Series: Paige Michaels
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45314 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45314 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
“That would be amazing,” Valerie cheered.
“Don’t quote me yet. Ellie seems sweet but she’s a shrewd businesswoman. She always seems to know what the best decisions are for Little Cakes.”
“Good. We want the bakery to be here for a long time!” Grayson remarked and accepted his change before picking up the box. “Thank you, Riley.” He waved at Ellie and Tarson who stood in the kitchen window as he took Valerie’s hand to lead her from the store.
Valerie hesitated at the door. “Really, we could eat them here.”
“We’re going home to talk,” he said firmly.
Grayson tried to fill the silence in the car as he drove them home. He talked about the weather, the cars they passed, the budding flowers, and many more conversational gambits that Valerie commented on without prolonging the discussion.
By the time he pulled into the garage, she could feel his frustration even though she’d tried to act as if everything was perfect. When he set the cupcake box on the kitchen table, she fake yawned.
“Maybe I should go take a nap?” Valerie suggested.
“That will be a very good idea after we talk.” Her Daddy pulled a chair out for her.
“Okay. What are we talking about?”
“You know very well what we’re talking about. I saw your face as Adrienne talked to us today.”
“Oh, she didn’t talk to me. She was too focused on you.”
“There are a lot of lonely housewives out there. Becoming involved with any of them would be the end of my delivery company,” Grayson explained.
“You got involved with me, or do you not consider this a relationship?” Valerie asked, waving a hand between her torso and her Daddy’s.
“We’re involved. I didn’t approach you while you were at home. We exchanged pleasantries every time I dropped off a package, but I never pursued you until we met at Maniac Tats.”
“So you wouldn’t have ever said anything to me if we hadn’t run into each other? That doesn’t sound like making me your Little girl was too important,” Valerie answered stiffly.
“Don’t talk to me in that tone, Little girl.”
“What tone? You don’t like me to be honest? Okay, let me say this another way… I don’t want a Daddy who decides I’m his because he runs into me in a tattoo parlor. I’d like to go home now.”
“You aren’t thinking clearly, Cupcake. Take a nap in your nursery, and we’ll talk again when you’re rested and able to talk to me.”
“I want to go to my home. Will you take me there now?” she asked, looking down at the floor to avoid his eyes.
“You can’t run away from us, Little girl.”
“I just want to go home.”
Chapter Fourteen
Looking at her customary to-do list, Valerie checked the top item off as complete. Normally, she would be finished with so many more of the things on her paper by this point in the day. She’d been distracted by buzzes all day long from her phone, letting her know that Da… Grayson wanted to talk to her. Valerie had set her phone to a special tone for him to make sure she didn’t get confused between her boss contacting her and Grayson calling. She didn’t feel ready to pretend that he didn’t mean anything to her.
She’d been up all night thinking about that awful woman, Adrienne, and all the others who flirted with him every day. There was no way she’d end up with a Daddy like Grayson with so many other possible women out there smiling an invitation to the handsome delivery man. She was a fool to think he could really be interested in her.
Then why does he keep calling you? that voice in the back of her mind questioned.
There’s no way he’ll stay with me. There are so many others out there who could be better for him.
The doorbell interrupted her thoughts. Its jarring tone made her jump. Valerie ran to the door, expecting to see her boss outside. The famous photographer had promised to drop by sometime this afternoon.
“Hey, Evan,” she said as she threw the door open. “Let me get the…” She stopped at the sight of Grayson dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, standing on her doorstep.
“Aren’t you supposed to be working?” she asked, staring at his outfit.
“A new employee is covering my shift today,” Grayson said, walking forward into her house as she backed up to maintain the distance between them.
“I don’t want to talk to you…” she began.
“That’s fine. You can listen as I talk to you.” He shut the front door.
“That’s not what I meant, Grayson.”
“Daddy,” he corrected absentmindedly as he wrapped his arms around her stiff body and pulled her close. Grayson buried his face in the crook of her neck and sighed. “You can’t do this to me, Cupcake. You’re ripping my heart out.”
“What happens to my heart when you find another Little girl who’s sexier or prettier than me? It will kill me if I don’t protect myself now.”