[She pulls her hand back, a little wounded. Of all the snarly males she's met in Deerington or Trench, he's the only one who's ever treated her like...

Well. Like he does.

It makes it very hard for her to find the right words. So she speaks slowly. Carefully.]

I don't want anyone else getting hurt over a misunderstanding. Especially one where I'm being used to bait you.

I want to settle how we prevent this from happening again.