Page 58 of Guardian Daddy

“Good. I wasn’t trying to make it a request. Eat.”

They ate in silence for a few moments.

“All right. What is going on?” Cate asked, unable to wait any longer.

Ethan sighed and took a sip from his own bottle of water. “I’d rather wait until you stop eating. I don’t want you to choke again.”

“That was a one-time thing. I never choke on my food.”

“Still. We’ll wait to be sure. Keep eating.”

Cate finished her sandwich, making herself chew properly even though she wanted to just gulp it down. “You’re a very stubborn man.”

“Thank you,” he replied.

“Oh, that wasn’t a compliment.”

“I think I’ll still take it as such.”

“I don’t think stubborn can be a good characteristic.”

“It can. If there’s a problem you can’t solve, or something you want to achieve that will take a lot of time and perseverance. Then being stubborn can be a good thing.”

“I suppose that’s true. Still, in this instance, being stubborn isn’t a good thing.”

He laughed.

“Cute?” she asked.

“Definitely.”

15

Hmm. Cate seemed to be far cuter than she’d ever realized. She might need to get a handle on it. She didn’t want to be too cute.

“Please tell me. And that please was a command, not me asking.”

“Noted,” he replied. “It seems that the stalker left a note on Rhodes’ windshield while they were eating brunch.”

Shoot. She’d thought it might be something like that.

“I’m surprised you can eat a sandwich after having brunch,” she commented.

He stared at her for a moment before smiling. “I didn’t eat brunch, I was working.”

“You don’t get to eat while you’re working?”

“Not when we’re out in public. I need to be on alert at all times. Hard to do that if I’m tucking into eggs benedict.”

“Huh, I thought you’d be a big breakfast kind of guy.”

“I’m an equal opportunist breakfast eater,” he replied. “I like lots of breakfast foods. I’m also fond of pancakes and French toast. Oh, and omelets too.”

“I like those things.”

“I’ll remember that,” Ethan said in a quiet voice.

“Why would you need to remember that?” she asked curiously.

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