Page 33 of Big Daddy Firemen

Daisy laughed. “She’s as cute as can be. And it wasn’t awkward. I think Littles are adorable.” She ducked her head bashfully, her cheeks glowing slightly red, as she added, “I kinda wanted to play with them. Just a teeny, little bit.”

The grin on Austin’s face revealed that he wasn’t surprised by that fact.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he told her. “You’re just cute. Too cute for your own good.”

She put her tongue between her teeth and giggled. That giggle turned into a soft coo, though, as Austin reached out and took a hold of her waist. He reeled her in and then wrapped his arms around her, making her entire body tingle with excitement.

That answered a burning question she’d had all day, even when trying to focus on keeping the naughty Littles out of mischief: had last night been real or was it just flirty fun?

Based on the way he was acting, it was indeed very real.

She reminded herself of that. She recalled what they’d all talked about hours before at breakfast. But her self-doubts weren’t easy to let go of.

“Come here, babydoll,” Austin said. He gently gripped her elbow and escorted her to the couch. He sat down, pulled her in, and moved her body the way he wanted until she was nestled tightly on his lap. “You’re hard on yourself, you know that?”

“What do you mean?” she asked, though she knew exactly what he was talking about.

“Just what I said. You didn’t think you watched the Littles very good. This morning, you seemed surprised that me and the guys are crazy about you. Even now, you’re doubting this. I can read it in your eyes.” He kissed the side of her head and hugged her a little tighter. “You’re enough. You’re worthy. That voice inside doesn’t want you to believe it, but in this case, it’s wrong. Listen to your Daddy. Or one of your Daddies, at least.”

She giggled and closed her eyes, soaking in the moment. She sighed wistfully as he planted a series of tender kisses atop her head.

“This can’t work, though. Right? Not long term?” she finally said.

“You’re talking about all four of us.”

It wasn’t a question, but she answered it anyway. “Yeah.”

“It’ll work.”

“Why?”

He thought for a moment, feeling the silence with a few more kisses. “Because we all love you. And we love each other. It’s not romantic, obviously, with me and the guys. But we have a bond. We’re brothers. And we each want you, but each want the other to have you, too. Both desires are equal. Does that make any sense?”

Daisy pinched her eyes closed for a long moment, her chest rising and falling as she reflected on his words. She shifted on his lap, looked into his eyes, and smiled. “You really love me, huh?”

“More than you can know.”

Their faces moved closer to one another.

“How long?”

“Have I loved you?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve known for months. We all have.” His grin highlighted those delicious dimples. “Me, Cane, and Walker talked about it. We all sort of had the epiphany at the same time. And it wasn’t just because you come here day after day, spending so much time with us. Sure, that’s how we got to know you over the past year, but we all came to realize that fate delivered you to us. You’re our girl. We’re your Daddies. It’s just the way it is.”

She thought of arguing with him. There were a hundred reasons—maybe even a thousand—she could come up with as to why this wouldn’t work. None of them had to do with the guys, either.

She wasn’t pretty enough. She was awkward. She’d mess it up. Somehow, even if things were going great, she’d find a way to ruin it. That was what she did and who she was.

Yet she couldn’t bring herself to voice any of that right now because, unbelievably, she wasn’t feeling all those things as strongly as she usually did. They were still there, but the very presence of Austin, and the love she felt radiating off him, was pushing them all away, overpowering them.

Vanquishing them.

Daisy searched for the right words. All she could think of was, “I love you, too.”

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