Page 149 of Broken Daddy

“Yeah, well, you deserve pancakes with butter and syrup. And God knows you’ve lost weight you couldn’t afford to lose. Should be feeding you whatever you want to eat, not complaining because it’s bad for you.” Then he shot her a look and pointed the fork at her. “Not that you can eat this all the time. No vitamins or nutrients in this.”

She was staring at her lap, her shoulders slumped.

Fuck it.

How did he completely fuck this up every time he opened his mouth?

Well, to be honest, he’d never been good at social interactions. When he hadn’t been working, he’d been happy to be with just May.

That wasn’t helping him now.

What had he said that upset her? Was it about having lost weight?

Shit.

Reaching out, he gently grasped hold of her chin. “You are and will always be incredibly beautiful. No matter if you lose weight or your hair is crazy, whether you’re in a hospital bed or one of those fancy dresses. Always beautiful.”

She stared at him through glossy eyes.

“No crying, though,” he grumbled.

“You can’t order someone not to cry,” she informed him.

He held up a piece of pancake for her to take. Satisfaction filled him as she ate it.

“Sure I can. Just did.”

“Well, just because you ordered me not to cry doesn’t mean I won’t cry.”

“Are you crying?” he asked before picking up another piece of sausage to feed her.

“No. But maybe that’s because I don’t want to cry.”

Uh-huh. Sure it was.

“I can feed myself, you know.”

Well, that was debatable since she only had one hand.

“I mean, as long as you cut it up for me first, which is kind of embarrassing.”

“Why is it embarrassing?” he asked.

“I’m being fed like a child.”

“So? I like taking care of you like this. If you’d let me, I’d feed you by hand for every meal.”

31

Devi lay back against the bed with a groan. “No more. Full.”

And he hadn’t even eaten yet. She should have insisted that he eat before it grew cold. But her mind had still been stuck on his words.

If you’d let me, I’d feed you by hand for every meal.

Darn it. She wanted that so much. She could see it, taste it.

“Are you sure? You didn’t eat much,” he said with a frown.