He was right about that. At least, on the surface. “It wasn’t just that I thought you were a player. It was that I thought I could never hold a guy like you. I couldn’t even hang onto a guy like Victor.”

“Fuck Victor,” he bit out, taking her chin in his hand. “He was weak and pathetic. And you?” His angry eyes went soft again, and she resisted the urge to melt into him. “You’re everything.”

“But I felt like nothing.”

“And that’s why I did what I did.” He ran his thumb over her cheek. “You weren’t willing to accept it or even hear it from me, but somehow I had to make you understand how special and amazing and sexy you were. To give you back the confidence he’d taken from you so you could see what was right in front of you. The man who loves you.”

And it was. The truth of his words stared her right in the face. One man’s lies and betrayal had been about tearing her down, making her weak, while another had been about building her up and making her stronger. “You loved me,” she whispered, the words still so surreal she could hardly wrap her head around them.

“I did.” He leaned in and yanked her close. “I do. And I know now I f**ked this up and did everything the wrong way, but if you give me a chance, I’ll never let you down like that again.”

She wriggled back to meet his gaze. “Why did you wait so long to tell me this?”

“I forced the situation enough. More than I should have. I wanted you to have the time and space to figure out what you really felt and wanted without me influencing you. But when I saw you at the bank…I didn’t know if it was wishful thinking or real, but I thought I saw it there on your face. That maybe you loved me too?”

What would Gram say? Probably, “What the hell are you doing standing there like a ninny? Grab onto that hunk a’ man and don’t let go.”

Trick seemed to hold his breath until she let her arms slide around his waist and sank against him.

“I do. I love you so much. I don’t know why I didn’t see it. The second we touched and the tingles started, I knew. But I was so blind…so afraid of getting hurt again. Then, you were in danger, and I was so afraid. I want to try, Trick. I want to try with you.”

His arms clamped around her tight, and he blew a sigh into her hair. “Jesus, Gracie, I know I don’t deserve that. We don’t have to rush it. I’ll wait as long as it takes. I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure you don’t regret it.”

He pulled back and bent low to kiss her. The taste of him mixed with the salt of her happy tears, and she laughed. “You’ve been making me cry like it’s your job lately.”

He wiped her eyes with his thumbs and shook his head. “Nope. That’s the last thing I ever wanted to do and it stops today. I swear it. My new job is to make you the happiest woman in the world. And I’m going to start right now.”