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Hearing how Matthew loved his little girl enough to put her happiness above his own warmed Katherine’s heart. But his confession also broke it.

“You deserved better than that.”

For a moment, Matthew looked even more uncertain. As if he wanted to believe he was worth more than the way Julia had treated him.

“I’m sorry,” he finally said. “But I just have to hold you.”

When he wrapped his arms around Katherine and lowered his face to the crook of her neck, he started to cry short, gut-wrenching gasps.

“You don’t have to be sorry,” she said, sliding her fingers through his tousled hair and pulling him even closer. As the resonance of his pain coursed through her, it shattered any frustrations she’d ever felt toward him. “I understand more than you know,” she said, her voice a breathy whisper. “Sometimes, I wanted Max to go away too. He was so awful. One minute, he’d have my heart beating with blind hope, and the next, he beat me down with his criticism and lies.”

Then Katherine started to cry. She’d never told anyone how Max had manipulated her. Hurt her and used her. How he told her she was everything to him, then get caught in a lie about being with another woman. “It took me a long time to realizethat I didn’t do anything wrong. I never deserved that kind of treatment. And neither did you.”

Matthew pulled away to look into her eyes, wiping the tears from her face. “Don’t cry.”

Katherine nodded, wanting to stop, but couldn’t seem to.

“Oh, Katie…” he whispered, trying to smile at her, but it didn’t help.

“I’ve never told anyone that before,” she sobbed. “Please forgive me for being a burden when you have so many burdens of your own.”

As Katherine tried to pull away, Matthew stopped her. “You’re not a burden to me,” he said softly, leaning in to press his lips to hers. “You’re a blessing.”

Swept up in an instant by the gentle touch of his mouth on hers, Katherine parted her lips ever so slightly as her body tingled in response. She hadn’t been touched or kissed in such a long time that she couldn’t stop the natural sensation she felt from someone being so intimate with her. And the fact that it was Matthew Brandon only made it all the better.

“Damn,” he whispered against her mouth. “I have to do that again.”

This time, when her lips parted, Matthew did the same, and Katherine felt the feather-like tickle of his tongue teasing her lips, followed by the gentle, warm pressure from their mouths meeting, causing her to shiver with desire and need.

Long before either of them wanted to stop, they heard Libby start to fuss, and they parted.

“I got it,” Katherine said, smiling nervously as she extracted herself from Matthew’s embrace, turned, and took the stairs two at a time. “You rest. Or take a shower and shave. I can stay as long as you need me to.”

With each step, Katherine not only realized she wasn’t sure what she was doing, she also didn’t know where she was going.But Libby’s objections to waking up alone led her to the right door. And the fussing stopped once Katherine came into the room and reached for her.

“Well, hello, Miss Libby. Can I hold you, sweet girl?” she said, putting her hands out as Libby responded by raising her little arms, and her innocent, trusting nature made Katherine smile all the more.

“My goodness, you’re such a big girl,” she said as she scooped up Libby from her crib and carried her over to the soft pink pad of the changing table. “Did you have a good nap?”

Libby yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she looked up at Katherine.

“You’re such a pretty girl,” Katherine cooed, her voice low and calm. Although it seemed like an eternity since she’d done this, one thing she remembered was how important it was to soothe a little one when they first woke up. Recalling that it didn’t matter what you said but rather how you said it. “And you have such a pretty room.”

It was true. The room was beautifully decorated, not much different from the baby room that was once next door in her house. Pink and white objects, big and small, created a delicate contrast to the straight lines of the dark mahogany furniture. The soft, feminine accents, symbolic of a little girl’s room, were thoughtfully displayed as if done by a professional decorator and photographed for a magazine.

Tiny ballerina figurines in fluffy pink tutus shared space with countless storybooks on a shelf next to a rocking chair draped with a pink chenille blanket. Pale pink sheers softened the sunlight coming in, and two large letters, one an L and the other a B, painted pink with white polka dots, hung side by side on the cream-colored wall.

As Katherine changed Libby’s diaper, she kept talking to her. Telling her she was a good girl and thanking her for holding still.The more Libby woke up, the more she chattered back in an unending streak of adorable gibberish.

“Is that so, Miss Libby?” Katherine said, nuzzling her neck and making monster noises until the little girl giggled.

“You’re really good with her,” Matthew said from the doorway, and it made Katherine jump. She’d been enjoying herself so much she hadn’t heard the sound of his approach.

“Thanks,” she said, lifting Libby and biting back a smile. “I thought you were showering.”

“Da-da,” Libby interrupted, clapping her hands and kicking her legs.

“Hi, Libby Doll.” Matthew smiled.