Liam gave her a crooked smile, small but so genuine it unraveled something inside her.

“Don’t be,” he murmured, brushing his thumb over her lower lip. “You know why?”

She tilted her head slightly, as if bracing herself.

“Why?”

“Because with you, I make love,” he said, staring directly into her eyes. “It’s not just sex.” His thumb glided slowly across her lips again. “And that changes everything.”

Her eyes filled with tears once more, but this time there was something warm in them. Almost lumino