Total pages in book: 184
Estimated words: 188108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 941(@200wpm)___ 752(@250wpm)___ 627(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 188108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 941(@200wpm)___ 752(@250wpm)___ 627(@300wpm)
Tamsyn nodded. “I don’t think I’m a baby. But then, I didn’t expect to suck my thumb either. It just felt right.”
“You don’t have to be a baby to suck your thumb or use one of these. Older Littles do that too. For comfort, for sleep. Sucking on something can just help you shut off from the world. I have another idea for something you can suck on . . . and I just realized how much I sound like Alexei right now.” He shook his head in mock-horror and she giggled.
“Oh, I know what Papa would like me to suck.”
“Don’t encourage him. So let’s give the pacifier a go. And maybe a bottle before naps. And a sippy cup for other times. As well as some plates and cutlery. They have a lot in this range.” Everything he chose had images of a brown and white dog on it.
“Um, Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t you think you’re going a bit overboard? You’re gonna be broke by the end of this trip.” Her eyes were wide as she watched him add more things to the cart.
He shook his head. “Don’t worry about money. That’s my job, not yours.”
“I’m not sure that’s true. If you run out of money, I’m out of a job.”
“I’m not going to run out of money, all right? I’m a grown man who has been managing his finances for a long time. Well, I let David manage them. He’s my brother and he’s good with money. I’ve got a large nest egg. All right?”
“But you might need that nest egg for other things. Like toilet paper.”
“Toilet paper?”
“Well, yeah. It’s pretty essential, right? You really don’t want to run out. That would be a disaster. What happens if you run out of toilet paper? Then you have to move onto things like leaves. Then clothes. Then all of a sudden, you’re naked, running around, with no toilet paper. Honestly, it wouldn’t be a good look for you, Daddy. Well, the no toilet paper thing, not the naked thing. The naked thing could be a really good look.”
He blinked. He’d never heard her talk so much in one go. Was she . . . nervous?
Maybe anxious.
About him spending money on her?
“Baby, my money is for me to worry about. I don’t do anything I don’t want to do. This isn’t a worry for you and I don’t want you to take it on. All right?”
“All right, Daddy,” she agreed.
“Good girl.” He kissed the top of her head. “Let’s go have a look at the clothes now.”
He pushed the cart down through the shelves until they reached the back of the shop.
There was an overwhelming amount of clothes, and they seemed to be grouped by age.
He headed toward the toddler area, which he thought might be suitable for her. There were also adult clothes toward the far right. But he’d told her this was more about her Little.
However, if he could work out her sizes, he might order some things online for her.
“All right, I’m going to let you down so you can find some things you want to try on, okay?”
She gave him a bit of a worried look but nodded. He undid her belt and lifted her down. She wandered around, looking lost.
He studied her for a moment. She appeared so confused. Almost as if she’d never done anything like this before. Which was ridiculous.
She must have shopped for clothes at some time. But perhaps she liked to shop online or it had been a while.
Or maybe it was because she had never bought Little clothes before. She did seem to favor black tights and sweaters. And everything here seemed quite colorful.
She ran her fingers over a patchwork-looking sweater. Then she went on to a tutu skirt in a bright pink.
“Choose anything to try on,” he urged as he drew out the sweater and skirt. “How about these?”
Tamsyn chose some different sizes and then something snapped inside her and she started pulling out lots of different things. He held his arms out and she piled them on top.
He took note of the sizes.
All right, he thought he had a good idea of what size to buy.
“Do you want to try these on?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“No? Do you just want to get them, then?” he asked, surprised.
“Oh. Is it too much? It’s too much, isn’t it?” She started to grab items.
“No! All of this is fine, Little one.” He was impressed by how much she’d chosen. And it was all colorful. “Come on, let’s take this all home and you can do a fashion show.”
26
“What the hell is this thing?” Alexei picked up the ugliest, saddest toy that he’d ever seen in his life. “You bought this for her?”
He’d gotten home about two hours ago to find Tamsyn and Salem still out. Which he hadn’t been happy about.