Page 17 of Lilly's Little Labor Day

“I’m not your bro,” Edward said.

He did not step forward. Nor did he puff out his chest. No action was required on his part to retain control. His command was never in doubt.

“I’m the guy telling you to take the time to learn some things. Calling yourself a Daddy doesn’t make it so. You might be an okay guy, but you need to grow. You won’t be doing that with my sister.”

With that, Edward grabbed Lilly’s wrist and guided her toward their cars.

The date was officially over.

Chapter 9

“I was going to handle that myself.”

Lilly said the words upon completing the drive back to the house. Edward had kept his Porsche closely behind her the entire way, practically riding her tail, as if not wanting to let her out of his sight. The time alone had given her a few minutes to think things over. She wasn’t going to address the whole Little issue. It was obvious Edward knew her secret. Which meant he’d been snooping on her computer. She didn’t like that.

She understood why. He wanted to protect her. But she still didn’t like it.

After some consideration, she decided the best course of action was to simply ignore that aspect. She couldn’t help but wonder what Edward thought of her now, though.

Did it bother him?

Or did it excite him?

He sighed, rubbed the back of his neck, and finally said, “You froze up. I saw.”

“While you creepily watched from behind the cars?” she said.

He grunted but otherwise let the jab go. “I saw enough to know you needed me.”

“I’m a Big girl! I mean, uh, an adult. I can take care of things myself.”

“Again, I’m here staying with you while Mom and Dad are gone. What does that say?”

She pinched her lips tightly closed. She could feel the pressure of tears mounting in her eyes. “I need to go to bed,” she mumbled.

She knew Edward’s words were true, but they still stung. Walking into her room, she resisted the urge to slam the door. That would only make her seem more like a child, she realized. So, she closed it gently.

She looked at Ms. Duckworth on the bed. “I don’t mean to be so helpless. Gosh! What’s wrong with me?”

She fell on the bed face first. A moment later, she was sobbing into a pillow, her entire body shaking. She stayed like that for a few minutes, so lost in her emotions that she didn’t hear her door open or even notice when the mattress below her sank slightly. She remained oblivious to Edward’s presence until a hand rubbed soothing circles on her back. For a moment, she wondered if she was imagining it—nothing more than the Daddy of her dreams coming to comfort her.

Maybe that wasn’t too far from the truth.

“I was hard on you. I’m sorry,” Edward said.

She hugged the pillow tighter. More tears fell into it.

“You aren’t helpless,” he said. “I know that.”

She sobbed for another moment before rising on her elbows and awkwardly twisting until she was half-seated and facing him. “You can go home if you want. I can stay by myself.”

There was a genuineness to his smile and she knew he wasn’t making fun of her with it. There was a tenderness in his eyes that she’d only seen on a few previous occasions. It was a tenderness that she suspected was always there, he just hid it for whatever reason.

“You could stay on your own. You’re capable. But you’d prefer I be here. And I want to be. So I’m staying.”

Like most things, he didn’t phrase it as if there were any doubt. He stated facts. Plain and simple.

“You do?” she said, her voice still shaky.

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