“I don’t know what to say.”
“Just tell me you’re not angry?”
“Why would I be?”
“Because I dragged my whole family into this, but you have no idea what they’re like. They get involved in everything… They’re obsessive, controlling and… exhausting. Honestly.”
“I could get used to it,” I say uncertainly.
Ryan smiles at me. “Trust me, you’ll never get used to them. I’m twenty-eight, and I’m still not used to them.”
“Twenty-eight, eh? You’re still a little boy, O’Connor,” I tease – but he doesn’t seem amused.
“Do you really think so?”
“What?”
“That I’m a little boy.”
I stroke his cheek reassuringly. “No, Ryan. You’re so much more than that.”
He takes a deep breath and looks me straight in the eyes.
“I know that I’m a few years younger than you, and that you’re a strong, amazing woman, and… I still don’t know how to stand on my own two feet, and I’m ashamed of that, believe me. But I’m trying to become a man, Christine: a man who works hard to protect the people he cares about. A man who knows how to take care of women. Ofhiswoman.”
