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I couldn’t bear to look at him any longer. I dropped my gaze to the floor and tried to compose myself.

That wasn’t all, though. Dominic’s voice trembled as he spoke again.

“You told me you weren’t good for me, that I should stay away from you.”

My heart felt like it was being crushed by barbed wire, and I gasped for air. “I … should never have said that.”

“But you did,” Dominic’s voice sounded hollow and resigned.

“Yes!” I blurted. “Because I thought … if I didn’t warn you, if I didn’t push you away, I’d hate myself even more.”

There was a flicker in Dominic’s expression that I couldn’t quite place. It seemed as though light was coming back into his eyes.

“I wanted to tell you,” I said, my voice cracking. “Believe me, I should have told you the day you got the role. But I couldn’t. And with every day that passed, I felt worse, because we were drifting further away from a truth that I’d do anything to make real. I’d rip my brain out if it meant getting rid of these phases.” I paused, sniffling. “All I could do was warn you, because everything else had slipped away from me. I fell in love with you, Dominic, and the last few days I’ve been thinking about how to make you understand. How to prove my trust. I want to do it now, but I know I can’t. I know it’s a process and we have to start over. I wish I didn’t have to beg, but … Please, give me another chance.”

Dominic opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, I continued.

“It’s the first time in my life I’ve been so sure about someone. I don’t want things to go that far again, I don’t want to lose control. I even take the pills again.”

“Never tell me to stay away from you again, or I’ll make you regret it,” Dominic’s voice growled with a threat beneath it. “I don’t want to stay away from you.”

I raised an eyebrow, surprised. What did he just say? The unexpected turn of events erased everything else from my mind for a moment, leaving a peaceful emptiness that loosened the tension in my muscles and relaxed the barbed wire around my heart.

“I’ll never say it again,” I declared.

“Why are you still standing over there? Not over here?”

In a few steps, I crossed the distance between us. As he took the last step toward me, I slipped my hand around his neck, pressed my forehead to his, and inhaled his wonderful, rugged scent.

“I’m sorry you had to go through all of this with me,” I whispered close to his lips. “I never wanted that.”

“This wouldn’t have happened if I had been honest with you,” Dominic said, regret in his voice.

I was about to kiss him when another thought crossed my mind. “One more thing.”

“What?”

“Block Livio’s number.”

Dominic chuckled and slipped his hands onto my hips. “What if I say no?” he teased.

“Then I’ll go to him and nail his balls to the ceiling.”

“No need. It’s already done.”

“What? You blocked his number, or did you …?”

“The number’s blocked. Now kiss me already.”

“Oh, I like it when you get demanding, babe.”

Pressing my lips to his, I stole the sweetest, most passionate kiss of my life. The barbed wire untangled from my heart, and my body felt lighter. Dominic’s warmth wrapped around me like a blanket.

“I have a condition too,” he said, kissing me again and caressing my temple. “If this happens again, I want to know what’s going on with you. I don’t want to be told everything’s fine when it’s not.”

I nodded eagerly and sought his lips again.

“Never again.”