“Jere, no. Don’t. Please just sit here and talk to me.” “Why are you protecting him?” “I’m—I’m not. I’m not.” He looked down at me. “Are you marrying me to erase him?” “No,” I said, and it came out more like a gasp. “No.” “The thing is, Bells, I don’t believe you,” Jeremiah said, and his voice was strangely flat. “I see the way you look at him. I don’t think you’ve ever looked at me like that. Not even once.”
