Page 62 of The Mountain Man's Mail-Order Mafia Princess

“So you decided I didn’t need to know there was a deadline.”

“I didn’t decide you didn’t need to know.”

“You knew, and I didn’t.”

“You’re right.”

“That’s the same result.”

I pressed my lips together.

“I was afraid,” I said.

Jonah’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

“Not of you. I was afraid that once you knew who my father was, you’d look at me differently. Or you’d decide none of this was worth it before I knew whether I could choose it.”

“That was my decision to make.”

“It was.”

“You wanted enough time to make your choice before I got to make mine.”

“That’s what I did.”

He turned toward the window.

Sunlight fell across his shoulders. The charcoal fabric pulled tight when he folded his arms, then loosened when he dropped them.

“You told me you wanted love without somebody managing your life,” he said.

“I still do.”

“But you managed what I knew.”

My throat tightened.

“I managed what you knew.”

Jonah rested one hand against the back of his neck.

“I’m not asking you to apologize for therapy,” he said. “I’m not asking you to apologize for your father, either.”

“I’m asking why you let me become part of this without telling me what this was.”

I stepped closer, then stopped before I reached him.

“I wanted the cabin to be separate from my family.”

“It was never separate, Talia. Your father chose the place. His people brought you here. His car is coming tomorrow.”

“I chose to stay. I chose you.”

His mouth flattened.

“Did you?”

“I did.”