Page 69 of Sliding Into Love
When he was spent, he took a cloth and gently cleaned her, then wrapped his arms around her, and they stood for what felt like hours beneath the cooling spray.
When sunlight filtered through the gauzy white curtains, Ethan groaned and tried to turn away from the brightness. But he couldn’t. What the—
A freckled arm and leg draped over him, and when he shifted, Ivy’s chest pressed tightly against his back. He huffed a laugh atherspooninghim.Gently, he disentangled her arm and leg and rolled them both over to wrap himself around her instead. She mumbled in her sleep, and Ethan blissfully went back to sleep with her head tucked under his chin and her hair in his face.
When he woke again, it was to a pair of sleepy brown eyes and mussed curly hair peering at him over Ivy’s head.
“Janna?”
The little girl stared at him wide-eyed, so Ethan jostled Ivy’s shoulder. She groaned but didn’t wake up. Ethan took a moment to make sure he was fully clothed, bemoaning his early morning plans, shoved the covers back, and slid out of bed to follow Janna into the living room.
His bruised side was still stiff and sore, but he ignored it when, after Ethan sank to the couch, the little girl immediately crawled into his lap.
"You okay, kiddo?” Ethan wasn’t sure what to do.
She sniffled, wrapping her two tiny arms around his bicep as though he was a teddy bear.
"Had a bad dream."
Ethan snuggled her closer, debating on dropping a kiss onto her furrowed forehead. He knew plenty about nightmares; they’d plagued him as a child, too.
"Want to tell me about it?"
"Bad people wanted to take us away from Ivy. I don't want to leave her house. I like it here, and I love Ivy. Do you love Ivy, too?"
He chuckled against the top of her head.
“Maybe one day, Janna, but I haven't known her long enough to know yet. But I do like her a lot.”
Janna considered him for a minute, and determining his answer was satisfactory, asked, “Can you make me breakfast?”
“Come on, let’s see what we can find.”
Eventually, Jase joined Ethan and Janna as they rummaged through the cupboards for ingredients. Thankfully, they found eggs and bacon, but the frozen waffles were irredeemably freezer-burned. The kids decided spaghetti was an acceptable replacement for waffles or bread, so he obliged but not without trepidation.
“Good morning?” Ivy’s voice came from the hallway.
She was adorably sleepy still, with messy hair and wearing an oversized shirt she’d swiped from his duffle bag. She rubbed her eyes and stretched, and Ethan wanted to carry her back to the bedroom and have his way with her.
“You have good timing.”
“I smelled bacon.” Ivy squinted at the stove. “What’s this?” She tapped a spoon on the pot as she peered down into its depths.
“I’m not sure,” Ethan said. “Breakfast spaghetti? It was their idea.” He pointed to Jase and Janna, who looked supremely pleased with his creation. Can you help me?” He huffed out a breath to lift a lock of hair out of his eyes and shook his head, letting the dark waves fall over his eyes for emphasis, before pouring the eggs over the noodles, cheese, and bacon.
“You want me to…” She tugged a red satin scrunchie off her wrist and flapped it at him.
“Yeah? It’s getting in my eyes.”
Blinking a few times, Ivy came over behind him and reached up, making grabby hands at his hair, and Ethan squatted down for Ivy to scrape back the top half of his hair into what felt like a half-bun.
“Thanks, sweetheart.”
“Welcome.”
He shook his head a little, testing her work. When it didn’t move, he smirked. “I kinda like it. I’m keeping this.”
“Oh yeah?” She stepped closer.
