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“Good morning, Cate,” Ethan said, glancing up from where he was reading something on a tablet as he sat at the kitchen island.
On her seat.
Cate tried to calm the persistent nagging inside her that said she had to sit in that seat. That no other seat would do. She liked having a routine. It helped her anxiety. She especially needed that right now when her worries were worse than usual.
It could be due to the way her brain worked. It could also be due to her chaotic childhood after her parents died in a car accident. They’d been quiet, loving people. Her life had been settled and calm when they were alive.
Unlike life at her aunt and uncle’s. Which had been complete chaos and had often led to her hiding in Rhodes’ closet while she’d had a meltdown. Her system would get overloaded, something her aunt and uncle never understood. And her cousin, James, well, he’d just liked to push her and push her until she fell over the edge.
Asshole.
“Are you all right?” Ethan asked.
Crap. She’d just been standing there, staring at him.
Way to act normal, Cate.
She looked from her plate to where he was sitting, then back again.
She wasn’t going to ask him to move and risk offending him. God knew Samantha hadn’t been impressed when Cate had asked her to move her handbag from her favorite stool one morning.
You have to be more flexible. Especially with people staying in the house.
For Rhodes.
He seemed to care for Samantha for some reason. And she should be glad that he’d found someone else to care about. After his girlfriend, Emma, died he hadn’t dated for years.
Emma had been lovely. Kind and caring. Understanding. Cate had loved her too.
And Samantha was, well, she was Samantha.
“Cate?” Ethan said in a surprisingly gentle voice. She wouldn’t have thought a man that big could be gentle. “I know you don’t know me well, but you can talk to me.”
Talk to him? Why would she want to do that?
“About what?” she asked.
“About anything,” he replied. “For instance, you can tell me why I’m making you so uncomfortable right now. I want you to be comfortable around me.”
“Why?” she asked, unable to figure out why he’d want that.
“Because I might be here for a while. I know it’s not easy to have people in your house. But if we were friends, it would be easier, right?”
Friends?
She didn’t have friends. She had Rhodes. And Oliver. But he was paid to be her assistant. And she barely knew her other work colleagues.
“That’s not necessary,” she said stiffly.
Crap. She probably should have said something more polite.
Would he get upset? She hated upsetting people. But it inevitably seemed to happen—like when she’d asked Samantha to move her handbag. Her face had twisted into a scowl and she’d stared at Cate as if she hated her.
But Ethan’s expression didn’t change. “Maybe not necessary, but it would make life easier, wouldn’t it? Because, as your friend, I want you to be at ease. So why don’t you tell me what’s wrong?”
He wants to know.
Tell him.
