Page 43 of Just A Little Love

I felt Daddy watching me, but I focused every bit of my concentration on the proper arrangement of rainbow sprinkles for my cocoa’s whipped cream masterpiece. It was supposed to be a snowman, but it looked exactly like a blob.

“Daddy, if I lived here, could I eat sprinkles every day?” This time we sat in wing back chairs by the fire instead of at a table tonight. The fire dancing cast a glow everywhere, and the urge to card my fingers through his inky strands was strong. “If I lived here, I’d get sprinkles every day for breakfast. ” Daddy’s gazewas steady on me, but there was no mistaking the mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

“Bunnies can’t have sprinkles for breakfast. They only get them at night.”

Turns out, my will power was somewhere close to zero with Daddy. I reached out and twirled some of the longer bits of his hair around my finger. Daddy leaned into my touch and closed his eyes. His satisfied smile and low hum sent my blood thrumming through my veins. This man was everything.

“Daddy, you know a lot, but you don’t know this. Donuts have sprinkles and that makes it a breakfast food.” With a triumphant smirk, I returned to the sprinkle art that still did not resemble a snowman.

“Are you looking forward to dinner on Saturday? I’m excited to go and have a night to hang out. I bet Jakob Anders are going to love each other.”

“I think so, too. Fingers and toes and everything else crossed.”

Daddy hadn’t mentioned one more word about my surprise. “Daddy, will we miss my surprise?” Had I spent too much time worried about my whipped cream and sprinkles?

“I was going to show you when we got home, but I can show you now.” Daddy pulled out his phone, pushed some buttons, and handed it to me with an email pulled up. There were a bunch ofwords and a date for the end of February and, oh, it was on the city letterhead.

“Daddy, what does this mean?”

“It means, Bunny, that the inspector I met with today reopened your file and put it back into suspense. Because Nico got a confirmed date for the contractor to come, they’ve put it back on pause rather than moving forward with the condemnation. They gave us five weeks for the evaluation.” As the words tumbled out of Daddy’s mouth, I jumped out of my chair, threw myself at him, and wrapped my arms tight around his neck. Because Daddy was strong, he caught me under my butt and my legs encircled his waist. I smothered him in kisses while I chanted “Yay!”

There were only a few people still at the café, but since they were laughing and clapping, I don’t think they minded.

Barrett came out of the back at the commotion. “What’s going on out here? Alves, you causin’ trouble? I know this sweet boy wouldn’t be doing anything wrong.”

Daddy laughed and shook Barrett’s hand without dropping me.

“Daddy didn’t do anything, but give me good news.”

Barrett’s booming laugh echoed off the rafters all the way to the ceiling. “Can I ask for your good news, or is it a secret?”

“Daddy saved my house! Well, he got me more time so we can save my house. It was gonna get smashed and now he’s got the city to wait. He’s got a guy to come and tell me how to fix it too.”

Daddy slid me down his front to get me of him. His breath hitched when I passed by his middle. I didn’t bother to hide my wicked grin from him when I looked up and winked. Daddy pretended to scowl, but then he winked back. I scooted myself into his arms, and he immediately wrapped his arms around me. As always, his scent was his woody aftershave, a little like deodorant because that’s real life, and something that was the essence of him. Just a quick whiff of him was enough to chubb me up.

“That’s fantastic news. Are you going with Quinn McGuire? His crew does damn fine work. They did the rehab on this place and Quill. He doesn’t do a lot of residential work, so maybe not an option now that I’m thinking about it.”

“Ohhh, he created this place? I love it so much. You own Quill, too? I took my friend Anders there for his birthday one year. The food was delicious, and the building was so cool. Daddy, I’m so glad you called him!”

“Yes, his guy is coming next week. You’re right, he doesn’t do a lot of residential work, but he made an exception for us. He’ll be getting more commercial work from me for sure, which is, I’d guess, why he agreed. For now, we are in a hold pattern until we can submit an actual plan. The city’s reprieve is only a couple of weeks, but I think it will be enough. In the meantime, I need to get this guy home. We both have work tomorrow.”

As we said our goodbyes, Daddy and Barrett shook hands, but I got a hug from Barrett. Daddy bundled me up in my coat and made sure my hat and scarf were on properly. It was kinda silly because the walk to the car was not even five minutes, but he insisted that wasn’t the point. When we got to the car, Daddy opened the door and buckled me in before getting inside himself. The way he took care of me made me feel so loved. I was going to miss this feeling when this was over, but I could enjoy it for now.

Chapter 25

Gabriel

Leaving Barrett’s place felt like we were going home. I don’t live at his house, but being with Rory himself felt like being home. Now, I needed to figure out how to tell him I wanted to break our bargain and attempt to have a real, no-plans-on-breaking-up relationship without his offered exit ramp. We’ve developed this thing between us for real, but the littles’ party on Valentine’s Day was the expiration date. Somewhere along the way, I accidentally fell in love with him. I loved his intelligence, his natural deference to me, his willingness to throw himself into something new, and the openness of his emotions, even the messy ones.

“Bunny, stay put. It’s dark out here. I think some outdoor lighting needs to go on the wishlist for repairs. “ I hurried around from the passenger side to retrieve Rory. The drizzle and wind had started up again, so the cold whipped around us. Rory’s shivers were getting more violent by the second, so I hurried him along to get him inside.

As soon as we crossed the threshold, I bent down to help him get off his non-waterproof shoes before he caught a chill. Sooner rather than later, we were going to need to have a serious discussion about his cavalier attitude towards his health and well-being. “Bunny, haven’t we talked about needing waterproof shoes in winter? I know you love your Chucks, but I don’t want you to get sick.”

“Daddy, grown-up rain boots are boring. My chucks are cute.” He waved his foot in my general direction, and yes, the rainbows were cute. “They were a present from Uncle Tobias for my birthday last year.” Rory smiled to himself at the memory, and I pulled him in for a quick hug.

“I know they are boring. Let me see if I can come up with a solution for that. Until then, I need you to check the forecast and dress appropriately. Got it?” I gave him my best stern look, which wasn’t that stern at all, and waited for his agreement. I may not be the harshest Daddy in the world, but I had wait time down.

“Yes, Daddy.” Rory rose on his toes to kiss my cheek with his words.

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