Page 17 of Leland

“Me too, sugar.” After switching off the ignition, I stepped out of my truck and walked around to her side.

“Why do you call me ‘sugar’?” she asked when I opened her door.

“Because you’re sweet as sugar.” I didn’t have an elaborate thought process on it. My reasoning was simple. She was so very sweet.

She scoffed at my answer. “I’m not sweet. I’m… a fucking mess. I made Kay cry.”

I helped her climb from the truck and made sure she was steady on her feet, before gripping her upper arm firmly and swatting her bottom.

“Hey!” she squealed, trying to get away from my firm hand.

“You don’t get to talk badly about yourself. You also don’t get to dismiss the honest things I say about you,” I scolded, spanking her a few more times before releasing her. “You have some struggles you’re working through, but you areverysweet. I call you Sugar because Iknowyou’re a sweet girl despite your anger. Now, when you hear it, you’ll be reminded of your sweetness too.”

She rubbed her bottom with both hands and her eyes sparkled with anger. Her breathing quickened, and she scrubbed her foot into the ground, but she didn’t stomp off or say anything unkind. I’d take it as a win.

“Okay,” she bit out, her teeth clenched in anger.

“Try again,” I corrected gently.

She took a few deep breaths before her body slowly relaxed.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good job, Rouge. I am so proud of you. I know you were angry with me then, but you did such a great job.”

Confusion flickered across her face and I realized something wasn’t clicking with her.

Guiding her toward her building, I waited until she’d unlocked her door and walked inside before asking if she understood why I was proud of her.

“No. Because I still got angry.”

The sincere look on her face broke my heart all over again. Poor baby. Reaching out I cupped her chin. She bit her lip, and I used my thumb to pull it free. “You did still get angry,butyou didn’t pitch a fit. You didn’t stomp off, or yell, or throw a mug at me.”

She flushed and looked sheepish at my words. I chuckled before learning forward and kissing her forehead. “It’s okay to be angry. It’s an emotion, everyone has it. What matters is how you handle it.”

“Oh.” Her simple response hurt me all over again. It was clear she’d never had the guidance she needed in her life. I was glad she was letting me lead her on this journey.

“And, baby?”

“Yes, Sir?”

“If Kay has forgiven you for your fit of temper, you need to forgive yourself too. You’re a good girl who just made a mistake.”

“Yes, sir.”

I had a feeling we’d be working on that goal for a while. She was incredibly hard on herself.

“Okay, sugar. I hope you get some rest tonight. I’ll see you at work tomorrow. We’ll go out to that weird pizza place Paisley likes so much for lunch, okay?”

She grinned, a real grin, and I knew then I was done for. This wasn’t going to end in six weeks, not when I already wanted forever.

“Triangles?” she squealed. Actually squealed.

“Yes, have you been?” I hadn’t been because it seemed like some kind of social experiment.

“No! But they have chocolate pizza!” She bounced on the toes of her combat boots.

“Chocolate pizza? No way!” I teased, enjoying her excitement.

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