"Watching you sleep," Dante answered.

Cat lifted a single brow. "Why?"

"Because I wanted to and this is also my bedroom. You snore, by the way."

"I absolutely do not!"

"You do," Dante replied, nodding. "It's not very loud and you only do it when you're quite tired. It's cute, actually."

Cat made a face. "Really?"

"To me it is, I guess. I am such an idiot."

Well, that wasn't what she expected to hear. "Why would you say that?"

Dante didn't answer, instead saying, "Thank you for today. I've been stuck trying to keep myself disengaged from Johnathan that I didn't realize how much it was hurting me to do so."

"You don't need to thank me for that again, Dante."

"I know. I wanted children, Cat."

Cat sucked in a hard breath, forcing herself to sit up in the bed. "Oh?"

"Yes. There's a difference between not being able to and not wanting to. I never said I didn't want them just that I couldn't. I settled my feelings with the fact it wasn't going to happen. But I do want them. People assume because I can't that I automatically don't want them at all. Really, I haven't given anyone a good reason to believe otherwise, so I don't blame them."

"You seem to be good with Johnathan."

"Kids don't make me nervous, if that's what you mean."

"It was," Cat said low. "I didn't intend to bring him here and have all your misgivings worked up again."

"John being here didn't do that. It's been rolling around for a while, and I've kept it to myself."

"You don't have to do that. You could talk to me, Dante."

"I know and that makes it so much harder for me," Dante whispered.

Cat was so confused that she didn't know what to say.

"I know I can talk to you," Dante continued, dropping his foot the floor and sitting straight in the chair. "About anything, right?"

"Of course."

"Exactly. And we fit so well together. In bed, work, and life. We fit. It works and it's crazy. I hate it and I need it at the same time. That wasn't supposed to happen. It shouldn't have happened and I don't have the first fucking clue how you did it."

Cat swallowed audibly, feeling a dead weight rest in her stomach. "I-"

"No, I just need you to listen. You are in here now. All through me everywhere. That's where you are. You somehow make me better. It's almost fucking disgusting the way I don't even care that it happened, either.

"It was like I turned around one day, blinked, and everything changed, Cat. We agreed when we first started out with this that we would be good together because emotional attachments shouldn't happen and neither of us wanted strings. Feelings weren't a part of the deal and I am sorry."

"Dante-"

"I'm sorry because I love you."

Cat's tension released all at once, dropping her into the bed again. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh. So, I don't know what you want to do with this or how you want to go from here. Because I sure as shit know where I'm at, but I haven't got the first clue about you. It's killing me. You're killing me."

"Love isn't supposed to hurt, bello."

"It doesn't. Believe me, that isn't what hurts right now. At first I thought it did, but that's because I didn't understand."

"What does hurt?"

"Everything else. I'm wide open. One giant target. My ribs might as well be broken and spread so I can bleed out. That's how I feel. I set myself up for this even if I can't figure out how. I am vulnerable in more ways than one. For someone to hurt me by way of you, for my own emotions to control me, and for you to reject me. I did this and it fucking sucks. It blows in the worst way."

"You don't want to love me?"

"It has nothing to do with not wanting to," Dante snapped, waving his hand in the air. "Seems we don't get much choice in that. It just comes along, kicks you in the goddamn heart, and there you are-fucked."

"Wow," Cat whispered.

"I know. I am so messed up in my head right now."

"Because you love me."

"Didn't we just get that out of the way?"

"I'm not sure of anything at the moment."

"Me, either," Dante muttered. "It was so easy for my brothers to love. They didn't feel like it was going to kill them. They didn't struggle with what it all meant. I had come to the conclusion that love wasn't going to be a part of my life because it made shit more complicated than what was necessary."

Cat fidgeted, choosing her next words carefully. "It wasn't easy for you to fall in love with me?"

Ouch. Was she that hard to love?

"What?" Dante's head whipped up, his jade gaze burning into Cat. "No, that's not what I said. I said nothing about falling in love, just loving. Yes, it was easy for me to fall in love with you. So easy, in fact, that I didn't even realize it had happened."

"But it's hard for you to love me?" Cat frowned, wishing this conversation wasn't so damn difficult. "That doesn't make it much better, Dante."

"You still don't get it," Dante said, sinking into the chair and looking defeated. "And I am way too screwed up to explain it properly."

Cat tried to see it from his perspective the best she could. "It was easy to fall in love, but hard to love."

"Okay, let's go with that."

"Dante ..."

"Listen, I am aware of how ridiculous it sounds."

"Well, great, because you're not making me feel particularly good with the way you're talking."

"Why would you want to feel good about this, Cat? You don't want me to love you, remember? That's why this is hard for me. You don't want this at all and now I'm exposed. I can't pretend like I don't give a shit. Not about you. We're business. No feelings. No att-"

"Attachments," Cat interjected, nodding once. "But that's the thing about strings, Dante, even if they're not strong ones. We tied a couple between us at the beginning of this arrangement and they've turned into ropes."

"Now, we're bound."

"Yes. And we did that, we made this choice, so it's okay."

Dante's brow furrowed as he stared blankly at the wall. "I think I missed something, Amore."

"You've been sitting there for an hour watching me sleep and stewing in your own personal hell, haven't you?" Cat asked.

"S. It was awful."

"I wish you would have woken me up sooner, Dante."

"Why, so you could have made a quicker exit? I'm still waiting for you to run, by the way."

"Stolto. You're so stuck inside your own head and worries that you can't even see what is right in front of your face. My heart aches for you. You're right, this shouldn't be as hard for you as it is. I am so sorry you worked yourself into this terrible panic for absolutely nothing."

Dante stilled. "What?"

"Maybe it was easy to fall in love with me because I made it that way for you."

"How?"

"Unintentionally, sure, but I did. Think about it. We progressed. It was going to happen one way or another."

"Are you saying you-"

"You're not alone, Dante. I'm only just starting to realize I am so in love with you, too. And for the record, yes, you made it easy."

Chapter Fourteen.

Even after Catrina's confession, there was a small part of Dante that felt like if he moved or blinked, she was going to bolt.

"You love me," he heard himself say.

"Yes. Ti amo. I won't tell you every second of the day or call you fifteen times and leave sweet messages on your phone. I just won't. But I do, so."

"I don't need or want you to do those things."

"Good. Because I am not the kind of woman who needs a man."

Dante glanced up from his clenched fists to meet Catrina's gaze. "Then, why are we even having this conversation?"

"I might not need a man but I want one. You, specifically."

All of Dante's reservations and the stress keeping his muscles locked tight let go, washing him in some crazy sense of relief, love, fear, and joy. It was an odd combination. These were big changes for both of them. He knew without a doubt it wasn't going to be sunshine and roses. They had to work to make it work. Simple as that.

"This is hard for me," Dante admitted quietly. "I feel like I am all over the place and that's not like me, Cat. You and me, we're level-headed and focused people. I am nowhere near that right now. How can you be completely unbothered sitting there knowing what you do?"

"I saw you coming and I knew what for," Catrina murmured. "You were right, bello. We fit together perfectly in every other way, so why not this one, too? It's just love."

"It's dangerous."

"And so are we. If anything, this might make things easier."

Dante barked out a laugh. "Dio, how? With me constantly worrying about you and you rallying against everything I ask?"

"Before our trust was built on the understanding our relationship was simply a partnership, something that gave us mutual benefits and support. Now, that trust has to include our attachment and loyalty. Love owns your loyalties, hopes, and desires. It always will."

"You make it sound easy."

"For us, I think it will be. We had to figure it out, that's all."

"Love."

"Love," she echoed. "Come to bed. It's late and we have a ten-month-old to be up with in the morning. I doubt he'll let us sleep in like we usually do on Saturdays."

Despite his tormenting thoughts still running like crazy inside his head, Dante didn't argue with Catrina's suggestion. He tugged off his clothes and got into bed.

"You're going to have a new best friend tomorrow," Dante informed, still watching the ceiling like it might cave in on itself.

"What are you talking about?"

"A guard, or rather, an enforcer. You're going to have one starting tomorrow. I've let you go on without one for long enough. I really don't want to argue about it, dolcezza. I just ... don't have a choice anymore. You have to have one."

Dante braced for the anger sure to come from Catrina. Surprisingly, it didn't.

"Because you love me, I need a babysitter?"

"Partly," Dante replied. "You said it, Cat. You're not the kind of woman who feels a need to check in. Just because I'm fine with that doesn't mean I don't need to know you're still okay ... safe. We can put down some ground rules about business, how far he needs to stay back, and where he shouldn't follow you in certain places, but for the most part, he will be there in the background."

"You said partly, Dante. What is the other reason?"

"John. Lucian will demand his son have someone guarding him when he is with us, especially in public. I don't blame him, really. John is the only small child in the Marcello family currently and he's a boy. He's incredibly important and could be perceived as the perfect target by someone looking to hurt us. His safety will always be a priority for me.

"When John is with you, the enforcer will be a lot closer," Dante warned. "He will act as your driver, for one thing."