Page 21 of Dagger

I nodded. “That’s what I’d recommend, so you don’t over mix it.”

Dagger slowly poured in the flour mixture while Dani mixed until the cookie dough came together. “Should we do the chocolate chips before we refrigerate?”

“Yeah, ‘cause we don’t want to warm up the dough,” she replied, pointing at a line in the recipe.

Dagger grinned. “Yes, Chef!”

“Sorry,” Dani mumbled, and looked away.

“Don’t ever be sorry, Dani,” he replied. “A woman in charge is a beautiful thing, even more so when that woman is my little girl.”

Her cheeks flushed. “You mean that?”

“Of course I do. Look at Miss Bronson, she’s in charge. And what about Katey, she’s a doctor.”

Dani nodded. “And Harper has her own business.”

“Wow, you know a lot of powerful women.” Jealousy surged at the thought of Dagger being surrounded by beautiful and accomplished boss bitches.

Dani nodded. “They’re kind of like my aunts, right, Dad?”

Dagger grinned. “Yeah, they’re old ladies in the MC,” he answered. “Which means—”

I cut him off. “I read romance novels, I know what it means. They are girlfriends or wives of your biker bros.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Biker bros?”

Dani giggled.

I nodded. “That’s what they are.”

We went back and forth while the first batch of cookies went into the oven. And we moved on to books and hobbies while the second batch baked.

“Can I take a reading break?” Dani batted her long lashes at her father, and he caved.

“I’ll call you when it’s time to test the next batch.”

Her brows dipped. “This is the last batch.”

“Exactly.” It wasn’t just that Dagger was gorgeous when he smiled, it was that he was approachable and charming when he was being playful. That was double when he was being playful with Dani.

“Miss Bronson, will you make sure Dad doesn’t eat all the cookies?”

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t,” I promised. “But I can’t promise that I won’t.”

She laughed. “You won’t eat them all, you’re too skinny.”

“That’s it.” I clapped my hands loudly. “You are my absolute favorite person in the world.” She was such a sweet little girl, curling up on the sofa with her book, but not before kicking off her shoes. “She’s so polite.”

“I know,” Dagger grunted. “I could use a few lessons from her.”

“I have no response to that,” I shot back with a laugh.

The day was going well so far. There hadn’t been any long silences or arguments, no tension other than the barest hint of sexual tension. It was, in a word, perfect.

Until a loud thud sounded, followed by the sound of glass shattering and my car alarm going off. Dani screamed and dropped to the floor while I rushed to the front door.

A hand gripped my shoulder and yanked me back. “What do you think you’re doing?”

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