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“Melena,no.You are not a puppy. My feelings for you are intense. Passionate. Fiery. More than a little scary. You scare me.”

She turned back toward me, her dark eyes searching. “I scareyou? My big, strong firefighter with the dangerous job?”

I swallowed hard before forging ahead. “My job doesn’t endanger my heart.”

Her expression softened. “What’s scary about me?”

I laughed, running a hand over the short bristles of my hair.

“Everything.” I watched her carefully for a response. “Before I met you, I was content with my life. I looked forward to house projects and dating and moving up the ladder at work. I didn’t want or need to be more settled. I planned to live vicariously through Chase and Tamra. You changed that for me.”

Melena rubbed her chest and watched my face. “Pity isn’t a strong foundation for a relationship. Andi alluded more than once to your tendency to want to be a savior.” Her brown gaze met mine. “I don’t want to be someone you feel you have to take care of.”

I exhaled forcefully as I held up my hands. “You’re not. Everyone needs help from time to time, me included. I’ve been a royal pain through my entire recovery, and you’ve stuck with me, making every day better just by being here. Unless I’m misreading horribly, it’s not pity, is it?”

“No,” she answered softly.

“Andi’s theories are based on me dating a woman whose tire I changed and helping a friend get out of an abusive relationship who crashed on my couch for a while. I may have a track record of helping, but I didn’t ask either one to marry me.”

A small smile flirted with her lips. “You sure? You didn’t have a slip of the text message? It’s not predictive text that fills in automatically for you? I could be forgiven for thinking you throw those invitations around like confetti.”

I shook my head and asked one of the questions that had been bothering me. “How do you feel about being married to me, knowing I come with my career?”

Melena’s face sobered. “I’m not going to lie and say I haven’t thought about it. Your accident was a wake-up call.” Every word made my stomach roil. She shivered and her eyes shadowed. “The hospital is officially my least favorite place in the world.”

I nodded, even as my heart sank. “I can relate.”

The job was going to be a deal-breaker. Too much danger. Too much uncertainty. I’d have second thoughts about marrying me, and I couldn’t blame her if she wanted to end our agreement early.

I swallowed hard before forcing the words out. “I’ll understand if you want to dissolve our marriage now.”

Her hand moved to cover mine, and I looked up.

“Jimmy, that’s not what I meant.” She glanced up at the ceiling and groaned before looking back at me. “You’re going to make me say it.” She squirmed beneath the covers before her expression smoothed and her gaze met mine. Her expression beamed sincerity. “Jimmy Torres, the waiting room was a wake-up call. Not because your job is dangerous, and you were hurt. I already knew that.”

The side of her mouth quirked up. “More than anyone, I understand that sometimes life happens and there are no guarantees. You think I wanted heart problems before thirty? If I’d had a serious episode living alone, I might have died.” Her gaze met mine. “Every moment is precious. And I want to spend mine with you.” She smiled tremulously at me. “That was the realization I had in the hospital. That I loved you. Time with you is precious. And I want all of yours. Not just a year, but all of your years.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “I wasn’t ready for a real relationship when we met. I’ve been focused on future goals and what I want to accomplish.”

“You don’t have to give that up,” I broke in. “I wouldn’t ask that of you.”

She smiled softly. “I know. I thought doing it without any help gave me an extra badge of honor, but sitting in the waiting room, you know what I realized?”

I shook my head.

“No one cares.”

I gave my head another quick shake to the negative. “That’s not true.”

She rushed on. “No, I don’t mean that no one cares aboutme, I mean no one cares how much I struggle on my way. It doesn’t make me any more worthy of achieving my goals. I can be strong and be in love. I can be stronger because I’m in love. More resilient. More centered. If I deprive myself of the good things in life, it won’t enhance the things I accomplish, I’ll only enjoy them less.”

I took a deep breath. She wasn’t pushing me away. Not trying to end things after my accident.

“I love you,” she finished softly.

I couldn’t control my grin. “Even though I’ll never drive over the speed limit, and we’ll always have to leave ten minutes earlier than you want so we’re on time?”

Her lips quirked and she nodded.

“Even though your dad is half-convinced I’m going to do something terrible, and he’ll have to show up with his band saw and industrial garbage bags to take care of the evidence?”