She feared if she did, she would find herself in a dream. Because Ethan Hale couldn’t possibly be kissing her like this. As if she were a priceless treasure. As if he’d seen every part of her—the best, the worst and all myriad of shades in between—and he still wanted her. He still cared.She’d never even told Stephen about her childhood. He’d thought her parents had died. And for all she knew, that was true. She’d never trusted him with the entirety of her truth, though. Nor anyone else. She didn’t want sympathy or to be seen as some pathetic orphan. Announcing that she’d been abandoned as a child and grown up in foster care almost felt like waving a red flag.Approach with caution.Broken.Unlovable.She wasn’t sure why she’d shared so much with Ethan. At the time she’d told herself that it was simply a matter of reciprocation. He’d opened up to her about his childhood, so she’d done the same. He’d even told her about what had happened to him in Denali, and clearly, that wasn’t something he shared with just anyone.So why had he chosen to expose such a secret part of himself to her?
