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)
“No…” She didn’t want to hurt his feelings but there was no way Grayson was right.
In the end when they pulled the mask from the captured villain, Valerie gasped in surprise. “It is the museum guy! How did you know?” she asked.
“Daddies know all sorts of things,” Grayson promised. “Come say goodnight to me at the door. And go right to bed, Little girl. It’s getting late.”
Yawning, she followed him. When Grayson leaned down to kiss her lightly, Valerie lifted up on her toes to press her mouth against his. His arms tightened around her waist to pull her closer before releasing her.
“You are temptation overload, Cupcake. Sleep well. Lock the door after me.”
Peeking through the door, she saw him wait for her to lock the door and turn off the lights. Quickly she cleaned up the treats and glasses before rushing to her room to start the shower so it could warm up. Glancing down at her top, Valerie spotted the sticker. Not wanting to throw it away, she walked back to her office and peeled it off gently. Smoothing the wrinkled sticker next to today’s date on her calendar, she patted it fondly.
My Daddy thought of me today.
Chapter Four
By Friday at noon, she had four stickers in her planner. Thursday and Friday, Grayson had texted her during the day to say hello and remind her he would be there as soon as possible in the evening. He’d added a sticker to her T-shirt last night again as they’d watched TV.
Tonight, she was dragging. It had been a long week at work. With a new book coming out, the stakes were high to get everything completed perfectly. Looming releases put pressure on everyone.
As she waited for Grayson, Valerie stretched out on the couch. It seemed like just seconds later a loud noise made her heart skip a beat. Pushing herself up to seated, Valerie tried to make sense of the sound.
“Valerie? Are you okay, Little girl?” Grayson’s deep voice called through the door.
At the sound of the concern in his voice, she ran to the door and opened it. “Hi. Sorry. I must have fallen asleep.”
Stepping back so he could walk in, Valerie rubbed a hand over her mouth and wiped a bit of moisture from the corner of her lip. Good golly. She’d drooled.
“Come here, Little girl.” Grayson hugged her gently, before closing the door and steering her back to the couch.
Horrified to see a wet spot on the throw pillow at the end of the couch, Valerie quickly flipped it over, hoping he hadn’t noticed. To her relief, he did not appear to be appalled in any way.
Grayson sat on the couch and guided her onto his lap. “You’re so tired. No TV for us tonight. Have you had dinner?” he asked.
“I didn’t eat lunch until three. I’m not hungry.”
“It has been a tough week. I hope I haven’t added to your exhaustion.”
“Oh, no! I’ve looked forward to seeing you each evening. You’ve made me go to bed earlier than I probably would have,” she admitted.
“Then I’m glad I’ve helped. Are you working tomorrow?” he probed.
“No. Everything is finished now. I can relax.” She waved a hand toward the couch. “Obviously.”
“There’s nothing wrong with sleeping when you need to,” he pointed out gently. “I have a few deliveries in the morning, and then I’m all yours.”
“That works out perfect because I’m having breakfast with my parents.”
He smiled. “If we’re going to spend your birthday together tomorrow, I think you need to go to bed so you’ll have energy to enjoy it. What do you think?”
As much as Valerie wanted to assure him that she was fine and didn’t need to sleep so early, she was completely and totally sapped. “I’m sorry.”
“Thank you for being honest. Here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to go take a shower and put on your pajamas or whatever you sleep in. I’m going to stay right here and find a story. When you’re ready to jump into bed, call out to me and I’ll come tuck you in and read to you. Then I’ll kiss your forehead and sneak out so you can drift off to sleep.”
He turned her around and gave her a small swat on her bottom. “Go shower and change into your nightclothes.”
Looking over her shoulder as she walked, Valerie ran into the door frame of her bedroom.
“Be careful, Cupcake.”
She bumbled her way into her bedroom, too sleepy to be embarrassed. In a few minutes, Valerie stood in the shower, letting the warm water flow over her skin. When a knock sounded on the bathroom door, she jerked away from the wall she leaned on and covered her body with her hands.
“You didn’t fall asleep, did you?”
“No. I’m just finishing up,” she promised and wondered how she could fall asleep standing up in the shower.