalcade of sweet, long-buried memories from the golden months this man had been the center of her world.

“Yet you walked away.”

Brackets of tension formed around his mouth. “I didn’t want to. I didn’t plan to. I was working hard to tame the guilt demons that had plagued me since my brother’s spiral into drugs. By the time we spent that night together, I was certain I’d succeeded. In fact, I was planning to propose the next weekend.”

Cate stared at him.

Zeke had come that close to committing to her?

“Yeah. I was ready to pop the question.” He spoke as if he’d read her mind. “But three days later, the DEA offer came along and made me second-guess everything. It reminded me my debt was far from paid—and that giving up a personal life, living in the midst of hell, facing death every day, was what I deserved. If I’d deprived my mom and my brother of a happy ending, I shouldn’t have one either.”

“What about my happy ending?”

Pain ricocheted through his eyes. “I wanted to be your happy ending, Cate. With every fiber of my being. But I felt compelled . . . driven . . . to accept that job. And I couldn’t take you with me. Not to the places I was going.” He shook his head, and the shiny white scar at his temple caught the light. “I assumed you’d eventually move on, meet someone new, get married. With all you have to offer, I still can’t believe men weren’t lining up to date you after I left. That you stayed single.”

How to respond?

Should she be honest . . . or blow off his comment? Close in on herself, take the safe route?

But that’s what Zeke had done eight years ago—and look where that had led.

Perhaps there’d been enough concealment in this relationship. Whatever the future held, why not put as much as possible on the table—especially in light of all Zeke had shared with her?

She took a steadying breath. “After you left, I lost interest in romance—and I didn’t trust my judgment with men anymore.”

His features flexed, as if he was in physical pain. “I’m sorry for that too. And for the guilt I know you’ve carried about that night—just as I have. I should have backed off before it went too far and—”