When I left Ana’s house, I had nowhere to run to but Nate’s. I found him in the paint department tossing expired cans into a cart.

He glanced up and said, “Perfect timing. I’m clearing out the expired exterior paint. It’s not really bad. It’s just past its prime. I thought I’d bring it over to Ana’s and maybe you can help her paint the outside of the house.”

“I’m not helping her do another fucking thing.” I crossed my arms and leaned heavily against a paintbrush display, making several brushes fall from their hooks to the floor.

“Whoa, man, what happened?” Nate bent over and picked up the brushes. “Last night I thought I’d never seen you so happy, and now look at you. She wouldn’t put out?” He raised his eyes in question.

“Fuck you.” Maybe coming here had been a mistake. Nate was my best friend—hell, my only friend—but he could never understand. He hadn’t lost what I’d lost.

“No, fuck her, not me. You’re not my type.” He pushed me to the side to rehang what fell to the floor. “I thought for sure you two hit it off. I even kept Grace out long enough so you could get a quickie.”

“It wasn’t quick, you asshole.”

His laugh echoed through the aisle. “Good man. So you got laid, I would figure that would put a smile on your face for at least a day or so. That bad, huh?”

I wanted to punch the bastard in his face for talking about Ana in that way. “You’re an asshole. Last night was a perfect moment in my less than perfect life.”

He went back to stacking cans into the basket. “If she’s so damn perfect, then what the hell is the problem?”

I rubbed my jaw, trying to calm the ache caused from constant clenching. “She hung a picture of a sparrow in her house.”

“And that’s a crime?”

“It was a fucking sparrow, Nate. What the hell?”

Nate’s father walked out of the back office. “Take that language outside.”

“Sure thing, Dad.” Nate pushed me toward the door. “Get a grip on yourself. It’s a picture of a bird. Lots of people like birds.”

“She hung a picture of a sparrow in Sparrow’s house!” I yelled, pulling at my hair.

“How the hell is she supposed to know what that means? You’re going to give up the best thing you’ve had in years because the woman likes birds? I’ve always looked up to you. You’ve been bigger than life in my eyes. You’ve walked through fire and came out alive, and you’re going to let a picture of a sparrow clip the wings of a hawk?” Nate shook his head and walked away, leaving me alone in the parking lot.

When I got back to the garage, Ana was waiting there leaning against her Jeep. She pushed off and stood tall as my car neared hers. All the way home, I thought of Nate’s words. It was just a picture of a bird; fate had been a cruel motherfucker to make it a sparrow. He was right; it couldn’t be her fault since she didn’t know. I hadn’t fully shared that part of me because I was too ashamed and too afraid that she’d see me like everyone else did.

I parked my car and walked toward her. The words I’m sorry were on my lips, but she beat me to them.

“I’m so sorry, Ryker. I had no idea. Mona explained it all.”

I stood in front of her and cupped her cheek. “You’re sorry? I acted like a deranged fool, and the thing is, I hated Sparrow more than I liked her. She was a sassy little thing that was always under my feet. It’s funny how time can change your perception. How you can dislike someone and then turn them into a saint the minute they die. I’m pretty sure if she was around today, I wouldn’t like her very much. I’d hate her for following me into the garage, and I’d blame her for everyone’s death. The same way everyone has blamed me for years.” I lifted her into my arms and carried her toward the garage. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Ana.” I kicked the tools aside that littered my path and rushed to the stairs that led to my room. “Forgive me for being such a—”

She pressed a finger to my lips. “Forgive you for caring so much about a little girl? Of course. I’d forgive you for anything, Ryker. You’re a good man.”

I gripped her ass tighter and raced up the stairs two at a time. “I’m not good, and I don’t deserve you.”

“You are good, and I’m your reward.” She tugged and pulled at my shirt until it bunched under my armpits. She traced the lines of my tattoo and followed the right wing all the way to the end where it covered a tiny sparrow. “Even after her death, you protected her and put her under your wing, but who protects you?” She peppered my chest with kisses, and I walked down the hallway to my bedroom and laid her on my unmade bed.

I shed the shirt and went to work on her clothes while she tugged at the button of my jeans, and just like last night, we were naked in seconds. “Why me?” I asked her as I trailed kisses down her body.

“Why not you?” Her hands explored me like she was memorizing every hill and valley. Her fingers pressed gently against my scar, but it didn’t pain me to have them there. The heat of healing spread through my body and wrapped like a fiery rope around my heart.

Sparrow might have shriveled one organ—my heart—but Ana was making it swell again, along with my cock. Maybe hope wasn’t such a dangerous thing after all.

I positioned myself above her. “I’ll try to be worthy of you.”

“I’ll make you rise to the occasion.” She reached down and gripped my shaft. “Oh look, you already have.”

Without hesitation, I plunged inside of her. My body stilled while her heat enveloped me, pulling me in until I was fully rooted. Ana was the only safe place for me. “God, you feel amazing.”

She wrapped her legs around my waist and she pressed herself against me. “So good,” she moaned.

Last night was all about sex, but today I’d make it about something else. Today it would be about her and the place she was taking inside my heart.

“I want to please you.” My hips moved slowly back and forth. It was torture. Pure. Beautiful. Torture. I plunged in and out of her slick heat. Her breath quickened, and a sheen of sweat built on her brow. Ana wasn’t the kind of woman who only took. She matched me stroke by stroke, giving right back to me.

“If you pleased me any more, I might not ever leave this bed.” She rose up and sucked on my nipple, which sent a jolt of electricity straight down to my cock. I gripped her hands and held them down, trying to stave off the orgasm that was teetering on the edge. “Stop or I’ll come.”

She fought my hold, but quickly gave up when she realized I wasn’t going to release or relent. I closed my eyes and willed the pulsing to stop.

“Isn’t coming the objective?”

“Generally, yes, but I’m not wrapped.”

It took her a minute to process what I was saying. “Shit, Ryker.” She pushed against my chest.

“Babe, I’m on the edge, don’t move.” The first hot rush shot forward, and I pulled out in time to watch ropes of come squirt across her stomach. “God, I’m sorry, it’s just that you felt so damn good.”

“Oh my God. What were you thinking?” She looked down at her stomach and then relaxed. “It’s a good thing you’re fast because I’m not on birth control.”

I collapsed beside her. “Fast isn’t a rumor I want passed around.” I reached for my discarded T-shirt and cleaned my mess from her stomach. “I’m so sorry.”

“We’re good.” Her brow furrowed until I started kissing her again.

I had a pretty short recovery time. By the time I kissed my way down her body, I was as hard as a rock again. This time I leaned over and pulled a strip of condoms from my drawer.

“Feeling pretty confident, aren’t you?” She pulled the string of five from my hand. While she separated the perforated edges, I nipped and nibbled my way down her stomach.

“Do you doubt my ability to deliver?” I shimmied down to the space between her legs. Neatly trimmed hair formed a triangle much like an arrow guiding me in the direction where pure pleasure waited. I gripped her thighs and spread her wide open. It was a damn beautiful sight to see her pink and swollen from me.

“I don’t doubt—” Any further words were silenced by the heat of my tongue. Hours could be spent lapping up her sweetness. Days hearing her moans of pleasure. Years feeling her quiver under my lips. Decades spent listening to her scream my name. She was a lifetime of pure bliss.

After the second orgasm, she begged for my cock, and although I loved the sound of her words wanting me so desperately, I had needs of my own that required her hot, wet glove. I pulled her legs to my shoulders and buried myself balls deep inside her.

What started slow built to a frenzied pace. Our bodies, drenched in sweat, slapped together until we were both spent and satisfied. I curled around her body and held her close. My world was perfect.

“What am I going to do with you?” I whispered against her ear.

“Love me,” she whispered back.

The idea sent my spirits soaring. Could it be possible for me to love and not lose?

Her body was soft and warm beside me. My mind was clear, and my heart was full. I was already in love. She didn’t have to ask; it was a given. What I’d thought was hate this morning when I saw the picture of a sparrow was simply fate’s reminder that I had to let the other go in order to open my heart completely to Ana. From this day forward, I would bury the past and look toward a future with this woman.

But on the tail of bliss was fear, and it raced through my blood. To love her was to risk everything. To not love her was to have nothing. There was no choice.