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"There is this thing called a handshake," Nancy said slowly. "Maybe you have heard of it."

She thought he had lost his mind. What kind of hand-holding was he talking about?

So Yardley thought she was cheating on him?

"Relax. I am not cheating on you. And based on the vows we took, I will not cheat on you either. You can rest easy."

Yardley’s face went pale. Then it turned slightly green.

"You are thinking about cheating on me?"

Nancy pressed her lips together. She had no idea what to say to this unreasonable man.

"Let us go home. It is getting late. Orion will worry."

"You only care about him. When are you going to care about me?"

The words left Yardley’s mouth too fast. Nancy did not have time to process them.

He regretted it the second he said it.

--

After she broke up with him, Yardley told himself he would not chase after her. She left him. He would not beg her to stay.

But after the breakup, all he could think about was her voice saying, I never loved you.

Pride kept him from reaching out.

But he still went to that orphanage. He still brought their son home.

And when he heard she was back in the country, he deliberately showed up at places he knew she would be.

When he found out her engagement was off, something in his chest loosened.

When she discovered Orion was her son, Yardley’s first thought was not shock. It was relief. Now we can finally get married.

Just like his brother said. Nancy was the only one he had ever wanted.

He pulled himself back to the present.

"We are mates," he said, his voice softer now. "Not enemies. If you need help, you can come to me. You do not need to go to other people."

Nancy pressed her lips together. She was making a decision.

"You know I lost my memory. But based on what I have been able to dig up, the reason I got close to you back then was because Xander told me to."

Yardley froze.

"Xander?"

He had never connected their relationship to that man.

Xander was a guy he used to work with about ten years ago. They had been friendly once, but they eventually lost touch.

The last time they saw each other was at Yardley’s wedding. Xander came to congratulate him. That was it.

"Yes." Nancy’s voice was steady, but her hands were shaking. "I do not remember what I said to you when we broke up. But Xander used my mother’s medical bills to blackmail me into getting close to you."

"He told me if I got close to you, he would help pay for her heart transplant. I think I did not want to keep up that kind of twisted relationship, so I broke things off with you. Not long after that, my mother fell from a building. And not long after that, my father died in a car crash. That is when I lost my memory."

She took a breath.

"Everything points back to Xander. I hired a private investigator to look into him. But Xander found out. That is why I wanted to hire a lawyer. I thought maybe there was another way to get justice."

Yardley sat there, processing.

"So when you said you did not love me, that was a lie?"

Nancy stared at him. She did not even remember saying that.

"I do not know."

That answer was enough for Yardley. In his mind, I do not know translated directly to I love you.

He stood up. "Let us go. I will handle Xander. Do not worry. I will find out what really happened to your mother and father."

He paused.

"But that lawyer guy? You do not need to see him anymore."

Yardley walked half a step ahead of Nancy. His right hand extended behind him, palm open.

"Come on."

Nancy stood there, frozen.

Yardley raised an eyebrow. "What? You can hold hands with other men, but not with me?"

Nancy’s brow furrowed. She stepped forward and slipped her hand into his.

Yardley looked away quickly. But his thumb brushed across the back of her hand. The corner of his mouth lifted.

Good. His mate just confessed her feelings.