Page 42 of Her Gentle Daddy

Gabby thought about it for a second, realizing he was actually asking permission. Raising her eyes from her lap, she peered at Damian, who was waiting for her to answer. As she studied him, she realized that he wasn’t quite as scary looking as she first thought.

“Yes.”

Damian reached out and scooped up the little furball, who happily snuggled into his arms. Sean tightened his arms around her and kissed the back of her ear.

“You’re doing wonderful, baby girl. I want you to look at Damian and notice all the things that don’t remind you of the person who hurt you,” Sean whispered.

Slowly, she looked up and studied Damian, who was focused on the puppy and apparently not paying her any attention. His dark hair was neatly trimmed, and his jawline was sharp and square, unlike her abuser, who was always scraggly looking and overweight. She also noticed that as he handled the puppy and talked to him softly, Damian’s nose and mouth were also different.

As she took her time studying him, Gabby realized that the only thing that had reminded her of her abuser was the scar near one of Damian’s eyebrows and the shape of his eyes, but the expressions he was making were nothing alike. She looked up at Sean, who recognized that she was relaxing in his arms.

“What do you notice that’s different?”

She bit her bottom lip and looked over at Damian again.

“Pretty much everything. When I really look at him, he doesn’t look anything like the man who hurt me.”

Her Daddy kissed her cheek and smiled so proudly at her that she could have melted into a pile of goo. Gabby wiggled free from his arms and crawled over to where Damian sat and tapped on his leg. He looked up at her with a shocked expression at first and then smiled warmly.

“I’m sorry if I made you feel bad because I got so upset when I saw you before. I thought you looked like someone I used to know.”

Damian reached out slowly and patted her leg.

“No need to be sorry, sweet girl. I’m sorry that you had someone in your life who scared you so badly.”

She smiled at him and reached out to scratch under Olly’s chin, giggling when he tried to lick her fingers.

“Gabby, have you ever had a tea party?” Damian asked.

17

SEAN

“I cannot believe you dragged me here with you and Gabby. You are such a sucker for any Little who smiles at you,” Sean said.

Damian laughed and shifted uncomfortably in the small chair that he was sitting in. When Damian had told Gabby about a place they could go and have a real tea party, Sean had been outnumbered and gotten talked into taking her.

He did think it was sweet that Damian wasn’t only trying to get Gabby to understand that he wasn’t a bad man, but he was actually trying to befriend her and show her that she could trust him.

When they had arrived at the tea house, she told Sean that she needed to go potty and when he offered to come to help her, she blushed from head to toe and shook her head. He realized that she didn’t know just how far he would go to make sure she felt safe and cared for everywhere and anywhere.

When she came back to the table, Sean stood, pulled out a chair for her and bowed dramatically, making her giggle. They ordered their tea, and Damian ordered an array of pastries and finger sandwiches. They all sat drinking tea and eating as though they were all old friends and Gabby seemed to be enjoying every minute of it.

“Do you like working at the club?”

She nodded, “I do. Zane and Jace are nice, and I feel safe in there.”

“If you could do anything in the whole world, what would it be?”

Gabby thought about that for several minutes as she broke apart a croissant and nibbled on it.

“I don’t really know. I spent my whole life being told I was nothing and worthless and that I would amount to nothing that I never really thought about it.”

Sean reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it. A lump formed in his throat, and he hated that she had been treated so poorly.

“Baby, you’re not worthless. You’re priceless, and you can do anything. I will support you in whatever you want to do once you figure it out.”

“Me too,” Damian said.

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