Page 38 of Guardian Daddy

And how was it possible that his body looked so good? How much time did he spend working out? He had broad shoulders and muscular arms. His abs were pronounced, and he had the most delicious notches above his hips.

Those were . . . delectable.

All right. That was a weird thought.

There was a light smattering of hair around his belly button that led down . . . and down . . . and down.

“My eyes are up here, you know,” he told her, jolting her out of her thoughts.

“Pardon?” she said.

“Are you all right? You seemed to be staring at my . . . stomach.”

“Oh no, I was staring at your nipples. I’m happy to report they seem to be the correct size.”

His lips twitched. “I’m glad to hear that. The worry was keeping me up at night.”

“Oh, well, you should have come to me earlier, then. I could have reassured you that your nipples are perfectly proportional with the rest of you.”

“Ahh, so if I have any other issues with my body, you’re willing to take a peek and tell me whether that body part is perfectly in proportion with the rest of my body?” he asked.

Wasn’t that just what she’d said?

“Yes. Are you all right?”

His face was slightly red. “Yes, I’m just feeling a bit flushed.”

He turned and walked closer to the pool, diving into the water.

And she was pleased to report that he definitely did not have a hairy back.

11

Cate walked into the kitchen after her shower to find Ethan standing in front of the stove, stirring something.

Something that smelled really good.

But she attempted to ignore the smell as she walked over to the freezer to get a meal out.

Hmm. Bacon carbonara or shepherd’s pie?

“Put the microwave meal back and step away from the freezer, young lady.”

She turned to give Ethan a confused look as he opened the oven and slid a dish inside.

“What?” she asked.

“I told you that I was cooking dinner. I’ve just put the lasagna in the oven. You can go set the table and find some wine.”

“I, um, I . . .” Had she ever had dinner with a man who wasn’t her brother? On her own?

That would be no.

Dinner would involve talking, right? She didn’t know how to talk to people. He’d think she was a weirdo. More than he likely already did.

“Cate? Can you do that?” he asked.

She . . . she wasn’t sure she could. She wanted to. So much that it felt overwhelming.

---