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“Speaking of… Want to join me?” he asked with a smoky laugh.

I peeked at him through my fingers. “I was hoping to have an important conversation with you.”

Through my obscured vision, I thought he crossed his arms, naked and proud, certain parts of his anatomy standing at full attention. “I find important conversations are easier when you’re clean and relaxed.”

With a laugh, I gave up the pretense of hiding. My arms dropped to my sides, and I met his smiling eyes. “You’re in an awfully good mood for this…situation.”

He hummed. “That’s because I think I might have won this…situation.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yep.” He backed into the bathroom and flipped on the shower. “How’s it feel to be the first loser?”

I took a few steps toward him. “You don’t even know what I came here to say.”

“Yes, I do. I don’t need to hear the words. Take off your clothes.”

I laughed again, this time in disbelief. “Maybe I came to tell you I decided to move to Wyoming and become a horse farmer.”

He shrugged. “Move if you want. Doesn’t matter where you go. I’ll always find you.”

My jaw dropped. “If you were anyone else, that would sound really creepy.”

His eyes cut to mine as he tested the temperature of the water. “But I’m not anyone else, am I? I’m me, and you’re you, and you know just as well as I do that we belong to each other. So you can play like you didn’t come here to tell me you were wrong, but we both know that’s not true.”

At that intense look on his face, so familiar, my breath left in a big whoosh.

He prowled toward me, eyes alight. “I already knew you were wrong, so I don’t need the words. Apology accepted. Take off your clothes.”

My throat went dry. “It’s really hard to concentrate when you’re so…naked.”

“It would be easier if you were naked, too.”

I highly doubted that. “I really want to say this. I need you to hear it.”

He paused a moment and lifted a hand in invitation. “Then say it, honey. I’m more than happy to listen to you grovel.”

Glowering, I allowed myself one slow inhale, then locked my gaze on his eyes, refusing to stray downward. “Your father really got to me, Cam. Every self-recriminating thought I’d ever had was magnified by his words. I wanted to believe you when you said I was worth it all, but it was so hard to see how someone like you could ever want someone like me. I’m going to work on my self-esteem. I’ll…go to therapy and tape motivational posters to my bathroom mirror or whatever.”

A smile flickered on his face as he narrowed more of the distance between us.

“The point,” I said, “is that I was wrong. Above all things, you deserve to have what you want without me telling you whether it’s the right thing to want. I’m sorry I acted like such a know-it-all when I clearly have so much more I need to learn.”

Close enough to touch, he caressed my cheek. “The know-it-all thing is pretty on brand for you.”

I leaned into his hand, chuckling softly. “I love you. I have always loved you. And if you’d see fit to forgive me, I’ll do my best never to hurt you again.”

Silvery-blue eyes stared deep into mine, and a faint smile shifted the angles of his face. He cupped my neck, using his thumbs to angle my chin up toward him. His head dipped, and he placed the briefest kiss against my lips, lingering for a moment to say, “Take off your clothes.”

I laughed. “I just laid my heart out for you. That’s all you have to say?”

“I’ve given you a lot of pretty speeches lately, haven’t I?”

I huffed.

“And I’ve been very patient with your silly notions of who deserves what, yes?”

“Patient?” I demanded. “You practically launched a full-scale assault on me in the form of your mother.”