It was reassuring to hear her say it, but he really hated to think that the things he had tried to explain had come across as shaming her, or wanting her to be a pristine flower or whatever it had been.
“Yes, I had noticed,” he admitted, finally giving her a bit of a smile. “It’s just... different. Distracting. I don’t want to make you feel shame. That’s not what it is,” he insisted.