He closed his eyes. “Mom defended me. She stood up to him even though he was bigger and had a weapon. She kicked him out and refused to see him again, no matter how much he threatened her. She took me to the hospital and made sure I had the best medical care she could afford, despite the fact it meant she could barely eat for weeks. That’s the kind of person she is.”

I swallowed, horrified by the thought of what he and his mother had endured. Nobody should be put in that situation. Meanwhile, I’d lived a charmed life with holidays in Europe and every material thing I asked for. Shame bubbled up inside me. At the time, I’d never considered there might have been people out there who went hungry. It was completely outside of my sphere of experience.

“She sounds like a wonderful woman.” My voice was thick, my tongue clumsy. “What’s her name?”

“Natalie.” His lips curved up, and the tension flowed out of his body again. “The first thing I did when I started earning good money was to buy her the kind of home she deserved. She gave up so much for me.”

Would it be weird for me to say I’d like to meet her? Probably.

I kept my mouth shut, but I couldn’t help thinking I understood some of why Ronan hated Tom so much. Tom came from a place of privilege but never seemed to appreciate it.

“I’m glad you were able to do that for her.”

He sighed. “I’d take care of her forever if she let me, but she doesn’t want that, so instead I helped her start a charity that gives financial advice to women in need.”

I remembered him mentioning her charity previously. Something tickled my cheek, and I swiped at a tear. The last thing Ronan needed was me falling apart on him.

“That’s amazing.” I decided I didn’t care if I sounded weird. “I’d love to meet her one day.”

He hummed, but I didn’t know if it was in agreement or something else. “I think she’d like you.”

I laughed. “I doubt that.”

“Really.” His eyes snapped open. “Why would you believe otherwise?”

“Because I’m the antithesis of what she stands for. A spoiled former rich girl whose biggest problem is that I’m probably going to lose the family company.”

He was quiet for a moment, then asked, “Is that how you see yourself?”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s the truth. I’ve been very lucky in life.”

“Interesting.”

I shimmied backward and dug my thumbs into his butt cheek. Sage said people carried a lot of tension there. Ronan groaned, and I figured I must be on to something, so I doubled down, hoping he’d be too distracted to finish his thought.

I didn’t get that lucky.

“When I look at you, I see a woman who is loyal to the people she cares about. You lost your mom and dad when you were young, and your brother doesn’t truly appreciate you, but you haven’t let that define who you are. You’re a hard worker, a skilled artist, and you don’t expect anything you haven’t earned.”