"We're an option now, and we've been alone countless times. If I had known"

"You would have what? Pitied me much sooner? Fought the attraction harder?"

"Done everything in my power to prove you wrong." Elbows on the table, he leaned forward, fire darkening his already black eyes. "You responded to me. You're not damaged goods or defective. Obviously, your previous partners didn't have a lick of patience. Just because you take longer to get there doesn't mean you can't, ...