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What is_ She flipped through a few pages, looked up into his eyes. __s this_?_ __y journal,_ he said, reaching out to glide a knuckle down her cheek. Her skin was so damn soft. She was a contradiction in terms to him, and one that he found endlessly fascinating: a woman with the inner strength to rival any Spec Ops member he__ ever known, yet she had such a kind, soft heart beneath that hard-won armor. Resilient. Independent yet willing to compromise. Formidable in her confidence and strength of will, yet gentle and loving. He loved her so hard it hurt. __ bought it the night after you stayed at my place,_ he continued. __ knew if I was going to have a real shot with you going forward then I needed to get my shit together once and for all. You said the writing thing really helped you so I called my counselor and talked to her about it. She thought it would be good for me too. So I wrote in it every day since. I__e been working hard at it._ Taya leafed through the pages until she came to the end and looked back up into his eyes. __t__ full._ __eah. Guess I had a lot to say._ The tenderness in her eyes slayed him. __athan, I__ so proud of you._ Her pride in him made him feel twenty feet tall. He let out a relieved breath. __ want to read it to you. That__ my next step, if you__e okay with it._ __f course it__ okay. I__ love for you to read it to me, as long as you feel comfortable doing it._ __hat__ the thing, I am. And I wouldn__ be with anyone else except you. You make me feel_whole._ He didn__ know how else to say it, how else to explain himself, except he needed her to know he was trying like hell to deal with his issues. __ know I__e got a long way to go before I get to the same place you__e at, but I__ willing to put in the work to get there. I feel safe with you and I__ ready to move forward, let go of all the stuff that happened before. Like you said, I__ doing it for me. I__ sick of my past having any kind of hold over me. So I__ going to do whatever it takes to make peace with it._ Her answering smile lit up her whole face, made her gray eyes sparkle like gems. __hen I__l gladly listen to whatever you want to say._ Warmth kindled in his chest. She did that; warmed him from the inside out, just by being her. __ood, because I love you._ She froze, her eyes widening slightly. He nodded, laughed at her shocked expression. __ep, I love you. That__ what I came here to say. I love you and I__ a better man because of it, but not as good a man as I__l be down the road if you stand by me._ Her eyes filled with tears and she flung her arms around him. __ love you too,_ she blurted out against his neck. __o, so much. And of course I__l stand by you._ Nate felt like his heart might burst. He hugged her hard. __ould you move to Virginia with me? When your dad__ strong enough. I know you need to be here for a while longer, but after that, I want you in my bed every night so I can wake up beside you each morning._ She gave a soggy laugh, her face still buried in his neck. __here you go again with the romance._ __h, baby, have I got plans for you._ He stroked a hand over her back, fascinated by the combination of softness and strength that was uniquely her. Then his stomach rumbled, making her smile. He was starving, hadn__ eaten since lunchtime. __ey, you wouldn__ happen to have any bacon in the house, would you? Because I__ kill for a BLT right now.