Page 11 of Double Daddies
It takes a moment for what they’re saying to actually process. And when it does, it feels like my entire world has just come crashing down around me. Tears well in my eyes and I’m too exhausted, too fucking defeated to hold them back. “I can’t even run away right. I’m such a loser.”
“Oh, princess.” Unbuckling the strap across my waist, Byron scoops me up in his arms. “You aren’t a loser. You are our sweet, beautiful girl. And I think fate brought you to us for a reason.”
Hiccupping softly, I look up at him. “You don’t mean that.”
“We do.” Ezra runs a gentle hand over my hair, soothing me with that simple touch. “Everything happens for a reason, little one. You’ll see soon. We promise.”
For whatever reason, I almost believe them. The way they’re both looking at me, like I’m some incredible prize they can’t quite believe they’ve won, is so overwhelming it’s hardnotto believe them.
A knock on the door distracts all of us, and Byron grins. “I bet that’s our waffles. Come on, princess. I bet you’ll feel better with something in your tummy.”
I doubt it, but I don’t protest. After all, it’s been days since I ate anything at all, and when have waffles ever made anything worse?
Chapter Five
Byron
Thankfully, breakfast is a rather calm affair. Nicole works her way through not just one, or two, but three Belgian waffles, each piled so high with whipped cream you can barely see the waffle itself. It’s an indulgence Ezra wouldn’t normally allow, but considering the state we found her in, apparently he's willing to bend a bit.
The fact that he’s willing to bend at all tells me how taken he is with our little princess.
We chat a bit, each of us telling her about ourselves to hopefully win her trust. But when I ask her why she left West Virginia, she visibly draws in on herself, lifting one shoulder in a careless shrug.
“I dunno,” she says around a mouthful of waffle, earning her a sharp frown from Daddy Ezra.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full, Nicole. It’s rude.”
Apparently her “lesson in manners” didn’t last too long because she rolls her eyes and opens her mouth to show him the waffle that’s still left there.
“Nicole Marie West.”
Uh-oh. The Daddy voiceandher full name. Our Little girl is right on the edge of getting herself in Big Trouble.
Because I know Ezra well enough to know that if he has to punish her for the same thing twice in a row he will make it a punishment she won’t likely forget, I lean in, distracting her by snagging a piece of bacon from her plate.
“Little girls without manners don’t get bacon,” I say with a shrug, biting off the crispy end.
Nicole pouts but chews thoroughly and swallows before speaking again. “There’s not really anything to tell. My family sucks, West Virginia sucks, and I wanted something better. So I went looking for it.”
A crack forms in my heart at the thought of our sweet girl walking and hitchhiking up the East Coast. So far from her destination but, as far as I’m concerned, right where she needs to be.
I don’t quite have the heart to push her to tell us more right this second, so I make a note to dig into it later and turn the conversation to happier topics. Her favorite color, favorite foods, favorite animals. Nicole doesn’t seem to think anything of it, but I know damn well Ezra is storing each and every answer away and one day she’ll walk into her nursery and find it decorated to her exact tastes. It’s his way, how he shows love without actually saying the words.
After breakfast, we put her down for a nap with surprisingly little fuss. Poor thing is probably so exhausted after all that traveling that she’s just grateful for the rest.
Pulling the door of her nursery closed behind us, Ezra pins me with a look that has my stomach dropping to my knees. I know that look, far too well, and it never bodes well for me.
“Go to our bedroom, remove all of your clothes, and wait for me. On your knees, in the middle of the floor.”
“Why? What did I do?” Running back through the memories of our morning with Nicole, I can’t think of a single thing I’ve done wrong.
Ezra raises a brow and my heart slams against my ribs. “Did any part of that sound like an invitation for a discussion, boy?”
Oh, yeah. He’s pissed. “No, Sir.”
“Then what are you waiting for?”
Even though I’m still confused, even though I still want answers, I turn on my heel and head for our bedroom. Arguing with Ezra never ends well, even when he’s not in a mood, so the best thing for me right now is to obey.
