Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
Yes, Daddy.
Damn. Had she said that out loud? But he didn’t react. Whew. So she nodded instead.
“Good girl. All you have to do tonight is just what I tell you. And I’ll take care of everything else.”
Lord. Where had he been all her life?
Oh yeah. Living in the one place she’d sworn never to return to.
Sometimes, it seemed the world was having a giant laugh at her expense.
19
Dinner was waiting when she got out of the bath.
Chicken nuggets and fries.
Her tummy growled happily.
“You didn’t empty the bath yourself, did you?”
She shook her head. He’d ordered her to leave all of that when he’d told her to get out for dinner.
“Good girl.”
Shoot. She thought she would do anything if it meant that he would keep calling her that.
“Sit down.” He’d put some cushions on the floor by the coffee table. She plopped down on one and stared at the food hungrily. She’d felt sure that she wouldn’t eat any dinner tonight, that her stomach would be too tied up in knots. But after relaxing in a bath, then coming out to chicken nuggets . . . well, she was feeling a whole lot better.
She reached for a fry, only to have him block her hand.
“I can’t have?” Shoot. What was that? “I mean, I can’t have one? Do you want them?” Maybe he’d bought them for himself.
“Of course you can have one,” he replied. “You can have anything you want to eat at this table. But I want to check the temperature first. If it’s too hot, it could burn you.”
Too hot? It was probably going cold by now. She watched as he tested the temperature of a French fry against his lips before nodding in satisfaction. “It’s good. Now open.”
She opened her mouth without thinking and he slipped the French fry inside.
It was almost like their mouths were touching.
All right . . . that was a bit of an exaggeration. But it still made her insides dance with happiness.
Then he did the same thing with a chicken nugget.
Seriously. This man was a dream.
“I can feed myself,” she reluctantly told him. “You should eat.”
He eyed her. “I want to see all of that meal eaten, understand?”
“I don’t think I can eat all of it.”
“All. Of. It. Or you’re going to be in trouble. You’ve barely eaten today.”
Huh. She took it back. Turned out he was more of a nightmare.
So mean.
“And if you’re a good girl and eat all your dinner, I have a treat for you.”
She perked up at that. “Ice cream?”
“Not ice cream.”
“Chocolate?” she asked.
“Nope.”
Well. What was left?
“Ooh, candy?” She hadn’t expected candy. But she was happy with that.
“No candy. It’s bad for your teeth.”
“You’re a doctor, not a dentist.”
“You’re still not getting candy.”
Definite nightmare.
“What is it, then?”
“Eat your dinner and you can find out.”
She actually managed to eat more than she thought she would. It helped that it was a pretty small meal. More like something a child might have. Once she was finished, she looked around for a napkin. There was sauce and salt all over her fingers. And probably her mouth.
“Here, let me.”
He rose and disappeared into the bathroom, returning with a facecloth.
She reached for it, but he shook his head. “Hands.”
Huh?
“Hold your hands out,” he ordered.
She held them out, and he wiped her fingers and hands clean. Then, grabbing hold of her chin, he tilted her face back and wiped it too.
“Good girl.”
And now she felt like she’d run a marathon or did something amazing . . . rather than just let him clean her up.
“I ate it all. What’s my treat?”
“Here you are.” He drew out a small pack from under his cushion. It was a child’s pack. A large metal tin with coloring pencils, a picture to color, and some games and puzzles.
“What do you think? You don’t have to do it if you’re not interested, but I thought you might like something to do.”
The hint of uncertainty in his voice floored her. Would anyone else have been so thoughtful?
“I love it, thank you. I can do it now?”
“Yes, of course you can. I’ll clear this, so the coffee table is free.”
“Oh, I’ll do that.” She reached for some of the trash.
But he brushed her hands away. “No, let Daddy.”
They both froze. She swore she could hear his heart beating in the silence.
“Uh, I mean—”
“It’s all right. I know what you meant,” she said hastily.
He nodded stiffly. “I have to call Sav and tell him what happened today. Do you want to speak to him?”
Umm.
Shoot. She’d spent the last hour not having to think about anything that had happened today.
Not having to make a single decision.
And now he asked her this . . . and she didn’t know.
It was simple, idiot. Talk to your brother or don’t.
“Shit. Sorry.” He crouched beside her. “I’ll talk to him. You keep coloring. I promised you that you didn’t have to make any decisions. And you don’t.”