Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 134598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
The doors opened into the garage and he escorted her to the car.
“To eat?” she asked.
“Yes, you need to eat, so I’m taking you out.”
“Out?” She gave him an alarmed look as he opened her door. “Eat out? I don’t usually like to eat out.”
“Then we’ll eat in. Trust me?” He held his breath. He needed her to trust him.
She eyed him for a long moment. “I suppose I could try that.”
“Good girl.”
22
The tension in her body seemed to melt.
He forced himself to shut her door and move away before he pushed his luck and did something like putting her seatbelt on.
Climbing into the driver’s seat, he managed to relax slightly when he saw she’d done up her seatbelt.
Pulling out into traffic, he searched for what he was looking for. Ahh, there was one. He pulled into the drive-through.
“Fast food?” she asked, sounding uncertain. “I don’t eat fast food. Rhodes needs to eat clean and so do I. I shouldn’t eat much sugar or red meat.”
“Not much sugar, huh?” he replied, remembering the big bowl of ice cream from the other night.
“I do like the odd ice cream.” She glanced up at the board as they approached.
“What would you like, sweetheart?”
“I don’t know what to order. I’ve never eaten here.” There was a note of panic in her voice that had him immediately reaching over to take her hand in his.
Although he didn’t want her stressing, particularly over something he’d suggested, he also realized that the fact she was allowing him to see her panic displayed a measure of trust.
She wasn’t hiding behind her mask.
“Easy, baby,” he said soothingly. “Would you like me to order for you?”
“Um. Yes. Or maybe I will just have a coffee. Yes, coffee would be safe.”
“You’re not just having a coffee,” he said firmly.
“But what if I don’t like what you order? That’s a waste.”
“It won’t go to waste. I promise.” He pulled up and started ordering some food.
Once he’d collected the food, including two strawberry milkshakes, he drove into a parking space and turned off the truck.
Then he undid both of their seatbelts.
“Um, what are we doing?”
“Eating.”
“Where?” Cate glanced around as though a dining table and chairs were going to suddenly appear out of thin air. His lips twitched and she eyed him. “Am I being cute?”
“Yes.”
Cate huffed out a sigh. “I wish I knew when I was being cute.”
“Pretty much all the time. When you’re not being sassy.” Which reminded Ethan that he hadn’t actually gotten to the bottom of why she didn’t like the word brat.
“I am not sassy. I’m still not convinced that I’m cute either.”
“Sometimes we can’t see things in ourselves that others can.” He started opening bags and containers, pulling food out.
Then he handed her a burger.
“This is for me?”
“Yep.”
She pulled up her handbag and drew out some hand sanitizer.
He held out his hand and she squirted some on.
“You don’t have to use it,” she said. “I just like to wash my hands before eating.”
“Nothing wrong with that.”
“Are there utensils? I don’t . . . I don’t think I can eat with my hands.”
He reached into the bag and drew out a fork and knife. Then he grabbed her briefcase, placing it on her lap. He put two napkins on the hard black case and then set down the utensils.
“There you are.”
She put the container holding the burger down slowly. “I’m sorry for being so weird.”
“Cate,” he said in a low, firm voice.
She looked over at him without him having to tell her. That was progress.
“I don’t like the way you say that. I don’t think ‘weird’ is necessarily a bad thing, but the way you say it tells me that you think it is. And that’s a problem.”
Cate glanced out the window. “How can it not be? Being different is bad. It makes you strange, a burden, annoying.”
“You are none of those things,” he said sternly. “And I will tell you that as often as you need to hear it until you believe it.” He cupped the side of her face, turning her toward him. “Don’t let what other people say dictate the way you feel about yourself.”
“I try not to, but sometimes that is difficult.”
“Lucky you have me to drown out the negativity with positive words. Isn’t it?”
But for how long?
He was only here for a job and she had to remember that. Even though she found herself wanting more. She’d never felt this at ease with anyone before. Except for her brother, but that was different.
Ethan’s touch didn’t make her skin crawl. She didn’t shy away. Or want to scrub herself clean.
Instead, his touch settled her. He made her feel so safe and secure. As though nothing could get to her. And she could be herself without having to worry that she would offend him.
“If I ever upset you, will you tell me?” she blurted out. “I won’t always know.”