Page 27 of Guardian Daddy

“It’s a broken mug, not a bomb.”

Ethan sent her a stern look. “You need to do as you’re told.”

Her eyebrows rose. “And why would I need to do that?”

“Because I’m your bodyguard. Which means I’m in charge of you.”

Her mouth dropped open and he had to hide a smile. He liked that the stiffness had faded from her body. That she’d dropped that mask of indifference.

Sure, she was mad at him. But at least that was an emotion. And she was spending time with him.

All right. Rein it in. It’s not like you’re on a freaking date.

“First of all, you’re my brother’s bodyguard, not mine. And you are definitely not in charge of me.”

“Actually, I’m here to guard both of you. And Rhodes has made it very clear that your safety is more important than his own.”

She sighed. “No one is interested in me. I’m not in danger. I’m no one.”

“Don’t call yourself no one,” he instructed as he cleaned up.

“Why not?” she asked. “I’m not famous like Rhodes. Nobody would bother to stalk me.”

“Because I don’t like it.”

“Well, that doesn’t seem a very logical reason not to say it. I’m sure there are a lot of things you don’t like,” she said.

“There are.”

“But you can’t stop everything that you don’t like from happening.”

“No. But I can stop you from saying that you’re no one. Which is something I really dislike.”

“You’re not like other people,” she stated.

“How do you mean?” he asked.

“Most people usually stop talking to me after a few minutes.”

Ouch. That really cut into his heart. Was that true? Was that part of the reason she hid in her room or office?

Because she thought that people didn’t like talking to her?

Moving over to her, he placed his hands on either side of her on the counter. He was careful not to touch her.

“Well, that’s their loss, isn’t it?”

“It is?” she asked. “I’m not sure about that. I’m not exactly interesting. Or fun. I’m blunt. I can be . . . insulting.”

“Okay, you need to stop talking badly about yourself.”

“It’s just the truth.”

“It is not the truth,” he told her firmly. “And you’re going to get in trouble if you keep talking about yourself like that.”

“In trouble?” she asked.

“Yes.”

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