Page 45 of Her Gentle Daddy

“How about chicken alfredo for dinner?”

Gabby clapped her hands and nodded.

“But will you use the dinosaur-shaped noodles, Daddy?”

“Of course, I will, little girl. Who would want regular pasta when you can have fun shaped pasta instead?”

She wiggled with excitement and watched him as he began to move around the kitchen.

“Will you teach me how to cook, Daddy?”

He looked over at her and studied her for a moment.

“You want to learn how to cook? Have you ever cooked before?”

Gabby shook her head and lowered her eyes to the counter.

“I’ve always wanted to learn. I’ve seen those cooking shows, and it’s something that has always interested me. I asked one of my foster moms to teach me once. She threw a wooden spoon at me and told me to get out of the kitchen and leave her alone.”

He could feel his entire body tense as he listened to his baby girl talk. She had been abused, ignored, and treated like she was nothing all her life. He didn’t understand how such scum could actually exist in the world. He knew that when the time came for her to meet his parents, she would be welcomed with open arms. He was also pretty sure that his mom would take her under her wing and love her to pieces. His parents had lost a baby girl at birth and had never tried to have another, so he knew having a daughter would make them extremely happy, even if she wasn’t blood.

“Come here, baby girl.”

Gabby eyed him and got up from the bar, walking over to him with her shoulders slumped. When she stood in front of him, he leaned down and kissed her forehead, then her nose, and then kissed her lips.

“Let’s cook, little girl.”

Her face lit up as he found an apron and put it over her head. She was so tiny that the apron reached her shins and wrapped all the way around her, but he could see in her expression how excited she was.

“Okay, first, we need to fill a pot with water so we can boil the noodles, which is how they get soft. Then we will start making the sauce. Let me grab a stool for you since you can barely see over the counter.”

She giggled at that, even though it wasn’t much of a stretch. Gabby was short but he loved it so much. He often wondered if being so small helped her fall into Little space a bit easier. Giving her a wink, he grabbed a stool from the pantry and set it in front of the stove for her to step up onto.

His baby girl followed each instruction to a T, and at first, he could see that she was nervous and insecure about being in the kitchen. As they progressed with cooking the meal, he could see her becoming more confident. When they sat down to eat, Sean stared at her in awe. She might not ever see how amazing she was, but he sure did. She was beyond resilient.

“Gabby, this looks amazing.”

She blushed and looked down at her plate.

“I just assisted.”

Sean took her hand in his and kissed it.

“No, actually, you were the one who did all the work. I just told you what to do. So really, this meal was prepared entirely by you, and it looks and smells like heaven.”

Her eyes widened, and she beamed with pride at his words.

“I guess you did just give me instructions and assist, huh. I actually cooked a meal. Wow. I can’t believe I cooked something.”

Sean took a bite and closed his eyes in appreciation for the delicious food.

“Oh my, this is delicious. Try it, Gabby girl. It’s seriously the best alfredo I’ve ever had.”

Gabby took a bite and moaned in pleasure as she ate.

“I guess the extra garlic I accidentally dumped in worked in my favor.”

He chuckled and nodded. It really was the most delicious chicken alfredo he’d ever tasted, and he wondered if she would be as excited about cooking other things as she was about the meal they were eating. Maybe she was onto something moving toward finding her passion.

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