Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 134598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
“I’ll meet you by the pool at four-thirty,” he countered as if he hadn’t even heard her. “Don’t be late or I’ll have to come looking for you.”
No way that was happening. She was not spending time with him. And he couldn’t make her.
At least, that’s what she told herself.
9
Knocking on her office door startled her. Cate put down the report she’d been reading and glanced at the time. It was only four and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Honestly, she’d been on edge all day ever since encountering Ethan in the kitchen this morning.
He’d defended her.
He’d been worried about her cutting her feet.
He’d lifted her onto the counter.
Those sorts of things just didn’t happen in her world. Every man she knew would have fallen over their own feet trying to please Samantha. Especially when she was wearing a bikini.
Ethan hadn’t even really glanced at her.
Oh. Maybe he wasn’t into women. Shoot. She was an idiot. Why hadn’t she thought of that?
Well, that was embarrassing. Had she been getting hot and bothered over a man who was gay?
She’d been very short-sighted. Did she owe him an apology?
Drat. She wasn’t sure. And this didn’t seem like the sort of thing she could ask someone else. Maybe she should apologize just to be on the safe side.
Reaching for the hair tie on her wrist, she flicked it. The slight pain cleared her head.
“Cate, I know you’re in there,” her brother said through the door.
“Come in,” she called out.
Turning in her chair, she studied her brother. He was a good-looking man. Charismatic, smart, and a great actor.
But he also looked kind of miserable.
She didn’t know why, but she wished she could fix it for him.
She’d do anything for Rhodes. He was her protector, her confidante, her best friend.
Cate knew she didn’t deserve him.
Samantha enjoyed pointing out all the ways she was a burden to him without coming right out and saying it.
But she wasn’t very subtle, because even Cate could get the subtext. There weren’t many men his age who would want their sister to live with them.
“You’re leaving soon?” she asked.
“Yeah. Samantha needs to get to her place early to let the caterers in and supervise the set-up.”
“Sounds like a big party.”
“Yep.” He frowned slightly.
“You don’t want to go?” she asked.
“Not really.”
“Then why go?” she asked. “Why not stay here?”
“Because Samantha wants me there, and sometimes, you have to do things you don’t like because it matters to the person you care about.”
While she didn’t understand how her kind and caring brother could have feelings for Samantha, she did understand what he was saying.
“Samantha wants me to stay at her place tonight, but I’m not happy about leaving you alone.”
A burst of worry unfurled. She’d pushed the memory of that night from her mind, but it came rushing back.
Cate had been utterly terrified. Out of her mind. She’d panicked, something she was ashamed of. In most situations, she kept her calm. She didn’t let emotion rule her.
But not that night. Ever since then, Rhodes had spent every night here. However, he couldn’t continue to babysit her. She had to get over this.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll turn the security system on. Brody has improved it a lot. And the person who attempted to get into the house hasn’t been back. There’s no reason to suspect they’d try to get into the house again tonight.”
She hoped.
She slid her hands under her thighs to hide their trembling.
Although whether she was hiding them from Rhodes or herself, she was unsure.
“That’s true,” he admitted, still looking reluctant. “But if you need me to be here, I’ll come back.”
Cate shook her head. “I’ll be all right. But you need to be safe,” she said to him. “I take it that Ethan and Seth are going with you to Samantha’s? Does she have a decent security system?”
“I’ll be fine. Her apartment has a good security system. There will be lots of her friends there. Some will stay the night. It would be difficult to get to me there. And Seth will be with us. But Ethan will be staying here.”
Wait. What?
“Oh, that’s not necessary,” she said quickly.
Rhodes raised an eyebrow. “I’m worried about you.”
Why did he just change the subject? “Why are you worried about me? I’m not the one with a crazy stalker after me.”
Nothing could happen to Rhodes. She didn’t know what she would do without him. Just the thought of not having him made her ill.
“You’ve barely been out of your office or room since Ethan and Seth got here.”
“That’s not true. I’ve gone to the kitchen to get food and coffee.”
Rhodes sat across from her and leaned forward. “I know it’s hard having strangers in the house. Is it too much? Do you want me to get rid of them?”
What? What was he talking about?
“I don’t want you getting stressed,” he added in a soft tone.