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“No, I won’t.” She pouted. “But I will scream.”
“I’d allow it.”
She blew out a huge breath. “It was my fault.”
He gave in to his urge, abandoning his desk in favor of the cushion next to her. Cautiously, he slid his arm along the back of the sofa. “Don’t blame yourself for what the press says—”
She snuggled close and his soul settled. He’d missed her touch, even the casual instinctual ones.
“Not that,” she breathed and... was she inhaling his scent? “What they’re printing is racist and fucked-up. But I gave them the ammunition.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
He hated that she thought anything she did entitled the media to produce the trash they did. His mother hadn’t deserved their attention. Neither had he. All Dani had done was override good common sense and fall in love with him, something he was thankful for every single day.
She stiffened and pulled away from him. “Don’t call my feelings ridiculous.”
Bloody hell!“I just meant nothing justifies what they’re doing.”
“True, but I didn’t have to act out. I was so furious with your grandmother, your entire family really, except your mom.”
He was intimately acquainted with that feeling. “They can be infuriating.”
“It’s not easy growing up in a society that says anyone who looks like you isn’t beautiful or valued. I know I seem confident, but it didn’t come naturally. It took a long time to learn to love what I see in the mirror. My hair. My complexion. My lips. So when the queen made those comments and I received them while I was already feeling vulnerable... I let them reduce me to that little girl who had been judged and found lacking. And that little girl was a fighter.”
His heart ached for her. “Of course you were angry. And hurt.And you wanted to make a point. That doesn’t give the press the right to—”
She inhaled and held up a hand. “Stop.”
“What? I’m agreeing with you.”
“You don’t get it!”
Why the fuck was she yelling at him?
“You’re right, I don’t. Explain it to me.”
She stared at him without blinking. Then she opened her mouth and yelled.
Loudly.
“What was that for?” It took a second. “I didn’t say I told you so!”
“I don’t need you to fix everything, Jay. Sometimes, I just need you to listen.”
“I do listen. And I hear the media is, once again, targeting a woman I love. Do you really expect me to stand by and take no action?”
“Yes! If I ask you to.”
“Butwhywouldn’t you want my help?”
She pushed to her feet and moved away from him. “Because I’ve been doing things on my own for a long time now.”
He tilted his head. “That’s my point. You no longer have to. I’m here.”
“And what about when you’re not? I can’t afford to let myself depend on you and then you’re gone!”
Shock and hurt held him momentarily immobile.
