"Look at me!" Eve wiped the red hair from her face, and her lips trembled. "What does someone like you want with me? Sally's right ... I ... I'm not ... all that!"

Her fingers gripped the red waves, and new tears welled in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. The sight choked his chest. He could see her gaze drifting away from him and lingering on one point without taking him in.

"I have nothing. Nothing at all. And I am nothing. I ... no matter how many times you say someone might like ... me ..." her voice broke. "No one wants a mother with a child ... So why ..."

"Is that what your ... deceased husband told you that? That nobody wants you? That you ... are not beautiful?" It bubbled out of him bitterly before he could stop himself.

Eve flinched as if he had hit her or poured a bucket of ice-cold water over her. He saw her fingers clench into the towel and the poor fabric crumpled in her fingers.

The young woman stared at him, then swallowed as hard as if there were a noose around her neck and turned her eyes away from him again. It seemed to take an eternity, but then she nodded slowly.

"I ... after Liam was born, I wasn't good enough. Nothing was good enough. I never was, and I'm still not. He always said I wouldn't be able to do anything alone. And he was right: everything goes wrong, I can't get anything done ..."

Ray stared at Eve. His mind began to reel when he saw how broken the young mother was. His heart stumbled in his chest. A thorn dug into his chest as he realized he hadn't been wrong: Dylan's words were a lie. This woman was not the image he had given him. No, life had broken her, and Dylan was a part of it. Why - it didn't matter at that moment.

"Stop it," he said softly, taking her hands in his—rough hands, marked by many years of struggle and labor, with strong fingers. Hers, on the other hand, were innocent and soft like everything about her. Eve didn't deserve any of this. She deserved ... so much more.

"Eve, people always tell us we're not good enough. Not strong, not fast, not talented, not smart ... or not beautiful enough." He brought her hand to his cheek and felt her fingers tremble slightly. "We work hard, but that's not enough for someone. We can have a heart of gold, but someone still says you're not good enough."

Ray put his hand on hers and searched her gaze to show her he meant what he said. "You must stop defining yourself by other people's standards, Eve. You are good enough. You are strong. You are beautiful. What you are and how you are is enough. Liam loves you more than anything. Riona loves you, and so does Edana. And..."

Ryker wanted to keep talking, but... He couldn't. Not yet. Not while there were so many lies between them. "The truth is that you don't need anyone in your life who doesn't value who you are, Eve. But the first thing you need to do is learn to love yourself." Ray's fingers gently stroked hers, and then he reached out with his other hand and placed it against her cheek again, intercepting a tear in its path.

"If your ... deceased husband or others have told you lies for so long, then I will tell you every day from now on. Until you believe me."

Following the urging of his feelings, he leaned down to her. He held her face tightly while his forehead sank against hers. Tenderly, the tip of his nose brushed against her little snub nose.

"Yes, you're not like the others," he raised his voice and felt her hold her breath as if she was expecting a lash after too much sugar. He had to take a deep breath to keep the anger at Dylan from consuming him. Instead, he concentrated on continuing to speak. "But that's a good thing, too. You're special in your own way. Every crack, every habit, everything you see as a flaw ... all that ... makes you unique."

"Ray ... I know you mean well, but..." Eve pressed her lips together, and he knew what she would say.

When you'd been broken repeatedly in small blows for so long, the shards were tiny; the cracks ran deep. It wasn't like in the books or movies, where everything got better from one day to the next. Healing such wounds took time. Who knew that better than HIM?

"No matter what's happened, Evelyn, you're beautiful. You have a good heart. Anyone would have shied away from me. Anyone would have turned away when I was down. I've seen enough people who found the sight of my scars disgusting or only felt pity for me. But not you. You reached out your hand to me. You took me in your arms and picked me up. And I want to reciprocate. I want to catch you and hold you."

Even as he spoke, his face slid closer and closer to hers. He gently kissed her cheek, then kissed away one of the tears and followed its trail to her chin. She didn't care about his scars and he didnt care about hers. When someone enraptured you... none of that mattered. That's why the answer was easy for him: "That's why, Eve. That's why you, and no other."

Their lips were almost touching, and he could feel her warm breath. Her closeness alone softened the stern features that all too often stiffened his face.

"You're perfect, Eve, just the way you are. Beautiful in every way ... and you must never forget that."

"Then hold me... Prove it to me ..." she whispered.

Their lips met, and there was so much in Eve's kiss: a longing for support, comfort, and affection, a desire for appreciation and physical closeness, for someone who didn't just give her empty words but showed her that he really wanted her. And Ray was ready to give her all that and more.

A husky laugh tripped over the numerous pebbles in their shared path and then sprang somewhat harshly from his lips to lap against hers like waves on a beach.

"As you wish..." he murmured, his voice swinging into a dark growl full of sinful promise. "Your wish is my command..."

He tasted her tears on his tongue and wanted nothing more than to banish them from her life forever. His fingers slid into the side of her hair, feeling the soft curls tickling his hand and finding the nape of her neck to pull her to him a little more firmly.

His lips caressed hers before he deepened the kiss, feeling like a stone sinking into the sea along with her.

Song recommendation for this chapter: 

Michael Patrick Kelly - Blurry Eyes

In our TYH Playlist song no. 8: 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5G8UMM57cGVhHAgRE83DzA?si=4386f09c1cbe45a2