Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34225 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34225 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
“Yeah, uh, Mom, Dad, here’s the thing. I like to pretend I’m a Baby. It makes me happy. Yeah, I know it’s kind of unconventional, but there are a lot of people like me. I’m not a freak. I’m just someone who likes to have a Daddy take care of me.”
I shudder. They will not understand. There’s no way I can tell them. But the thought of not telling them doesn’t sit well either. Would I really give up Gabriel because I’m too scared to face my parents?
I feel like a big coward. He must be thinking I’m not even worth it by now since I’ve been hiding in this closet for so long. My silence tells him I’m not willing to fight for him. For us.
I squeeze my eyes closed. There’s a pain in my chest that’s growing. A heaviness. It feels yucky. I don’t like it. It’s lonely. I could climb out of here, demand he take me home, and never talk to him again.
Then what would I have? No one. Nothing.
I’m supposed to start school again in a month. Graduate school. I don’t even want to go to school. I’m tired. I’m only doing it to keep my parents off my back. I pretend I love school and that I need to devote all my time to studying so they won’t hound me to marry some socialite.
I stiffen. What a horrible existence. I can’t go back. I can’t go home and pretend today never happened. It’s not an option. I would crawl into my bed and never get up. I would die inside and probably even outside. Because I’m too much of a coward to face my family.
I’m in love with Gabriel.
Holy cow. I’m in love. I’m in love with a man who adores me and wants me to have the world. He makes me happy.
Why am I sitting in this closet when I could be in his lap?
I lower my knees and stare at the open door. The lighting is dim back in this corner. It has given me what I needed. A small space where I could think and clear my head.
Now, I need my Daddy.
Chapter Nine
I roll to my hands and knees and crawl out of the closet. Anxiety consumes me. Will he still be in the room, sitting in the rocking chair? Is he mad at me?
I scramble out and lift my gaze to find him right where I left him. He’s absently rocking in the chair, his gaze in my direction, but he stops moving the moment we make eye contact.
I scurry to my feet and rush toward him. He barely has time to brace both feet on the floor and catch me when I jump into his arms.
His arms come around me and hold me tight between his legs. He nuzzles my neck, inhaling deeply as though he’d forgotten what I smell like and needs the reminder.
“I want to go with you, Daddy,” I say against his chest. “I want to be brave.”
He lifts me off my feet and settles me on his lap before cupping my cheeks and kissing me. Not a peck on the lips but another one of his deep kisses that make me forget my name and where I am.
When he releases my lips, we’re both panting.
He meets my gaze. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
“I wouldn’t have come over today if you had,” I admit.
“I was afraid that might be the case.”
I set my hands on his shoulders. “I’m scared.”
“I know you are, Baby girl, but I will always be with you no matter what you’re facing. You will not be alone. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” I believe him.
“How about if we go see your parents together. We can start small. We’ll only tell them that we met several months ago, we’ve been seeing each other, and we’re in love.” He gives me a slow smile. “Are we in love?”
I giggle. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Good. I wouldn’t want to lie to them.”
I roll my eyes.
“We’ll let that sit with them for a week before we tackle the next hurdle. What do you think?”
“I think they will grill you to death as if it’s their choice who I’m with and they have some sort of right of refusal. Are you ready for that?”
He grins. “You forget, Baby girl. I’m not a homeless man you met on the side of the street. I’m a bank manager. I don’t think they can scoff at that. I’m a respectable man.”
“True. But you are kind of old for me,” I tease.
He laughs. “That’s not deniable. Does it bother you?”
“No. I like it.”
“Then we won’t let it bother either of us. They’ll have to get over themselves.”
“Where did we meet?” I ask before I chew on my lip. I’m not a good liar.
“We met through friends at a club.”