Page 56 of Papa's Bébé
A sigh escaped her. “Both.”
“Okay, is there anything I can do to make things better?”
There he went again. Why was he so perfect? It was infuriating.
Which she knew was a strange reaction. But in her experience most people weren’t like this. They weren’t kind and caring. Especially to people who they had only just met. And who, let’s be frank, were acting a bit crazy.
Nope. People like him just weren’t real. So was this an act? But why? She could understand if he’d acted like this in front of her father. Because he was the one paying him.
But she was no one. So why would he pretend to care about her now?
“Why are you being nice?” she asked his chest.
“Why am I being nice?” he repeated. He was sounding confused again.
She seemed to have that effect on him. She guessed it was a gift. One she should try to return.
She nodded. “Why?”
“Should I not be nice?” he asked.
Weirdly, he moved his hand to behind her neck. She tensed, waiting for him to grab her harshly, for him to hurt her. But he simply laid it there and it felt so lovely.
Warm and heavy, but in a good way. Like he was grounding her when she’d been trying to float away.
Sounded silly, she knew.
“It’s just . . . people . . . they aren’t always . . . nice.”
“Then those aren’t people you should be around. Because you deserve to have people treat you nicely.”
It was a lovely thing to say. However, she just wasn’t sure that it was the case.
“You don’t . . . know me. I might not be a good person,” she said quietly. Her shoulders hunched up. She wasn’t always a good person. Her protective barrier meant that sometimes she spoke without thought. She didn’t mean to be, though.
And she often beat herself up over it.
Unless she was talking to Vince or Kathryn or one of her horrid sons. Maya had long ago stopped beating herself up over her relationship with them. They didn’t deserve her regret or self-chastisement.
“I don’t have to know someone to know they’re a good person.”
“Really?” she asked skeptically.
“Uh-huh. It’s my superpower.”
It sounded so silly. And yet, if anyone had a superpower she really thought it would be Matthieu.
He seemed almost otherworldly.
“And you are a good person. You deserve to be treated well. So that’s what you’re going to get from me, understand?”
She wanted to believe in what he said. Desperately.
But she’d been let down in the past.
Although sometimes people really were as nice and awesome as they seemed. Look at Livvy.
“Just give me a chance to show you. Don’t push me away or try to put a barrier between us. We’re going to have to learn to work together and a little trust will go a long way. I know trust takes time and unfortunately, we might not have that. So we’re gonna have to get to know each other quick. Okay?”
