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The scowl Izzy gave him was ferocious. Damn, it was like Craig had gone and betrayed her.

And, in a way, he had.

‘What do you want me to say?’ When he had no way to explain it, either. ‘You left. And it became quite clear that you weren’t coming back—especially when you suggested we live separate lives. That hurt.’ It had gutted him.

‘You hated visiting me in Sydney. All we did was argue.’

‘I don’t do cities filled with morons arguing over car park spaces. And I hated how that job kept you so busy. I felt like the only one making an effort in this relationship, when you put your job first that it stopped you from spending time with me.’ He stabbed at his chest, ignoring the pain in his ribs because a broken heart hurt a hell of a lot more. ‘After that last trip, when I came home alone, knowing it was over, the only way I ever felt anything was when I got on the back of a beast and rode it for eight seconds in a rodeo.’ His chest heaved for air, his ribs squeezing with fire. ‘Yes, it was Russian roulette with the reaper. It was what I’d call my date with Death, wondering when Death was going to call up my name.’

She gasped, stepping away from him. ‘Why didn’t you say anything?’

‘Because you seemed happy. You got to be successful. You were doing what you loved, and you were coping so well. There’s no way I was going to take that away from you, not when it meant crushing your happiness.’ He scrubbed his face hard to wipe off his scowl. It had to be matching hers.

But she wasn’t going to hear him, not until he answered the one question he didn’t want to talk about.

He inhaled, searching for the right words in a hellish situation… ‘As for those women, none of them meant anything to me.’

‘Uh-huh.’ She rolled her eyes, while crossing her arms over her chest.

‘They were nothing but faceless women. And I sure as hell made sure I was heavily gloved up with any of them, because I didn’t want it to feel anything remotely like you. Not after making love to you for all those years. They were nothing more than a way to scratch an itch, quickly forgotten.’

He gritted his teeth, the anger hot and heavy on his chest. ‘And none of them ever came here.’ He pointed back to the house. ‘This house, this land, was yours and mine, it was our place, our home . It was sacred to me. I didn’t tell anyone where I lived, or about you, because it hurt to simply speak about you.’ Again, his words echoed around them.

He took a deep breath, desperate to tone it down while trying to tell her everything he’d been holding onto for so long. ‘I called none of them. I made no plans with them. It just happened. And I never sat up late at night scouring the internet to glimpse their name or catch them in the news. Only you.’

‘Are you saying you still love me?’

He stepped forward, gathering her fingers to hold her hands. ‘I never stopped loving you, Izzy, not for a single second, of every hour of every day. I’d always hoped and prayed that one day you’d come back, and here you are.’

‘It’s not like that.’ She pulled her hands free.

He hated how she’d done that, pulling away from him. But he wasn’t going to give up without a fight. Not now. ‘Yes, it is. You’re here now. As far as I’m concerned, baby, you're home.’

‘This is not what you think.’

Buck no! This is what he’d been dreading—the real reason why she was here.

Grinding his teeth, he steeled his heart for the bad news he could read in her eyes. ‘Go on, tell me. What’s the real reason you’re here?’

‘To sell the house.’

‘Why now? When you’ve had years to ask me to sell it.’ Izzy also had the resources to divorce his arse, but she never had, instead she’d made a name for herself with his surname. The signs were all there. Izzy hadn’t let him go, just like he’d never let her go. ‘Why sell the house now, when Dustfire is our home?’

She gnawed on her bottom lip, while tugging on one ear.

So he gently cupped her face to make her look at him, to make her see how much he cared. ‘Tell me.’

The fear on her face was a kick in the guts, but the words she spoke were worse. ‘To keep you safe, I need to get my name off the deed—because the longer I stay near you, the more danger you’re in.’