“Yes.” Her muffled voice almost broke him.
He held her close, desperate for her to let him into her heart. The stiffness in her shoulders slowly eased as he held her and Aggie rested against his chest. “Don’t let this come between us, Aggie. Please don’t push me away because of what happened.”
“I have no choice. One day you’ll look at me with doubt in your eyes and there’ll be no coming back from that. It’s easier if I keep my distance now. That way I won’t get hurt when you decide I’m not good enough.” She sniffed again and pulled away from his hold, blinking the tears away. Her eyes changed and the vulnerability disappeared. “But that wasn’t why I came here. I came to see how you are, what I can do to help you.”
“I think you’ve already done it. You’ve finally told me why you won’t commit to me. Now I have the chance to change your mind.”
She shook her head and heaved out a sigh. “You don’t get it, do you? I don’t want to have a relationship with you. I want to be left alone.” She turned and stormed down the driveway, her feet crunching out her angry steps.
He spoke to her back but that was okay. She didn’t need to hear the words as much as Liam wanted to say them out loud. “Too late, Aggie. You’ve already shown me that’s not the case. You’re protecting yourself, and now I have to prove to you that you don’t need to do that where I’m concerned.”
Liam walked back to his car and climbed in. As he drove the short distance to work, he tried to figure out how he was going to convince Aggie that his feelings for her would never change, no matter what happened or had happened. It was going to be a big ask but he was sure he was up to it. He just had to work out how to go about it without ruining what little confidence she had left. He had to prove to her that she was worthy of so much more than the life she’d resigned herself to. But how did a person go about helping a rape victim when she didn’t believe in herself? It was something he had to work on. No, Aggie shouldn’t see herself as a victim. She was a woman who’d been raped. Big distinction.
Chapter 15
“Go easy on her, Ben,” Liam begged his training partner. He couldn’t share her secret but he would protect her any way he could.
“I’m not going out of my way to hurt anyone. I’ll treat Aggie the same as the rest of the ladies here tonight. They’re coming to me for a reason.”
Liam held up his hand. “I know that, but be prepared for some of these women to have underlying problems too. You wouldn’t be running the class if everyone on the island felt safe.” He put his gloves back in his bag and zipped it up.
“I know how to deal with victims, Liam. It’s part of my job. Now scoot out of here and let me do what I do without you hovering around the edges. You’ll only put them off.” Ben pushed him toward the door as the first mother and daughter walked in, hesitated, and waited for Liam to pass them.
“Welcome.” Ben stepped forward. “Come on in. You have a few minutes before the class starts so feel free to grab a drink or have a look around. Dr. Davidson is just leaving.”
Liam nodded at the ladies and walked outside to his car, wondering if he’d see Aggie. Maybe Ben was right. It might be better if he wasn’t around to distract her or put her off.
He’d managed to keep away from Aggie for the last few days. He’d thought giving her space to get over what she’d told him was a good idea. Last thing Liam wanted was for her to regret telling him the truth. Or finding ways to avoid him because of it.
He’d spent considerable time reading reports from counsellors regarding rape and its effects on women. If he’d noticed sooner, would it have made any difference? He wasn’t sure but it still didn’t make him feel any better. He had to find a way to help Aggie work through her experience if there was any chance of them having a life together. And there was no way he was giving up on that dream now that he’d had a taste of what could be.
* * *
Aggie stood self-consciously with the small group of women and girls and wished she’d thought twice before signing up. They all knew each other but this was different to anything that had been offered on the island before. How many of them had been ‘encouraged’ to join up like her? Knowing Ben didn’t help as much as she’d thought it would.
“Ladies, welcome. So glad you could all come tonight. All of you know me so there’s no need to be shy. This is going to be a fun experience—at least, I hope so. Tonight is going to be an awesome experience and I know you’re going to love it. Believe me, you’re going to get so much out of this class.” Ben smiled and Aggie started to feel more at ease.
“So this course is to give you a little bit more confidence. You may never need to use the techniques I’m going to teach you, but it never hurts to be prepared. Besides, everyone loves the idea of being able to take care of themselves. Nothing like a little bit of empowerment to raise your self-esteem, right?”
Ben had such a lovely way of interacting with people, Aggie was surprised he wasn’t already taken. He’d never been short of dates in school. The way he worked in the community and how he was making everyone in the class relaxed went a long way to convincing her she was in
