This didn’t sound good. “Sure.”
She gave him a skeptical glance.
“Yes, I can shut up for a minute. Stop dragging it out and tell me what happened before I have a heart attack.” Now he knew he wasn’t going to like what she had to say.
“The other week when you and I had a disagreement about me looking after myself, I didn’t really give it much thought other than taking it to mean you thought I deserved what I got.” She held up her hand as he opened his mouth. “Stop. See, you can’t not butt in, Liam. Let me finish.”
Anger built in his gut but he had to admit she was right. He’d said the wrong thing and was still paying for it.
“You wanted me to do the self-defense class because of what happened and then you didn’t let me use what I knew. I don’t think you meant it, but at the time, it hurt. It was like you were taking away the only thing I had left—my confidence.”
He’d never thought of it that way. No wonder she was so pissed at him.
“I figured if I let you get away with it, I’d start to believe it too. That I wasn’t capable of looking after myself. That I needed someone on board all the time to do that for me.”
There was no one more capable than Aggie. He knew that.
“It made me feel like less of a person. You don’t deserve to be saddled with someone like that. You deserve better.”
“Stop putting yourself down.” He stepped forward but she held up her hand again.
“Shut up. I’m not finished. I’ve tried hard to take note of what Ben has taught me, and this morning, I got to use it for real.”
“What?”
“I’m okay, so stop freaking out.”
Easy for her to say. “What happened?”
“I was cleaning up. You know the routine. Sweep the floors and put out the garbage. There was someone—nobody I’ve seen before—hanging around out by the dumpster. He looked homeless. He had a knife.”
“Are you kidding me? You sure you’re okay?” He looked her over for cuts but couldn’t see anything wrong.
“I’m fine. I thought he was going to hurt me but instinct kicked in when he insisted on dragging me back inside with him. Figured I could end up dead if I did that. I took him down, Liam. Knocked him out, actually.” She said it with a swagger he hadn’t heard in her voice before.
He grinned. Aggie was more ferocious than she knew. “Go you.”
She laughed, nervous but relaxing more as she told the story.
“Yeah. Everything Ben taught me just kinda happened. I managed to get back into the shop and lock myself in before I lost it. I called Ben and he was there in minutes.”
“Thank goodness.” He grabbed her and pulled her against his chest despite her protests. He needed to hold her, to convince himself she was okay.
Aggie stayed there for a moment before she slid out of his arms. “So, the thing is, I can look after myself so you don’t need to worry about me anymore.”
“Can I say something now?”
“Sure.”
He lifted her chin with his hand and gazed into her eyes. “I love you, Aggie Hope. I always have and always will. What I said was stupid. It was my male protectiveness taking over. Call it instinct or attitude, I don’t care. I didn’t mean to make you feel like any less of a person because of what happened and I’m sorry I did. It wasn’t what I meant. You’ll always be the same girl I fell in love with despite what happened to you. Not because of it.”
“I know that. I’m sorry I took it that way too. But it made me see what I had to do to accept that my life wasn’t over because of it. This morning was horrible but it gave me the chance to prove to myself that I can look after myself. I don’t have to have a man to do that. I don’t have to be a victim all my life.”
“No, you don’t. But I’m kind of hoping you want me anyway.” He wrapped his arms around her and waited for her answer.
“I don’t need you, Liam. But I want you. That’s if you can forgive me for wanting to do it this way and putting you through so much.”
All the angst he’d felt over the last week rushed up to knock the wind out of him. “How could you ever doubt that?”
“But you have to promise me something. Don’t try and protect me. I don’t need it. What I need is your love. I can take care of everything else.”
“Can I suggest one thing?”
Aggie raised an eyebrow at him.
“Can I encourage you to see Bradley and talk to him? Just because you’ve managed to protect yourself doesn’t mean there won’t still be some issues to deal with. He’s a great person to work things out with.”
“I’d already decided that would be a wise move. He offered and I happen to agree. Every day won’t be full of light and goodness. I expect it to come back and bite me on the butt occasionally. But so long as I have you by my side, I’m thinking that will happen less and less as time passes.”
“Oh, babe, we can get through this so long as you love me.”
“So you won’t leave Hope Island?” She glanced up at him.
“Only if you do.”
Aggie laughed. “Everything I want is right here. I’m not going anywhere.” She wrapped her arms around him and nestled her face against his chest. “Just don’t let me go, Liam. Don’t let me go.”
Epilogue
“Are you sure you’re doing the right thing, Aggie?” Her father hovered near the door as she packed her personal belongings into a suitcase. She’d already boxed up most of the things she wanted to take to Liam’s house.
“Yes, Dad. I love him and he loves me. Now that we have everything sorted out, I want to
