She immediately shook her head because there was something unbearable about the gratitude in his face, too much tenderness directed at her all at once. "Phei, don't do this. You'll make me..."
"I mean every word."
His gaze rose again and caught hers, leaving her still. His thumbs moved slowly across the backs of her hands while he tried to breathe around the emotions strangling his chest: "I don't know how to repay you for something like this."
"You don't owe me anything."
"I know." He squeezed her hands carefully. "But I need you to understand what you've given me."
