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“What?”
He winced then, realizing the other man might not welcome his advice. He wasn’t sure he would be gracious about it if the tables were turned.
“Juliet is a nibbler. She can’t eat large meals three times a day. She has to eat small things through the day. She doesn’t like red meat much, but she’ll eat chicken and fish. She’ll eat most fruit, but she loves strawberries. And she prefers her veggies raw with ranch dressing.”
Brick stared at him, then frowned. He braced himself for the other man’s ire. But Brick turned to Juliet and raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t tell me.”
Hm, a day ago, hell a few hours ago, he would have taken umbrage at the other man’s tone with her. But now, he saw it more clearly. Her more clearly.
“That was naughty,” he murmured, before he thought about it.
Brick shot him a look, then to his surprise, the other man nodded. “It was. Duchess, if you don’t tell me things I need to know to take care of you, then you could get sick or hurt. You need to talk to me.”
“Communication isn’t her strong point.” He grimaced as Brick glared at him. “Sorry. I really am trying to help. Getting her to talk about some things is like pulling teeth. Her stomach gets sore with large meals. She’s usually pretty good at eating regularly, though, because she knows otherwise, Reuben will throw a fit and hire her a cook.”
He gave her a firm look and she squirmed.
“Also, her stomach is tied to her emotions, so if anything is upsetting her then she loses her appetite.”
Brick nodded. “Makes sense. So how often a day should she eat?”
“Six or seven smaller meals. However, she can eat more than she has right now without hurting her tummy.” Xavier gave her a firm look. “I’d say at least ten more bites.”
She scowled back at both of them.
“Brat, you heard what Xavier said. Ten more bites.”
Both men nodded together. And Xavier found that he was enjoying himself. Brick wasn’t the type of guy he’d normally be friends with. However, if he wanted to stay in her life, then he had to be friends with him as well.
Maybe it would be easier to walk away. To put distance between them.
The idea of doing that tied his stomach in knots, though.
Christ.
She leaned in towards them, shooting a glance at Elias and Sterling, but he swore those guys only had eyes for each other.
“Are you two ganging up on me?” she whispered.
He stiffened, worried about how Brick would take that. Then the other man surprised him by grinning.
“Maybe it takes two of us to rein you in, brat.”
Hell. Why did that feel so right?
Brick held Juliet in his arms after he finished spanking her. She was straddling his lap, her face pressed to his chest. She was wearing a nightgown tonight with a large mermaid on the front of it. The mermaid had a sequin tail.
It was sweet. He wished she felt comfortable enough to wear cute and colorful things all the time. Maybe one day he’d get her to that point.
Xavier had left soon after dinner. He’d given Juliet a brief hug which Brick had tolerated. Xavier had been quiet and thoughtful for most of the night, especially after he’d said that thing about it taking the two of them to look after her.
Why the fuck had he said that? It wasn’t true. He could take care of her on his own. Sure, he might not know her as well as Xavier.
The other guy was an idiot if he’d stopped himself from making a move because he thought she wasn’t ready or couldn’t handle him. Still, just because Brick didn’t need him to take care of his girl didn’t mean she didn’t need Xavier.
He waited for the anger. The jealousy. The need to rip the guy apart.
Weirdly, it didn’t come.
