Page 219 of Guardian Daddy

How? How did this happen?

“Baby,” he whispered. “Don’t cry.”

Sniffle. Sniffle.

“You can have the ice cream. I’ll get it for you,” Rhodes told her, glaring at him.

Ethan gave him a hard look back. Rhodes should know better than to interfere.

“You spoil her.”

“She’s my sister. If she wants ice cream, then she gets ice cream.”

“And she’s my Little,” Ethan replied. “My baby. You should know better than this.”

“Fuck.” Rhodes crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, if you just give her the ice cream there won’t be a problem.”

“Please, Daddy. I will be a good girl.”

Damn it.

He was going to kill Rhodes later. Interfering bastard.

But he found himself caving when he stared down at his girl. She deserved some damn ice cream after everything she’d been through.

“You can have some ice cream. But I want you to drink what’s in your sippy cup first.”

She sighed. “All right. If I have to.”

He handed her the cup and she started drinking from it as he stood with her in his arms.

“You can go to bed, man,” he said to Rhodes.

The other man looked even more tired than Ethan felt.

“Yeah. Not that I can sleep.”

“Samantha is still calling you?” Ethan asked.

“I’ve blocked her number. Kevin is trying to grovel back into my good graces. I’m meeting with my lawyer about the contract I have with him. I don’t know how that’s going to go.”

Ethan grabbed a blanket, wrapping it around Cate before he carried her into the kitchen. He set her down on her stool. She was still sucking on the sippy cup. For someone who didn’t want to drink any water, she certainly seemed thirsty. Rhodes sat beside her, wrapping his arm around her back before he kissed the top of her head.

“I won’t have either of them hurt Cate again, though. So they can both fuck off.”

Ethan completely agreed. He pulled out the ice cream and put a scoop in a bowl for Cate. She drew the sippy cup away from her mouth.

“More, Daddy!”

“Excuse me?” he asked sternly.

She looked cute in her ladybug pajamas. He’d braided her hair before bed, but it was a mess now from all the tossing and turning she’d done. Fuck, he hated these night terrors.

“Please, Daddy.”

“One more spoonful. Keep drinking.”

Ethan put another small scoop into the bowl. Cate frowned but kept drinking.

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