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I think back to how safe I felt in his arms when I had a panic attack in the caves. How reassuring his weight was on top of me when he saved me from getting shot.

Despite all his red flags and irrational behaviors, I believe him.

I open my eyes, finding him staring at me, his gaze soft. He adjusts the cap on my head and tucks a few stray hairs behind my ears. My skin lights up like fireworks on the Fourth of July.

“There, all snug and warm. A snow bunny.”

Rex smiles, a small and genuine one. He grazes my cheek with his finger and my breath hitches. The touch is gentle and sweet—another side of Rex Anderson the world rarely sees.

He murmurs, “Covering your head keeps you warm. Or that’s what I’m told.”

I hiccup, still mesmerized by the soft smile on his face. At this moment, he looks younger, more lighthearted.

He breaks our stare and turns toward the sea. “Beautiful, isn’t it? If you hadn’t climbed on top of the wall, you wouldn’t have gotten this view. Or the feeling of dangling your feet in the air, the ocean far away yet seemingly at your fingertips.”

Heaving a deep breath, I blink and let my vision refocus on the dark waters in the distance.

“If you don’t face your fears head-on, you’ll never get over them,” he murmurs.

Something in his voice—a twinge of melancholy—wrenches my heart, and I look at him, finding his troubled gaze riveted on the horizon.

“Is that what you do?” I whisper. “But you’re…fearless.”

He lives like no one’s watching, making decisions because they serve him, not others.

“I envy you.” The words tumble out of me and I gasp, belatedly realizing what I just revealed to myself and to him.

Is my contempt toward him really because of his hedonistic persona, or is it because I wish I could be more like him? Make choices for myself?

His gaze snaps to mine, and for a second, I forget how to breathe, because the pain in his eyes is eviscerating. It’s a right hook to my face.

“Things aren’t always what they seem. I’m terrified of many things, Olivia. Always have been. I hide it well now, but it’s my downfall.”

But why? How? He’s a daredevil who doesn’t care what the world thinks of him.

Is this a facade too?

Questions hang between us, but a strange force stops me from asking.

Because in this moment, with his body pressed up against me, I—the good rule follower who fears everything—am sitting on the edge of a cliff and not afraid. And Rex—the daredevil who runs on adrenaline and caffeine pills—just admitted he is.

It’s then I know… He’s a man I can’t force to give me answers.

The answers are only earned when he feels safe.

Because he’s scared of people seeing the real him. Somehow, he believes his true self is unworthy.

And that makes me sad. A different ache ripples under my rib cage.

“And do I make you brave?” The question slips out and I curse myself.I’m pushing too hard.

He falters.

The moment breaks. His lips slowly curve into a sensual grin and my pulse leaps.

“Maybe.”

Before I can ask what he means, he jumps down to the pavement—quick and graceful, like a panther.