Taylor drew back just enough to look at her properly. There was no trace of his old arrogance in him then, only a steadiness she trusted more because it had been earned badly.
“Now,” he said, “I ask you for something I have no right to assume you’ll give me.”
Maya’s breath caught.
He took her hand carefully, like something breakable and powerful at once. “Marry me.”
She stared.
His mouth twitched through a kind of pained humor. “I understand the objection. So let me rephrase.” He tightened his fingers around hers. “Marry me again. For real. Not because Eric challenged me. Not because you were lonely. Not because I thought winning meant control. Marry me because somewhere in the middle of all the worst ways to begin, you became the only person I’ve ever wanted to build a life honestly with.”
Maya felt tears start again.
