Page 50 of Daddy Depraved

“What?”

“Nothing,” she says with a bitter laugh. “I had friends, sure, but no family. My contract says I’ll be paid ten million dollars if I go back but… there’s nothing there for me anymore. All New York ever gave me was heartache. Here I have a family. I have my Daddy and my Uncles and my Auntie Cat, and they all love me more than I could have ever dreamed of. And I have you.”

“Yeah. I guess.”

“It’s different for you,” she says quietly, and there’s no condemnation in her tone, just simple understanding. “You had a whole life, friends, family. Freedom. I wouldn’t think you’d be very happy giving all that up.”

Gratitude wells in my chest and tears burn the backs of my eyes. “I’m not. I don’t hate it here, not the way I thought I would at first. But…”

“It’s not the same. I get it. Have you talked to your Daddy about it? Maybe you can find some kind of compromise.”

“I doubt it. He told me yesterday when he surprised me with my new nursery that I was his. Forever.”

Victoria sets her doll aside, her unusually serious gaze meeting mine. “I haven’t known him nearly as long as you have, but I don’t think Uncle Jasper would want his Little girl to be unhappy here, whoever she was. You should talk to him, tell him how you’re feeling. See if you can work something out together.He loves you, Juliet, and I just know he’d do whatever it takes to make sure you enjoy being his baby.”

Jasper loves me? It’s far more than I could ever dare to hope for, so I simply shrug. “Maybe. Yeah, maybe.”

Silence falls between us, but it’s not awkward. It’s almost comforting, as if we’ve reached a new level of friendship after this conversation.

Maybe Victoria is right. Maybe if I just talk to Jasper, tell him how I really feel about staying here, maybe he’ll give me a bit more freedom. I could travel the world with my friends for a few weeks out of the year, and then come back to the island to be with him the rest of the time. And maybe I wouldn’t even have to be his baby. Maybe, eventually, we could just be a normal couple, living a normal life. Split our time between here and New York.

Because that thought doesn’t bring me as much comfort as I would like, I set it aside for now and push to my feet, holding out a hand toward Victoria. “Come on. Let’s go be naughty.”

Eyes wide, she takes the offered hand and lets me pull her up to join me. “What do you mean?”

WhatdoI mean? I think for a moment and then inspiration strikes. “Girl talk requires wine. Let’s sneak down to the kitchen and see if we can’t find a bottle and bring it back up to the nursery. If we put it in our sippy cups, the Daddies will never know.”

“I don’t know…” Clearly torn, Victoria reaches behind her to rub at her tulle-covered bottom, as if she’s already anticipating the trouble we’ll be in if we’re caught. “Our Daddies were really clear about staying in your room. We’ll be in big trouble if they catch us.”

Grinning now, I take her hand, pulling her toward the nursery door. “Haven’t you figured out yet that the trouble is half the fun?”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jasper

“Your Juliet seems to be settling in well.” From his spot on the couch in my living room, Maxwell gives me what barely passes as a smile. But from Maxwell Stone, it might as well be a full-blown grin.

The approval in his tone goes a long way toward easing some of my earlier concerns, and I return his smile with a much broader one of my own. “She is, surprisingly. I thought I’d have much more of a fight on my hands, but she actually seems to enjoy being my baby. Other than when she has to use her diaper. She still argues about that nearly every time.”

“Victoria was resistant to it at first. Took her nearly a month to wet on her own. Now she uses it more often than not. I’ll be honest, I’m surprised you’re forcing the issue with Juliet.”

“I hadn’t planned to, but she just gets so adorably flustered. And I figure it’s best to begin as I mean to go on.”

“A good plan, indeed.”

I glance over at the baby monitor on my desk, and the video feed of our babygirls playing with their dolls. “Look how cute they are, Maxwell.”

Now Maxwell does smile, a wide gesture that’s reserved for his Little girl. “Precious. I’m glad you have the monitor. I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable leaving Victoria on her own for too long. It’s one thing if she’s napping, but…”

“But Little girls have a tendency to find trouble?” I supply with a laugh.

“Exactly.”

We both keep an eagle eye on the monitor as we delve into a conversation about Maxwell’s latest acquisition and some of the unrest at his company. It seems his board isn’t thrilled about him working from an undisclosed location or the fact that he made off with one of their analysts. But they all know that there is no Stone, Inc. without Maxwell Stone, so they seem willing to keep those particular skeletons in the closet. Even if they did try to out him, Maxwell has the power and the money to bury them, and his secrets, without breaking a sweat.

Movement on the monitor catches my attention and I hold a finger up, silencing my friend as I watch two very naughty Little girls poke their heads out of the nursery door.

“What are they up to?” There’s a hint of amusement in Maxwell’s tone, but I know better than anyone it won’t save his Little girl from the spanking she’s just earned herself.

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