Page 9 of Wanted: Unwavering Daddy

“I’m easy. Why don’t you show me what you’re thinking?”

I planted my hands on my hips and glared at him. “You have to take this seriously. It’s your home we’re talking about, so you have to love it. Not me.”

“What if that changed? What if it’s our home that you’re decorating, not just mine?”

I scoffed, then grabbed him by the arm. “Come on, let’s wander around for a while.” While we went from display to display, Ithought I said no to the right things and pointed at whatever would fit his space, but inside? Inside, my mind was reeling. Was he serious? John didn’t seem to be the type of person who’d carelessly throw around words, but surely he wasn’t looking at a future for us.

We’d only met this weekend. How could he be? He was rich, successful, handsome, and everything any boy would want in a Daddy. Hell, he was everything that a person would want in a man.

“A penny for your thoughts,” John prompted. “I can see the smoke billowing from your ears.”

“Um, can we go back to your penthouse now?”

His brow creased with concern. “Something wrong, boy?”

I shook my head. “No, not really. Well, actually, yes. Were you serious about it potentially being our home and not just yours?”

An unnameable expression passed over his face. “Am I moving too fast for you, Will? If I am, please tell me.”

“No.” I snapped my hand onto his chest. “Call me boy. I feel like I’m in trouble if you call me Will.”

His face cleared as he chuckled. “Itisyour name, boy.”

Jutting out my bottom lip, I said, “But you said I was your boy.”

John held out his arm to me. “I think you’re right. Let’s go back to my place so we can speak openly.”

I wish that I could say I played it cool, calm, and collected, but I didn’t have a lot of chill in me during the best of times. As soon as the front door closed, I launched into the monologue to end all monologues.

“Listen, I’m not sure if you threw that out there because you thought I needed saving or whatever. If that’s the case, I feel like you should know that I grew up a spoiled little rich boy. I mean, spoiled, as in I had all the money to spend that I could ever want, but my parents actually sucked.

“I’m not even sure why they had me, to be honest, because they certainly didn’t want me around. So what I’m saying is, that’s how I ended up in Takoda. I was sick of being in Little Beach Bay. It’s a small town, and everyone knew I was basically unwanted, so I decided to tackle the big city on my own. It’s my choice to live the way I am. So if you’re trying to?—”

John grasped me gently by the arms. “As much as I hate the environment you’re living in, and as horrified as I am by that hunk of metal you drive, I’d never propose living together if you hadn’t wormed your way under my skin.”

“But how? I’m so extra. I’m a little loud, I don’t always use my filter—I’m not actually even sure I have one—and I don’t bring anything to the table.”

“Yes, you do,” he said softly. “You bring you, and that’s all I want.”

My heart beat so hard in my chest that I expected it to burst out through my skin. Every second that I’d been with John, I’d pushed down fantasies of more, of having him forever. Hell, I was halfway in love with him when he brought me breakfast in bed yesterday morning. But insta-love wasn’t real. No, those kinds of things were fairy tales, and I was no prince charming, and I certainly didn’t want to be seen as a damsel in distress. However, that didn’t change how drawn and connected I felt to this man.

“Do you want me to say it, boy?”

“Say what?” I asked hesitantly.

“Are you sure you’re ready to hear it?” he asked, running his long fingers through the hair on the side of my head.

Fuck, was I? “Yes, maybe, I think.”

He pulled me closer so that our bodies were flush against each other, and I kinda wished we were naked right now. “I love you, pretty boy. And I can’t think of anything better than you letting me keep you.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Pretty boy?” That didn’t have the same feel to me, so I shook my head. “No, that doesn’t sound right. I just want to be your boy.”

He kissed the tip of my nose. “Then will you be? Will you move in and be my boy and let me take care of you and spoil you and pamper you while you redesign our home?”

I swallowed down the lump in my throat. Like I said, eyes were the window to the soul, and it had been John’s eyes that first drew me in. I saw how serious he was. How important my answer was to him. I saw…love. He wasn’t trying to use me. He’d never abuse me. This man was the real deal. A real Daddy who could give me all of the emotional junk that I’d always acted like I didn’t need on the outside while craving it on the inside more than anything.

“You’re serious?” He opened his mouth, and I clutched his shirt in my hands. “Be sure because once you say yes, you’re never getting rid of me.”

---