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Shaking my head, I press my hand to his cheek. “No. It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It just was and yeah, it sucked but the only person we can blame is already rotting away in a jail cell.”

“Or dead,” he adds and I cock my head to the side as I scowl at him.

“Huh?”

“Your aunt, baby. She was a cold ass woman and she never did anything to help you deal with what had happened to you.”

“Don’t blame her. She was damn near fifty when she took me in and she never wanted children so to have me forced on her just sucked.”

He clenches his teeth and his body tenses underneath me. “No. You were just a kid and had a horrible thing happen to you. You didn’t deserve her apathy.”

“Wyatt, it could have been so much worse. Besides my parents dying, I was incredibly lucky that I didn’t end up with someone who wanted to hurt me more. Do you know what could have happened to me?”

“Of course, I do,” he growls. “But that still doesn’t make it okay. She barely even paid attention to you. Do you remember that time we both snuck out and slept in the treehouse? My parents were fucking frantic and Aunt Myra didn’t even realize you were gone.”

“It could have been worse,” I repeat. It’s the same thing I tell myself every time I think about what happened after that awful night. I got lucky with Aunt Myra.

“Whatever. I’m just glad my parents took you in after she died.” I shudder as the memory of coming home from school and finding my Aunt Myra dead on the floor from a heart attack fills my mind. Shaking my head, I try to clear the image from my mind as I meet his eyes.

“I got lucky then, too.”

He fights a smile as he shakes his head. “Naw, baby. That wasn’t luck. That was me begging my parents for days and promising them everything under the sun if they would let you come live with us.”

“What?” I ask, my jaw dropping in shock. “You did that for me? Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“I made them promise they wouldn’t tell you because I wanted you to feel wanted. I wanted you to know that you were loved.”

“Baby,” I breathe, a smile stretching across my face as I lean down and press my lips to his. How in the hell did I get lucky enough to find this man not only once but twice? Pulling back, I flash him the biggest smile. “I love you.”

He wraps his arms around me again and steals another quick kiss before releasing me to lean back on his hands. “I love you, too, Pip. Speaking of which…”

“Yes?” I ask as I arch a brow. He sucks in a breath and my belly flips as I try to figure out what he’s going to say. It has to be big to put that nervous look in his eyes.

“I got you something at the market yesterday.”

I scowl as he reaches into his pocket. When in the hell did he have time to get me a present yesterday? I was always with him. My eyes widen as he pulls out a silver chain with a double infinity symbol on it and grabs my hand, dropping it into my palm.

“Wyatt,” I whisper as I pick it up and study the gem encrusted charm. “This is gorgeous.”

He nods. “It seemed perfect for us since we’re starting over. Or, at least, I hope we are…”

“Oh, Wyatt…”

“I know it’s scary for you and, baby, I'm here to support you and your recovery one hundred percent but please don’t make me do it at a distance.”

I chew on my bottom lip as I meet his eyes. “If we move too fast and I freak out again…”

“I won’t let that happen,” he says, cutting me off as he leans forward and wraps his arms around me again. “If you want me to go to therapy with you so I can learn how to help you or if you tell me you need space for a couple of hours, you got it. Whatever you need, I'll do it but I don’t want to live without you anymore.”

“Anything?”

He nods. “Anything, baby.”

“I don’t know,” I whisper, my heart thundering in my chest. “What if I start leaning on you again?”

“I think it’s okay to lean when you need support, sweetheart, just don’t forget how to stand all on your own.”

My belly flips as I stare back to him, my mind screaming for the right answer but I can’t come up with anything. I want so badly to agree to this but I can’t go back to that dark place, I won’t survive being stalked by the man who killed my parents again.