Page 117 of Guardian Daddy

However, everything just felt off.

The house seemed too quiet and every time she attempted to relax, today would come back at her.

The screeching noise and jolt as the car hit them. Being pressed against the belt. She might have said she hadn’t been worried because she knew Ethan would keep her safe, but somehow all that fear was now catching up to her.

And it was stealing her breath.

She rubbed at her chest. There was a heaviness there.

Get out of the bath.

Find Ethan.

She stood in the tub, but the room tilted slightly, and she fell back down with a cry. A sudden knocking on the door made her scream.

Placing her hand on her chest, she stared at the bathroom door in fear.

“Cate? Baby, it’s me. What’s wrong? Why did you cry out?”

Tell him you’re fine.

“I’m coming in,” he called out before she could reply.

The door burst open and he rushed in.

Under normal circumstances, that might upset her. It might have her checking that she was covered, pulling bubbles over herself.

However, the rush of relief she felt pushed away all of her concerns.

Then she became aware that his gaze was running all over the room. His breath was coming in harsh pants.

“What’s wrong?” Had there been a threat? “Is it Rhodes?” Fear flooded her.

“What? Baby, no. It’s you.”

“What?”

“I heard you cry out and then you didn’t answer me.” He moved toward her, kneeling on the floor next to the bath. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“I . . . I . . .” He made her feel so flummoxed. And she was finding it difficult to keep her emotions and thoughts in check around him.

He cupped her face. “Deep breath in, now let it out. That’s a girl. Now another.”

She kept breathing.

“I’m sorry if I scared you just now.” He lowered his voice and he looked less frantic.

“You didn’t.”

He raised his eyebrows. Oh, that was definitely a stern look. She was starting to recognize the different emotions on his face.

“All right . . . perhaps you did. But I think that I scared you too?” Was she reading what he’d said right?

“You did. You cried out and I didn’t know if you’d slipped and fallen. When you didn’t answer me, I thought you might be lying unconscious in the bath, drowning.”

“Wow.” That was a lot and she didn’t know where to start. “I’m not drowning.”

His lips twitched, and he surprised her by kissing her forehead. “No, you’re not drowning. Thankfully.”

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