Page 68 of Love Bomb

“It’s appropriate for the time,” Rona said as she reached for a handful of popcorn.

The move disturbed Tom Cat, who was curled up on Bain’s stomach. He meowed in protest before going back to sleep. Unbelievable. Bain had belonged to her long before the cat came on the scene, and now she had to curl around the cat to snuggle with the man. Cats. There was no dealing with them.

“And his hair isn’t the point,” Rona said as she settled in beside both of them. “The point is, Darcy was rude and so were you. What girl wants to hear that a guy likes her, or kisses her, or loves her against his better judgment? It was a dumbass thing to say, Bain. But it’s okay. You’re learning and so does Darcy.” She smiled up at him. “Keep watching, and take mental notes on how he improves. You’ll probably need them.”

“I’m sorry, but all I can see is a guy in ill-fitting trousers,” Bain said.

She smacked his chest before educating him on the acting resumé of every actor on screen, in the order they appeared. Bain distracted himself by playing with her hair. He seemed endlessly fascinated by her curls. Sometimes, he got the same look of concentration in his eyes that Tom Cat did when he was chasing a laser toy.

During the part where Darcy went off to right his wrongs, and save Lydia from eternal damnation, Bain’s phone went off. Rona wasn’t bothered by the interruption. She’d always thought Lydia deserved what she got. That girl learned nothing from her actions.

“Hey.” Bain grinned. “The boys are having a picnic.”

He turned the phone toward her and there was an image of Kade and Darach, sitting in a window seat in the old Presbyterian church. They’d dragged over a table and the top of it was covered with an assortment of junk food. They both gave the camera a thumbs up.

“Is that beer?” Rona said staring at the photo. “Should they be having beer on a stakeout? In a church?”

“Let’s just be happy they’re gone and leave it at that,” Bain said.

He had a point.

When they reached the part of the movie where Lady Catherine de Bourgh drove all the way to Longbourn house to berate Elizabeth, Rona couldn’t help but see her parents. She heard the same haughty, entitled tone coming from the actress on screen as she’d heard from her mother earlier that evening. For a second, Rona felt like she was listening to her parents all over again as they told her she wasn’t good enough, demanded that she promise not to destroy their good name, and insisted the inheritance was never hers to begin with. As she watched the drama unfold, the movie began to blur.

Suddenly, the screen froze and fingers gently angled her chin upward.

“You’re crying,” Bain accused. “I don’t like it when you cry. It makes me want to punch something.”

She tried to smile, but it was hard, because he was right. She was crying.

“Is it the movie?” he asked, in a tone promising to eradicate it from the internet if that was the case.

“No.” And just like she’d always done in the past, she found herself telling Bain everything. “I just realized that my parents aren’t ever going to change, are they?”

She held her breath, waiting for his verdict, knowing he wouldn’t lie to her, not about something important.

“No, Rona,” he said softly. “I don’t think it’s possible. Mainly because they don’t want to change.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Her throat became tight as the stupid tears continued to fall. “I don’t know why they had me,” she whispered.

If she had a child, she’d love them no matter what. She wouldn’t treat them like an inconvenience, or forget they existed.

“I don’t care why they had you.” Bain wiped her cheek with his thumb. “I’m just glad they did.”

She swallowed hard against the growing lump in her throat. “Blowing up the folly won’t change them, will it?”

“I don’t think so,” he said, his face a mask of concern. “Would you rather I blow them up instead?”

She tried to laugh at his stupid joke, but it hurt too much. Instead, she buried her face in his chest and let it all out. She cried for the years she’d tried to please her parents. For the gifts she’d given them that had been unwelcome. For the times they’d ignored her, or silenced her, or left her alone. She cried for all the times she’d just wanted to be seen. To be hugged. To be wanted.

And she cried for the fact she’d never know what it felt like to be loved by a parent.

Finally, she cried herself to sleep.

A cold, dark rage settled within Bain as he comforted the woman in his arms. Each raw sob was a knife slicing through him, and all he could do was hold her close and listen to her pain. There were no words he could offer to make things right for her. If he’d been able, he’d have stormed into the past and confronted the parents of the little girl Rona had been. He’d have made them care for her the way she deserved. And he’d have held them to account.

When Rona passed out from emotional exhaustion, he carefully lifted her into his arms and carried her upstairs, followed closely by Tom Cat. He tucked her into his bed, placed her phone on the bedside table, where she could easily find it, then ordered the cat to watch over her.

He had things to do.