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)
“Oh.” She walked toward the kitchen.
Damn, she was adorable in those ladybug pajamas.
When she reached the fridge, she opened the freezer and pulled out some tubs of ice cream.
He sighed.
“What did I say about ice cream, Little Catie-pie?” he asked in a firm voice.
“Yeah, but you aren’t my Daddy.”
Ouch. That hurt more than it should considering it was just the truth.
“If I cut up some fruit, will you at least eat it with the ice cream?” he asked.
This wasn’t how he’d act if she were his Little. No ice cream since it was the middle of the night. And Little girls only got ice cream after they’d eaten their veggies.
But he had to keep reminding himself that she wasn’t his. And he couldn’t tell her what to do.
“Okay,” she conceded.
“And you should have slippers on and your dressing gown.” Shoot. He should have wrapped her up in some more clothes before letting her leave the room. She had to be cold.
She glanced over at him. “You should have pajamas on.”
Ethan looked down at himself and started to swear. Cate started giggling.
Holy crap.
He wasn’t sure he’d even seen her smile, let alone laugh. And now she was giggling like a loon as she pointed at him.
All right, so generally he wouldn’t appreciate a woman pointing at his half-naked body and laughing. However, in this case, he’d take it.
“You’re nudie-rudie.”
“I’m not naked,” he grumbled.
“Might as well be. Cate get nudie-rudie too.” She attempted to pull her pajama top off.
“Shit! No!” he yelled, jumping toward her.
She startled back with a gasp. Fuck. Why did he do that?
Because you didn’t want her to start stripping in front of you.
Yeah, this was not the way he wanted to get her naked. That would be wrong on so many levels.
But now her lower lip was wobbling as she stared up at him sadly. “What did I do wrong?”
“Hey, you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You gots mad.”
“I don’t want you getting cold,” he said quickly. “You need to keep your PJs on, all right?”
“Okay.”
“Promise me.”
She crossed her finger over her chest.
Adorable.
She scooped ice cream into two bowls.
“None for me, Catie-pie, it will give me indigestion.”
“This is for Lady, not you.”
“Right. The toy that can’t actually eat. Who really eats it?” he asked.
“Lady does.” She glared at him.
Shut up, Ethan.
“And you said naughty words before. That’s gonna cost you. Every naughty word is a dollar.”
“A dollar?” he repeated.
“Uh-huh, so I reckon that’s about twenty dollars.” She pulled herself up onto a bar stool at the island.
He wanted to scold her for getting up on her own.
She is not yours to scold or punish.
No matter how much you wish she was.
“There is no way I said twenty naughty words,” he told her as she swung her feet back and forth.
He had to close his eyes for a moment. She was simply too adorable.
“Uh-huh. You totally did.”
“You know that lying is naughty. And naughty girls don’t get ice cream.”
Cate gasped and grabbed the bowl, holding it against her chest. “Mine.”
So naughty.
“I’ve got to go and put some clothes on before your brother and Seth get home. And you need to go back to bed.”
“Seth?” She looked worried. It felt a bit strange being able to read her easily. She was generally so guarded with her emotions and thoughts.
“It’s all right,” he said soothingly. “He won’t see you.”
“Why not?” She glanced around. “Am I a ghost? I’m a ghost, aren’t I?” That lip grew wobbly again.
Fuck. He hoped she never realized the power of the lip wobble. Because she could get away with murder. All she’d have to do was wobble her cute, plump lip and no one would convict her.
“Of course you’re not a ghost, baby.”
“So you can see me? Can everyone see me?”
“Everyone can see you. But I thought you might feel more comfortable eating ice cream in your room. Or in Rhodes’ bedroom.”
She eyed him as she took another bite of ice cream.
“Catie-pie, come with me.” He held out his hand and she shrugged.
“Okie-dokie. But you got to bring the ice cream. I’m not allowed to walk and carry food. It’s a rule.”
Nice to see she had some rules.
Ethan led her back to her room and let her climb into bed before handing her the bowl of ice cream.
Not ideal, but it would have to do.
And hopefully, she’d stay where he put her. He set Lady’s ice cream on the bedside table just as he got a text that Rhodes was ten minutes out.
“Stay here. Promise me.”
She stared up at him with innocent-looking eyes. “Of course, where else would I go?”
Ethan really didn’t know whether he could trust her or not. And it wasn’t like he could promise her a spanking if she moved. That was a sure-fire way to get him fired.
Even worse, it might lose him any trust that he’d gained.