Chapter 31

“You just don’t feel the same.”

“Now did I say that?”

“Well…no. Do you?” Tino turned his dark gaze to Armand’s face, praying for the answer he wanted to hear.

“Yes, I love you,” Armand said adamantly. “Not at all what I expected, a few months ago. I hoped we’d be friends, at first. Then perhaps more. But love? I’m not sure that factored into the equation until just recently. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over my long lifetime, it’s that real love rarely happens. Attraction, infatuation, caring, even devotion? They’re part of every life—or at least, so one would hope.” He kissed Tino before continuing. “I told you, recently, that you touch my soul. That’s what love is. And when it’s returned, when two souls are bound as one? What more could one ask?”