Page 125 of The Daddy P.I. Casefiles: The Second Collection
“Uh-huh. I’z went thrifting with Emmy and Aggie while you were gone. Don’t tell Logan, but we found sooo much good stuff.”
“Why can’t I tell Logan? Is it a surprise for him?”
Cynnie nods. “We bought her the most amazing outfits for the collaring ceremony. He’s going to love them.”
“Something I don’t understand about this ceremony,” I say, scratching my head. “She already wears a collar.”
“He’s going to lock it. Iz special.”
The wistful lisp makes me realize I’ve missed a trick. “Baby, is a collar something you’d like?”
She becomes very interested in the hallway rug.
I slip my finger under her chin and lift her face until I can see her eyes. “Baby?”
“Doan know,” she says. “Emily’s isn’t something I could wear at home. My family would ask questions. And I don’t want something I’d have to take off.”
The best ideas pop into my head fully formed, and that’s what happens now.
“I have something for you. A very special something.” Something I didn’t get to give her before I left for England because of De Leon and his fucking shifting timetables. “It’s not something anyone but you and I would know is a collar. We could get the chain reinforced and you’d never have to take it off.”
Her eyes widen and deepen with a sweet softness. “Something you’z got me already?”
I nod.
She throws her arms around my waist. “Oppa.”
I hug her hard, feeling that swell of Daddyness again. It’s comforting and protective and affectionate ... but it’s more than that.
Since Uncle Max died, I haven’t had any sense ofhome. My apartment’s the place I lay my servers, but it’s just an apartment. I could sell up and be gone tomorrow without any sense of loss. Holding Cynnie, standing in Logan’s guest room, I’mhomein a way I haven’t been in a very long time.
“Let’s brush our teeth and get in bed, my bumble baby. I want to cuddle you to sleep. I’ll growl and pounce and love you hard in the morning. Right now, I need to sleep with you in my arms.”
She nods fervently. “I hazn’t slept through since you’ve been gone.”
“Oh, baby, is that true? I wish I’d known.”
She rubs her cheek against my pec as I fumble my toiletry bag out of my luggage one handed. “Not your fault. I was just thinkin’ ‘bout you and missin’ you and I couldn’t sleep good. I still got my eight hours, but it was broken. Now you’z back, I’ll sleep all night.”
“We both will.” I stroke her soft, smooth head. “I couldn’t sleep half the time with De Leon farting in the other bed.”
She giggles wildly. “Was he stinky?”
I wave a hand under my nose. “You have no idea.”
More adorable giggles as she trails me into the bathroom to get ready for bed.
I used to shrug off both hangovers and jetlag with equal ease. But I must be getting old, because I sleep for eleven hours with my bumble snuggled into my side and wake wondering not just what time it is, but what fucking year it is.
A long, playful fuck with my bumble, a much shorter lift with Logan, and a late breakfast help clear the time-fog. I pop a text to Ty to tell him I’m back and, when he responds during a school break, arrange for a gaming and pizza night so I can spend the full day with my bumble.
I’m aware there are things waiting for me that are much less pleasant than playing with Cynnie and creating a safe space for my tenant’s kid. I left the phone Ness uses to contact me behind in case he’d snuck a tracker onto it, despite my frequent scans. I’m sure he’s left me a threat or two. I’m up to date with my course work, but Lindy will, no doubt, levy some punitive coding assignment when he finds out I’m back in retaliation for me missing his exam.
It can all wait. Today’s a day to be with my family. With Cynnie. With Logan and Emily. With Mac when he joins us. It’s one of those September days in the City where the sun is warm but the breeze is cool. The perfect temperature. I’m happy to shed the hoodie and jeans I shivered through England in for cargo shorts and a T-shirt that says “Pew, PewPew, PewPew, Pew” in a yellow, slanted Star Wars frame. Cynnie and Emily snigger when they see it but Logan looks non-plussed.
I shake my head at him in despair and leave the girls to explain it.
While they’re explaining all thingsStar Warsto Logan, I call down a list I compiled over the Atlantic somewhere: little things to do with Cynnie. When I hit a vacancy, I book the place for the afternoon and send over the deposit. A quick glance at the venue’s capacity reassures me that I can issue a general invitation to the playgroup. I thumb over to the playgroup chat that Miss Ginger helpfully added me to while I was in England.
