Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
The look of disbelief she gave him would have been comical under other circumstances. “A bath.”
“Yeah.” He got up and started the water running. “Hadley and I’ll do the dishes and get the kitchen all squared away.”
“You…I…” She shook her head. “You don’t have to do that.”
He knew, but he also knew that Olivia would run herself into the ground if she didn’t stop and take a little time for herself. And the reality was that if he wanted something more with her, he’d have to get to know her daughter, too. He might as well take out two birds with one stone right now.
But Cillian waited, because if she didn’t trust him with Hadley, he wasn’t going to push. She’d proven herself to be a fierce mother and she’d already gone through hell trying to create a better life for her daughter. It would hurt if she didn’t want him spending time alone with her, but he’d understand.
Finally, Olivia nodded. “I guess a bath would be nice.”
He let loose a breath he hadn’t even been aware he was holding. “We’ll hold down the fort, won’t we, Hadley?”
The cheese-covered toddler grinned and waved a spoon, sending more cheese sauce flying. Olivia sighed. “Are you sure you don’t want me to clean her up first?”
“Nah. We got this.”
With one last lingering look, she stood and walked out of the room. He waited until he heard the board at the top of the steps creak to turn to Hadley. There was some advice he’d read once that showing fear to either young children or wild animals was a recipe for disaster, so he just charged right in. “How about we get you wiped down and then you can help me rinse?”
She stared up at him with those inky eyes like she wasn’t quite sure what to think of him. Hell, he didn’t blame her. Cillian wet a washrag and walked back to the table. He carefully extracted the spoon from her chubby hand and moved the plate out of reach. “This was my least favorite part as a kid, but we can’t have you cleaning dishes with messy hands, now can we?” He didn’t hesitate. He wiped down her hands, making silly noises that seemed to amuse her, and then went for her face. She sputtered a little, but she didn’t start crying, so he called it a win. Cillian lifted her and brought a chair over to the sink. She could barely get her hands into the water, so maybe that would minimize the mess.
Hadley squealed and splashed both hands into the sink, sending a wave of water onto both her and Cillian. She froze, her eyes getting shiny and her face screwing up into what promised to be an epic meltdown.
“No, no, no.” He moved fast, grabbing a cup and handing it to her. “A little water never hurt anyone. Now we’re ready to really get to work.” He took her hand and guided it into the water, rinsing off the plastic cup. “See—easy. Isn’t this fun?”
Frankly, he didn’t know what the fuck a fourteen-month-old found fun other than princess movies, but she gave him a tentative grin and dunked the cup again. He stayed close in case she somehow managed to get into the sink and went to work on the pot. Hadley seemed completely content to splash around with her cup, making little noises that might be words in a few months.
He set the pot to the side and picked up the first plate. “I really like your mama, Hadley. And you’re pretty cute, too.” She was adorable enough to get away with murder, which was something he’d have to keep in mind, because she turned those liquid eyes on him and he handed over a plate without thinking. Damn. But he’d do what it took to keep her happy and distracted from what was going on. He doubted she was aware enough to realize the full extent of it, but in case she was, he needed her to know that there was nothing to be afraid of. “I’m going to keep you and your mama safe. No matter what.”
* * *
It took Olivia longer than usual to get Hadley down for bed, but that was as much due to her distraction as her daughter being riled up from “helping” Cillian with the dishes. She kept going back to dinner, to his insistence that she take a little time for herself. As much as she hadn’t wanted to admit it, he was right—that bath had helped relax her and fend off the panic attack that she’d had brewing all day. Then she’d come downstairs to find both Cillian and Hadley soaked and doing more playing in the sink than actually washing dishes. He turned a smile her way that had actually made her skip a step.