Page 10 of Guardian Daddy

“And lastly, this is Ethan Stone. Your other bodyguard.”

After nodding to Rhodes, Ethan moved toward Cate slowly, trying to soften the look on his face. He knew he could come across as hard and gruff. “Hello Ms. Ripley.”

“Please, call me Cate.” She glanced up at Rhodes, who winked at her. Then, she seemed to relax slightly.

Brody cleared his throat. “I’m going to need a few things from you, Rip.” He rattled off stuff that Ethan didn’t understand.

To his surprise, Cate stepped toward Brody. “I can help you with all of that.”

Brody stared up at her. “Oh, good, thanks.”

She looked over at Rhodes again. Almost as though she needed reassurance.

Ethan felt a weird urge to be the person she looked to for reassurance.

When Rhodes nodded to her, she turned to Brody. “I like your T-shirt.”

Brody glanced down at his T-shirt as though he didn’t even know he was wearing one.

It had the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on it, all posing with their weapons.

“Thanks, my girlfriend bought it for me.”

Cate sat next to him and they started talking back and forth.

“Let’s leave them to it for a moment,” Ink said, and they all moved away to sit at the large wooden table behind the sofa.

4

You can do this.

This is necessary. It won’t upset your routine.

So what if there are strangers who will be living in the house?

Rhodes needs this. Rhodes could be in danger. Nothing can happen to Rhodes.

“Hey, um, are you okay?”

Cate startled and stared at the cute guy sitting next to her. If it was possible to have kind eyes, then he had them. There was something sweet about him. Something that made her feel at ease.

Which was weird for Cate. Because she rarely felt at ease. Social situations were generally a nightmare for her. Trying to understand people’s thoughts and feelings was a challenge . . . it would make her life so much easier if people just said what they thought. Instead of hiding behind fake smiles and false compliments.

Over the years, she’d managed to pick up on some cues. However, she mostly relied on Rhodes and her assistant, Oliver, to guide her.

“Do you have all the information you need?” she asked in a tight voice.

She could feel herself starting to get stressed. Her chest was tightening.

She glanced at her watch. It was past dinnertime. Mrs. Sanders had cooked a large dinner that would only need reheating.

Should she invite everyone to eat?

Of course you should. Especially Tracey . . . wait, Ink.

He’d never liked his first name.

She’d always liked Ink and Duke. They’d always been kind to her and so had Ink’s parents.

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