Page 23 of Protecting Little Phoebe

“Hey, you don’t need to explain anything to me,” he reassured her. “You don’t owe me anything. Well, other than an explanation about why you haven’t been answering my calls or texts.”

“You called and texted me?” She gaped at him in shock.

“I did. You sound shocked.”

“I just didn’t think you would call me. I figured you would go back to your life and forget about me.”

“You would be very hard to forget about,” he told her.

She eyed him suspiciously. “Yeah, I’ve been told that before. But not in a good way.”

Barren scowled. “Who told you that in a bad way?”

Surprise filled her at that sharp demand. He looked so ferocious. “Why do you want to know who?”

“Because I will teach them a lesson. Nobody gets to put you down.”

“They don’t?” she asked breathlessly. He was speaking directly to the lost Little girl inside her. The one who just wanted to be accepted for who she was. And it was almost making her dizzy.

Who knew acceptance could be so damn sexy? Could be all that she really wanted. And she wanted more of it.

“Would you want a Little girl?” she asked. “If the right one came along?”

CHAPTER 7

Would he want a Little girl if the right one came along? It took a moment for those words to make their way through his brain.

She dropped her gaze, her shoulders slumping. And that pulled him quickly out of his daze. What was he doing?

“Yes,” he told her huskily. “If the right Little girl came along I would love to be her Daddy.” Her surprised gaze rose to his and he gave her a firm look. She smiled up at him.

“Such a brave girl,” he murmured, reaching out to cup her cheek. When she didn’t move away, he sighed in relief. He’d probably pushed her enough and she needed her sleep.

“I’m really sorry you have glitter all over you,” she told him again.

“Stop apologizing. You said sorry already and you didn’t mean to do it.”

“Oh, sorry. Shoot. Sorry. Oh my gosh!” She shook her head. “Sometimes, it feels like I’ve been apologizing all my life. Ever since I was born, I’ve been apologizing for being alive, you know? I think it’s become a habit… to apologize whether I’m in the wrong or not.”

He didn’t like that. Was it her brothers who made her feel that way? “You will never apologize for being alive again,” hetold her firmly. “I catch you doing that and there is going to be hell to pay.” Her mouth dropped open in shock and he realized he had no real right to say that to her.

But he wasn’t taking it back. He would happily smack her butt until she realized that she should be celebrating her life, not apologizing for it.

“And if anyone makes you feel like you should be saying sorry for being here, you tell me, and I’ll make them feel sorry for even breathing the same air as you.”

She was silent and he waited for her reaction. No doubt she was regretting letting him walk her back to her room. Shit. Had he ruined things before they’d had a chance to even start? Maybe he should be the one apologizing?

As he opened his mouth, she suddenly threw herself against him. He let out a small grunt as he stepped back against the wall, but he didn’t let her go. He didn’t ever want to let her go.

“Hey now, what’s this for?” he asked. She tried to step back, and he tightened his hold on her without thought. He wasn’t ready to let her go. Thankfully, she just relaxed back into him.

God. She felt perfect in his arms. So much so that he didn’t want to let her go.

“Because you’re my Knight in Pressed Pants. Fighting off all the baddies for me.”

He didn’t know whether to laugh or shake his head. “Fighting baddies, huh?”

“Uh-huh.”

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