Page 65 of Code of Heart

Was he seriously ashamed to admit this? Ashamed of something he never chose; something that had shaped him into the brilliant, accomplished man sitting in front of her? The thought made her throat tighten.

No. Absolutely not.

She straightened her spine before looking him dead in the eyes.

Time to be fierce.

“So, you’re moping over something you have no control over?”

Levi’s head snapped toward her, his eyes flashing hot with sudden anger. “I’m notmoping, I’membarrassedthat I couldn’t do something basic in either of those situations. It makes me feel stupid when I can’t even read a simple menu without it taking an extremely long time.”

“Icould barely read it and half of it was in French,” she offered, trying to lighten the mood. Levi glared at her. She rolled her eyes in irritation. “Okayfine. Wrong time to joke.”

She regarded him carefully, the firmness in her tone refusing to balk.

“So…are you suggesting that I married a dumbass?”

That, as expected, got a rise out of him.

“I’mnota dumbass,” he snapped, insulted.

“Then why are you treating yourself like one?” she shot back, unable to hide her rising anger.

Levi opened his mouth to reply, but the words never quite made it past his lips. He had nothing to say.

She was on a roll and didn’t let the silence stretch too long.

“While you were sleeping this morning, I searched your name online,” she said, her tone calmer now, but no less resolute. “I have to admit, I’m extremely impressed that someone was able to take a disability and turn it into an empire.Especiallyone that is focused entirely on technology that helps others with disabilities navigate the world. That seems impossible for someonewho supposedly can’t keep up to achieve.”

His green eyes fixed on her with rapt attention. He didn’t interrupt this time, though he was still glowering.

“I guess I’m simply confused then. So please explain to me,my darling husband, how someone who founded a thriving company like Neuronix, that helps so many peoplejust like him, is still ashamed of it—of being a customer.”

His entire demeanor softened as her words sank in.

“The only stupid thing here is that it wasn’t disclosed in your file,” she continued, “because you were too afraid to tell your wife about it. So now I’m a little peeved because I could have learned more about it and avoided what happened today.”

While Levi now felt a bit sheepish about not disclosing it sooner, he still believed his reasons for not doing so were valid.

“Congratulations on our first official fight as a married couple.”

He couldn’t help but notice how gorgeous Aurelia was even as she glared at him.

Levi gave a small nod, his gaze never leaving hers. “When you put it that way…I’m sorry for not telling you sooner,” he murmured, voice tight. “But I won’t apologize for not including it in my profile. This isn’t something that’s easily summed up in a couple lines of text, and considering the impact it has on my life, I deserve to decide how and when to disclose it.”

Aurelia studied the man before her as she mulled over his logic. Realizing it wasn’t all that different from her unwillingness to open up about her past, she relaxed in his lap.

“I understand why you didn’t tell me—we’re still very much strangers. But I don’t ever want to see you pitying yourself like this or diminishing your contributions to the world. There’snothingto apologize for. It’s as ridiculous as apologizing for your eyes being such a lovely shade of green.”

She paused for a moment, watching him closely.

Levi knew she was right but still struggled to form a response. It was a welcome respite when her fingertips grazed his cheek again.

“It’s up to you to decide if you want to treat it as a gift or a burden. All I see is how you’ve taken a piece of yourself and used it to create something bigger than all of us—something that helps others. Don't let anyone, including yourself, lessen that.”

She barely finished speaking before Levi surged forward, devouring her mouth and overtaking her senses. It wasn’t gentle; it was intense and full of everything he couldn’t say aloud.

And she kissed him back with a ferocity that said more than words ever could.