Tears were running down my cheeks by that point. Tears of joy, of disbelief. Though maybe I shouldn’t have been shocked. Rowan hadn’t hidden his feelings from me. Had repeatedly made it clear how much I meant to him, had told me how long he’d liked me. But hearing it out loud… on top of the drugs, the pain and the overall drama of the situation, I couldn’t help the waterworks.

Rowan wiped my tears away with his thumb, not waiting for me to say the three words back. “Gonna need you to make me a promise, though.”

“Anything.”

“Need you to promise you’re not gonna hide pain from me. Even if you don’t think it’s real.”

I bit my lip. That was a hard promise to make. Not just because that would mean exposing a very vulnerable, soft part of me to the strongest man I knew, but also because it took me to a dangerous place.

I’d never looked for sympathy, empathy or attention from anyone when it came to this part of me. Not even my friends. Not even Ansel. Because when I used to talk about feeling sick, worried or weak, my mother would shame me. She would make me feel small and pathetic, and that was a feeling I promised myself I would never experience again.

“See those wheels spinnin’ in that head of yours,” Rowan murmured with a frown. “I’m guessin’ you’ve done the worrying for the whole household, taken care of everyone, all your life.”

I pursed my lips, unable to argue with him. I was the one who’d figured out how to cook, how to wash our clothes, how to patch up my brother’s skinned knees, how to treat fevers and colds.

“Yeah,” Rowan sighed, taking my silence for the agreement that it was. “Even now you take care of everyone else around you. You’re always cookin’ for them, feedin’ them. Stoppin’ on the side of the road and literally putting yourself in harm’s way for them.”

His jaw ticked with what I guessed was the memory of Ronnie almost hurting me.

“You take care of everyone but have never had anyone to take care of you.” His lips brushed my fingers again. “Now, cupcake, I’m gonna brace for a comment on feminism after I say this, but I’m gonna say it anyway. You’ve got me. You’re my woman. I’m gonna take care of you. You can relax your grip on the reins, baby. You can trust that I’m not gonna let you go off course.”

He was right… Part of me did want to argue with him. Not the feminist part, though. The other part, the part that had only ever relied on one person: my brother, despite the demons he was still battling to this day. The part that had been let down by everyone who was supposed to take care of her. That part found it hard to trust Rowan. Even though Rowan hadn’t let me down. Not once.