Page 40 of Boss Me Not

I sighed and climbed off him before heading to the en suite. When I came out to the kitchen, he was standing at the stove, his phone tucked into the crook of his shoulder.

“Yeah, I know,” he said and then glanced over at me. “I’ll talk to her.” He sighed. “I understand. I’m not a complete idiot, but I appreciate the heads-up.”

What did he need to talk to me about now? I braced for bad news.

“Seems like the trolls are at it again,” he said as he turned toward me and set the phone down on the counter. With his arms crossed and jaw locked, he studied me. “Paul has me paranoid that this could be a deal breaker for you if it keeps up. I want to say I’m willing to give you that out if it’s what you want. But the truth is I would rather burn my social media to the ground than let you walk away. So please tell me this isn’t going to be an issue. I wish I could prevent it, but I can’t.”

“Trolls?” I tilted my head. “I might need more context.”

His brows furrowed. “You haven’t checked your Instagram yet?”

My body shook as I laughed at his statement. “Um, no. That will never be my thing. I rarely use it and only check it when someone tells me to. I upload a picture every now and then.”

“Oh.” He shifted. “Well, don’t.”

“Another picture of us?”

He nodded. “Yes. Coming out of Starlight Pi last night. Comments are cruel. Don’t read them.”

“Attacking your playboy status still?”

He looked away, not willing to meet my eyes. “My dating history is in there, yes.”

“What are you not saying?”

His whole body screamed uncomfortable, and now I couldn’t stamp down my curiosity.

“I can go read them if you don’t want to tell me.” Not that I really wanted to, but I would if he couldn’t tell me.

“Mean comments that have absolutely no truth to them and that I refuse to even repeat.”

“About me?”

“Yes,” he gritted out.

“Why?”

He shrugged. “I don’t really know why.”

I looked down at my hands as I fiddled with the hem of my sleep shorts. “Do they have to do with my weight? The fact that I’m bigger than the girls you usually date?”

I gasped as he closed the distance and stopped directly in front of me. His hands threaded through my hair and he cupped my face with his palms.

“Nothing they said was true. Do you hear me?” His thumbs caressed my cheeks. “I love your body. I think your curves are sexy and you are beautiful. Anything else is a lie.”

A tear slipped from my eye and he brushed it away with his thumb.

“Baby, please. Don’t cry. I wish I could stop it.” His arms wrapped around me and he brought me flush against his body. “But anything I say or do could make it worse. The best thing to do is ignore it. Eventually they’ll get bored and move on.”

I nodded against his chest. I understood what he was saying, but it didn’t make me feel good. Everyone would always look at us and wonder why he was with me when he could have any beautiful woman he wanted.

Through breakfast, I tried to put it at the back of my mind. But I didn’t do a very good job, and Wyatt could sense it too. Although he wrapped me in his arms and kissed me until I was breathless, he didn’t try anything more. I was a bit relieved, sure I wouldn’t be able to be fully present for that.

Once we were downstairs and I got busy handling things it was easier to forget about. At least until my sister started texting rapid-fire.

Izzy:Fucking trolls. Ugly ass women. Inside and out based on my top-notch stalking skills.

Izzy: Some of them need to eat a whole pizza, maybe three, they look that unhealthy.

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