Series: Paige Michaels
Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 40225 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40225 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Adam started laughing. He’d been teasing her. He hugged her close and kissed her again. “You’re still not having an unsupervised Littles party. Take it or leave it.”
Rose sighed. Party pooper. “Fine.”
“I’ll talk to Trace, Hunter, Terry, Tom, Maniac, and Grayson.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
Chapter Two
Avery
“Pull that bottom lip in, Mae Bug,” Daddy warned as he turned in to a parking spot close to the mall entrance.
Avery turned to face him. “But, Daddy, do you really have to stay and supervise? I mean I understand Adam staying since Rose is his Little or maybe Hunter since he’s a doctor in case one of us gets sick, but we don’t need the police captain.”
“You don’t mind a doctor in case someone gets sick, but a police officer is overboard? What if there’s an incident in the mall? Do you think Hunter will have a gun on him?”
Avery sighed and then grumbled, “I could have a gun on me if you’re worried about a mall shooting—which is pretty farfetched, especially since the mall officially closes in ten minutes.”
Trace tipped Avery’s chin back and gave her a serious look. “Mae Bug, you’re an amazing police officer. One of the best, but you know I don’t like you carrying a gun when you’re in Little space.”
She inhaled deeply. She knew he was right. She never carried a weapon when they went to Blaze or any other location if she was in Little space.
“I spoke to Tom earlier. He said Elizabeth spent the entire morning trying to convince him he didn’t need to be here because no one was going to need fruits or vegetables tonight. I also ran into Grayson who said Valerie insisted he should get to bed early tonight so he would be safe making deliveries tomorrow. Why do I get the feeling all of you girls conspired to try and get the Daddies to stay home?”
Avery sighed. Darn. Why did the men always have to talk to each other? It made it darn near impossible to get away with shenanigans behind their backs. Sometimes they managed to thwart the Daddies for a while when they were at Blaze, but not very often when they gathered somewhere else.
Boring.
Trace chuckled. “Besides, someone needs to be here to wipe black frosting off your lips so they don’t stain so badly that you end up stuck on desk duty.”
Avery gasped. “How do you know there will be black frosting?” Were there no secrets at all anymore?
Trace cupped her face, leaned over the console, and kissed her. “I spoke to Tarson. He said he spent all day making batches of everyone’s favorite cupcakes for the party. He’s a good man. I would have just dropped you all off with a box of plain white cupcakes with no frosting to cut down on the mess,” he joked.
Avery’s eyes went wide. “Blasphemy. How could you say such a thing? Cupcake flavors are important, and Witch’s Brew was the best one Ellie and Tarson ever made. I’ve been looking forward to the taste all day, especially after months of denial.” Avery pouted. “Who says Witch’s Brew should only be served at Halloween? Silly.”
“Even sillier than that will be the Santa’s Kiss cupcakes when we’re nowhere near Christmas.” Trace tapped her nose. “You ready to go inside, or do you think if we sit here talking long enough, I’ll change my mind and drop you off?”
Avery pushed her lip out again. “Big meanie.” She turned and opened her car door to get out.
Avery tugged Trace’s hand as soon as he rounded the car and threaded their fingers together. They needed to get into the mall before the doors were locked. It would be a pain to have to call Rose and have her come let them in because they were late.
Trace was a turd about it, though. He didn’t let her pull him. Instead, he strolled along leisurely, pretending he had no idea Avery was in a hurry.
As soon as they were inside, he hauled her against him. “Best behavior, Mae Bug. Neither of us has to be at work tomorrow, but I’m certain you don’t want to spend the day sitting on a sore bottom.”
Avery rolled her eyes. “Daddy, I’m always on my best behavior.”
Chapter Three
CC
“You’re here!” CC ran toward Avery and gave her friend a big hug when she spotted her just inside the entrance of the mall. She leaned back, winded. “I didn’t think we would get inside before the doors got locked.”
“What did I say about running?” Hunter said as he caught up with them.
CC sighed. “It’s such a pain having a Daddy who’s a doctor. Safety, safety, safety…”
Avery giggled. “Trade you. You haven’t seen safety until you’ve had a Daddy who’s a cop.”
CC laughed. “Duh. You’re right. You win.” She tucked her arm with Avery’s as they made their way down the hallway. “Whose Daddy has the best job for a Daddy? Maybe Rose? How annoying can a Daddy be who makes gumballs?”