His fingers tighten reflexively when she pulls away like that. Not cruel, not even all that possessive. No, it's desperate. He can't think of a life without Vanessa.

He wants to step in close again, but he doesn't, giving her her space. For now at least. "I love you," he tells her, and there's a rasp to his voice that wasn't there before. "Does what I can't give you really outweigh that?"