“But it’s not your mess. You didn’t cause the problem. Vile people are trying to take advantage of you. Let me help you stop them.”
“Don’t you understand?” Her heart hammered in her chest at the fierce determination on his face. “This isn’t your fight.”
As much as she longed to surrender to his will and accept his protection, her doubts were stronger. No one had ever had her back before. She also couldn’t forget his anger at the polo grounds.
“I’m ma
king it my fight.”
“But the scandal...”
“There won’t be any scandal—” he grasped her chin and brought her gaze to his “—if you marry me.”
“What?” She jerked free and took a half step back, her senses reeling as if he’d slapped her. “Your mother will never accept me. London was beautiful, wealthy and sophisticated and she wasn’t good enough. I’ll always be the woman who cleaned your house. Think of how it will look. I can’t do that to you.”
“My mother knows how I feel about you. All she wants is for me to be happy.”
Claire covered her eyes with her hands, blocking out his earnest expression. Immediately, her other senses took over. She inhaled his familiar cologne and listened to the rough cadence of his breathing.
“You were happy with London,” she reminded him, “and that didn’t improve Bettina’s opinion of her.”
“I never should’ve proposed to London.” Linc tugged her hands down so he could meet her gaze. “She wasn’t the love of my life. You are.”
Her chest tightened at his words. “We haven’t known each other long enough for you to believe that.” What would it take for him to realize this was crazy? How could he possibly love her? She’d made so many mistakes. “And I lied to you.”
“All that is true, but it doesn’t change that I love you.”
Claire hunched her shoulders. With her head and her heart locked in a fierce battle, all she could do was keep trying to make him see reason.
“It won’t work,” she said. “You’ll see.”
“It can and it will. All you need to do is trust me.”
She shook her head. “I do trust you, but there are greater forces at work in your life than how we feel about each other.”
“How do we feel about each other?” he asked, taking her by the shoulders. The pressure of his warm fingers brought her close to tears. “I love you. I want to marry you and for us to be a family.”
“Damn it, Linc. Be reasonable.”
He ignored her objection. “How do you feel about me?”
A sob bloomed in her chest, making her breath erratic. While the words she’d longed to speak stuck in her throat, Claire grappled with fear. If she opened her heart and told him the truth—that she couldn’t bear the thought of living without him—he would never let her go. And then what if all his friends and family opposed their relationship? How could she hope to make Linc happy?
“I love you,” she confessed, her strong emotions refusing to remain bottled up any longer.
“That’s my girl.” He cupped her face in his palms and leaned down to graze her lips with his. “It feels like I’ve been waiting forever to hear those words from you.”
“But, Linc, we can’t—”
He stopped her words with another kiss, this one longer and deeper. She was light-headed and giddy by the time he lifted his head.
“Let’s just focus on you, me and Honey. No one else matters.”
“But they do. Maybe in a thousand other cities things would be different. But in Charleston, everyone’s opinion matters.”
“So we’ll live in Texas or California or wherever you want. What matters is that we’re together.”
She couldn’t believe what he was saying. “But your family and friends are here. And say what you want, but the fact is they are important to you.”