feeling crept into his chest, but he ignored it for now because there was no use thinking about his family and Gen if his mate wouldn’t even look at him right now. That was a whole different issue. “And now she doesn’t want me.”
“It’s not that she doesn’t want you, Gabriel.” Rosie placed a hand on his shoulder sympathetically. “She just doesn’t understand what’s happening, being human.”
“It would be easier if she was a shifter.”
Rosie laughed out loud. “Lord, do you really think human and shifter females aren’t similar? I thought you had more sense than that. Growing up, you never did starve for female attention, whether it was from that suffocating family of yours or all those women fawning all over you. Maybe it’s time you did some of the chasing, Gabriel Russel.”
“I know, I know,” he said glumly. “I’m easy on the eyes.” Rosie snorted but he continued. “I have a job. I look pretty hot when I’m in my uniform.”
“And you’re richer than sin,” Rosie added.
He winced, not really thinking about that. “Then why doesn’t she want me?”
“Gabriel, have you ever thought that perhaps those are the reasons she doesn’t want you?”
“What?”
The older woman’s lips twisted. “You’re not blind right, you can see her scars?”
“Yeah, and so?”
“And so?” she parroted. “How do you think she feels about them?”
“Does it matter?”
“It does to her,” she said. “It’s part of her, something she has to live with every day. And you can’t just ignore them—”
“I’m not.” But Rosie’s words made him think. Truly, aside from the fact that she must have been in incredible pain, those scars didn’t matter to him at all. Obviously, it bothered Temperance a lot. “Do you know what happened?”
“Not the whole story.” Rosie’s tone lowered. “But you can’t just ignore her scars. She’s extremely self-conscious about them, and it’s not just about how she looks. There’s a deeper scarring there, one we can’t see.” She sighed. “Temperance is an amazing person—inside and out. You don’t even know how lucky you are that she’s your mate. But her confidence seems to have been left in tatters by God knows what, and so, when you come in and start throwing your weight around, she won’t believe you want her for her.”
Huh. He’d never really thought of that. Of course not. His entire focus in trying to claim Temperance had been to make her want him back. Now he realized what he had to do was earn her. “What do I do, Rosie?”
“Talk to her. Show her you genuinely want her for her, and for God’s sake, listen to the things she’s saying and not saying. You’re used to showing everyone your perfect side, but maybe what Temperance needs to see is your flawed, human side. Trust me, she’ll respect you more for it.”
“And what about us being mates? Should I tell her?”
“That’s up to you, kiddo.” Rosie patted him on the cheek. “You’ll know when it’s time.” There was a sad smile on her face, and Gabriel wondered if there was any meaning behind it.
“Will she even talk to me?”
“She might be persuaded. Wait here.”
Gabriel felt his body tense again when Rosie disappeared through the door. It seemed like an eternity passed, but he didn’t dare look away. Finally, the knob turned, and the door opened slowly.
Temperance peeked her head out, then quickly turned away to hide the right side of her face. A pain plucked at his chest wondering if he had blown it with her. He thought they had gotten past the whole conversation about her scars, seeing as he’d told her he wasn’t disgusted. Seeing her like this, skittish around him, made him realize his mistake—not only did he try to bully his way into her life, but he’d failed to make her feel safe and secure around him. And that just wouldn’t do.
“Rosie said you wanted to talk to me?” she asked.
“Yes, but only if you want to.”
She shrugged.
“I just wanted to say …” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I’m sorry about overreacting this morning. I should have checked in with you here. And … and I should have sat down and talked to you.” Sweat formed on his palms. “The thing is, Temperance … I like you. I really, really like you.” That didn’t seem enough to convey how he felt, but he had to remember to take things slow.
One hazel eye looked up at him. “You do?”
“Uh-huh. There’s no joke. No ulterior motives. When I went crazy this