Luke frowned. “He tried to blackmail you with a custody fight?”

“Without me, the company would have folded before it went public.”

Luke held her gaze. “It must have been really frustrating, disappointing, and heartbreaking to be used like that. And then he threatened you on top of it.”

“Sean didn’t care how he got what he wanted or how I felt about it. In the end, there was no love, if there ever was any, or kindness left between us. I was just a means to an end. The boys just pawns in his games.”

“Life hasn’t been kind to you.”

“But you are. The gift you gave me . . . It’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”

Luke cupped her face. “You gave me something I never thought I’d have and believe it was real.”

She tilted her head and stared up at him. “What?”

“You might not remember, but you told me you love me.”

A wave of understanding overlapped her initial shock. She couldn’t believe she’d blurted out such a thing. And the reality of how much she loved him hit her right in the heart.

She and Luke may have lived very different lives, but they wanted the same things. Love and family.

He kissed her softly, then ended the sweet, tempting kiss too soon and pressed his forehead to hers. “Say it again. Please.” All his need filled that plea and she couldn’t deny him something he’d always wanted and seemed happy to finally have.

“It’s true.” Her heart simply couldn’t deny it, even if at one time she’d thought herself in love with another. But that had been nothing but lies and manipulations. In the end, she realized that she’d never loved Sean, because she never knew who he really was until it was too late. She loved the dream of them. Reality shattered that.

But Luke was real. What she felt for him made that dream come to life in her mind in a new and real way that gave her hope, because Luke wouldn’t promise something he didn’t mean.

So she looked him in the eye, took a chance, and laid her heart on the line. “I love you.”

His eyes went bright with a joy that lit up her heart.

“Good, because I’m so in love with you.” The words held an honesty only Luke could make her believe.

A huge grin spread across his face. “You know, sleeping next to you and not being able to touch you has driven me past the point of my endurance.”

Yet he didn’t make a move.

The building anticipation made her desperate to touch him. “I wish I remembered sleeping next to you.” She wanted to feel his big body pressed to hers.

His fingers slipped to the back of her neck and he pulled her a little closer so their breaths mingled and she saw all the desire blazing in his eyes. “Is that all you wish we’d done?” One finger swept up her neck, sending a shiver down her spine.