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)
She supposed she could try. She shot him a look. Was he upset that she hadn’t realized what he wanted?
His face appeared calm. No tension in his shoulders or jaw or hands.
And he promised to tell you if he got upset over something.
Right. So she picked up the cup and filled it with water, pouring it out.
“Would likely be more fun if it was a seal rather than a measuring cup,” he said.
“I don’t think a seal would fit in the bathtub. And aren’t they kind of smelly and sometimes aggressive?”
“You’re quite right. I don’t know what I was thinking. Maybe a mermaid.”
“I once saw a picture of a mermaid and she had sharp, pointed teeth.” She shuddered. “It was kind of scary.”
“Hmm, so no to the mermaid.”
“We’re not talking about an actual mermaid, right?”
“What? Why not?”
Her eyes widened as she stared up at him. “Um, because mermaids aren’t real, Daddy.”
The word came naturally. She’d been relaxing more and more as she played. This was actually kind of soothing. An action with no real purpose other than to relax her.
Huh. Who knew that could be so much fun?
But now she’d grown tense again after calling him Daddy. She took a quick glance at him, surprise filling her as she saw that he was looking so . . . so happy.
The smile on his face was huge.
“You like me calling you Daddy?” she asked just to be certain she was reading him right.
“Oh, yes, baby. I like it a lot.” He leaned in again for a light kiss on her lips that left them tingling.
She raised her trembling fingers to her lips.
“Such a precious girl,” he murmured.
“Do you smile a lot around other people?” Cate blurted out as she picked up the measuring cups again.
Gosh, this was kind of mesmerizing. Soothing.
And yet so simple.
Then she realized that she might have asked something a bit too personal. She sent him a look. “Was that not something I should have asked?”
“It’s fine to ask me questions. And no, I don’t think I’ve ever smiled as much as I do around you. I guess that means you make me happy.”
She squirmed around. “That makes me happy.”
“Good. Now, are you ready to get out of the bath?”
Her bottom lip dropped down. “Do I have to?”
His eyebrows rose. “Not yet. But I’d like you to get out soon. You need to eat some dinner before you go to bed. I’m worried about how you keep feeling dizzy.”
“I’m fine, Daddy. I don’t think I can eat.”
“You can try.”
She gave him a skeptical look. “Are you hungry? I guess it does take a lot of food to keep you going. You are quite large.”
“Quite large?”
“Um. Yes.” She couldn’t understand why he was staring at her like that. “You’re big because of all of those muscles.”
“Good save,” he muttered.
What was a good save?
Actually, maybe she was just better off not knowing.
31
Ethan walked into the living room with a tray of food.
He’d been tempted to order pizza, but he didn’t want a stranger here. He could’ve met them at the gate, but he didn’t really like being apart from Cate. Even for a few minutes.
The intensity of his feelings was surprising. He had no idea how she’d wormed herself into his heart so quickly.
All he knew was that he was going to make sure that she was as wrapped up in him as he was in her.
“Dinner.” He set down the tray onto the coffee table with a flourish. He sat next to it, facing her.
She eyed the food for a moment. “Grilled cheese and soup?”
“Yeah. You only had tomato and cream of chicken, so I went for cream of chicken.”
He figured she needed comfort food after everything that had happened this afternoon.
“Yummy,” she said. “But I don’t think I can eat much.”
“Just eat a little bit.” He picked up the cloth napkin he’d found and placed it over her lap.
She reached for the soup bowl, but he picked it up first.
“Let me check it’s not too hot.” He picked up the spoon to bring it to his lips. He tasted a bit of the soup. “Perfect.”
Then he spooned up some more of the soup and held it up to her mouth. “Eat some for me, baby.”
Her cheeks were slightly red, which was in stark contrast to how pale she was. The dark marks under her eyes seemed even more prominent since her bath. She had her pale blonde hair pulled back in a simple ponytail. He’d let her dress herself, but he’d chosen the clothes from her closet.
A pair of warm pajamas with ladybugs on them. Two pairs of socks and one of his sweaters. The sweater dwarfed her, and he’d had to roll up the sleeves. But she looked so damn adorable.
“Those pajamas are cute,” he told her as he spooned up some more soup.