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Shock filled his face.
Oh crap. She hadn’t meant to say that.
She put her hand back over her mouth. Maybe she should permanently gag herself. Was that a possibility?
“What do you mean that over the past eight years you’ve barely spoken to anyone? What about friends? Work?”
She removed her hand. “I was exaggerating. Of course I’ve talked to other people. Livvy. The boys. All the people. Heaps. I’m a social butterfly.” She sighed. “Or I’m basically a sad recluse with no friends whose only interactions with people were by spying on them or online.”
“Baby,” he said quietly.
“I don’t need any pity.”
“Hey, I am not pitying you. I promise.” He gave her a stern look. Then he suddenly sat on the sofa next to her. “Come here, please.” He held open his arms. “I need a cuddle.”
“You need one, huh?”
“Yep. And you’re not going to turn me down, are you? Surely you couldn’t do that to this face?”
He made the cutest puppy dog face she’d ever seen. Yeah. There was no way she could say no to that face. Which is how she found herself in his lap. With her face pressed into his neck.
“I’m guessing it was hard to put yourself out there and make friends when you moved to Savannah. You didn’t know anyone?”
“No,” she whispered. “Maybe if I’d gotten a job out of my apartment, I would have met people, but I was too scared. So I got a job where I could work from home. After a while, it just became easier to stay home, you know? To keep myself amused, I would make up stories about my neighbors. If I got bored or lonely, I’d read books. Or I’d go online.”
Yeah, she could hear how weird that sounded.
“You think I’m a wimp, don’t you?” she said. “Because I can’t go out and make real friends.”
“Seems I’m going to buy you another set of boots.”
She groaned. “You’re going to end up broke.”
“Then you better start following the rules. And stop calling yourself names. You are not a wimp, you’re the strongest person I know.”
“But I’m not. It’s taken me eight years to come back here. To where . . . where I was hurt.” She sucked in a breath. This was so hard, but she had to know. “Do you know what happened to me? Did Aidan tell you?”
His arms tightened around her. “Yes, baby. He told me a while ago.”
Okay, that was something. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about explaining it all.
“What happened to you was horrific and traumatizing. And that fucker got off far too easy. You’re so damn strong, my baby. I am in awe of you.”
He didn’t get it. He didn’t see how weak and cowardly she was. “I’m not, though. I didn’t leave the house at all yesterday. Well, briefly to meet Sunny. But then I came back here. I don’t . . . I don’t think I can go back to where it happened.”
“You thought you were going to?” He drew her back, staring down at her incredulously. “No. That’s not happening.”
“And if I need to? What if I need to in order to move forward?” It’s the only thing she could think of to help her screwed-up emotions.
“I said no.” He gave her the sternest look she’d ever seen from him.
She sniffled. “I hate to break it to you, Fossy, but you don’t actually get a say in what I do.”
“Fossy?”
“It’s a cross between fussy and bossy.”
“I . . . yeah, you are not calling me that.”
