"Hey. Look at me." He moved a hand to cup her cheek, turning her so that she was looking directly at him, into his eyes. "I'm not going to let that happen, all right? I'm going to stay on the fringes as much as I can, pretend I'm a snob who doesn't like getting his hands dirty. Hopefully that'll work."
He hugged her to him tightly, nearly crushing her against him. "Hate me if you want. But I refuse to let anything happen to you."