I smiled even though she couldn’t see it. “It’s not the last time. We’ll have a new toy room in the new place.”
“I can’t wait to be there,” she replied, eyes crinkling as she smiled.
After everything that’d gone down last year, we were making a lot of changes. Craig Rubio was in prison for his crimes now, and Lily and I had decided to move far away from the area we lived in. It was too hard for Lily to be here after what she now knew—that her mother died here as well as Jenna—so it made sense for us to make a fresh start somewhere else. Unfortunately, it took a long time for the house to sell, given its history, but we’d finally had an offer put on the place a month ago. Now we were in the process of packing up, and today was our last day in this house before we moved into our new townhouse in the inner city.
It made sense for us to be closer to the CBD for other reasons, too—it was closer to Lily’s college and closer to my office at City Hall, where I was still a councilman. I ended up dropping out of the election for US senator after all the drama with Craig, because Lily needed me; needed more time with me to help her recover from the shock and trauma. I was happy to do so. If I’d stayed in the race and won a spot in the US senate, then I would’ve had to move across the country to DC for a good portion of each year for my serving term, and now just wasn’t the right time for that. I needed to reprioritise now that my little girl was in my life.
I was better off running again during the next election season in a few years, anyway. Past issues would’ve blown over by then, and Lily would be in her mid-twenties, which would look ‘better’ to voters than a nineteen-year-old. I’d never had a problem with her age, obviously, but we knew there were more than a few prissy people who did have an issue with our relationship, and so it made sense for us to wait till she was older now that everything was out in the open.
We’d been out in the open for quite some time now, actually—ever since we dragged Craig into the police station that afternoon. Considering the high-profile nature of the case, coupled with the involvement of someone like me, it was impossible to keep it out of the media, and so we’d had to admit to our relationship. It was hard for the first few weeks, and Lily bore the brunt of most of the gossip, but considering what she’d been through (and also considering what I’d done to save her from her father) it wasn’t too bad. Most people were sympathetic and thought we made a good couple, and it was only the prim and proper gossip queens who thought the age gap was creepy.
I sat up, propping myself up on one elbow. “I’m going to go make us some coffee, baby girl,” I murmured before leaning back down to kiss her.
“Okay, daddy,” she whispered, stretching luxuriantly on the satin sheets.
I went and busied myself with the coffee maker, and when I had two steaming mugs of fresh java, I held them steadily and headed back upstairs. I paused at the beginning of the upstairs hallway, frowning as I realized something. It hadn’t occurred to me before now, but ever since Lily moved in, I’d stopped all my old habits of checking and re-checking things like the coffee machine. I only ever did it because Jenna did the same thing all those years ago, and continuing her habits had been a way of coping with the guilt of letting her die, back when I thought it was my fault. But now I knew better. Thanks to Lily, I knew there was nothing I could’ve done, and it was someone else’s fault Jenna was gone.
Not mine.
I could breathe and sleep a lot easier now with that knowledge, and sleeping was twice as good when I had Lily in bed with me, all wrapped up and snuggled in the blankets. Nothing felt as great as it did to wake up next to that every morning; to see her chest rising and falling as she let out cute little snores, each breath fanning the hair that’d fallen onto her face. That beautiful face.
I smiled and carried the coffees into the toy room. Lily was sitting up now, her hair messed up from our playtime, and she smiled back at me and reached out to get her coffee. “Thank you,” she said before taking a sip. “Mm…this is good. I’m surprised I can stomach it.”
I frowned. “Why’s that? You’ve always loved coffee.” There was a strange little smile playing on her lips now, and I arched an eyebrow. “What are you hiding from me, little girl? You know you can’t keep secrets from me.”
She shrugged. “I just thought I’d be off it by now. But I’m still craving it. And I was told one a day is okay.”
I growled and leaned down. “You’re being very evasive. Do you need a spanking, baby girl?”
She giggled. “No. But remember what you were saying earlier? About how we’ll have a new toy room in the new house.” I nodded, and she went on. “Well, I just found out the other day…we’ll need another toy room, too. A different sort of toy room….”
My eyebrows furrowed. “What? Another….oh!”
“Yep,” she said, her voice growing in strength and confidence. “You’re going to be a daddy, Jackson.”
I could feel my heart swelling with pride and joy, and my eyes crinkled as I grinned and pulled Lily into a tight hug. “Really?” I said, my voice partially muffled by her neck as I peppered it with kisses. “We’re having a baby?”
She drew back and nodded. “Yes.”
I slid my hand down over her bare stomach and held it there. “I love you, Lily. You’ve made me the happiest man alive.”
“You’ve made me the happiest girl alive,” she replied with a smile. “You’ve always kept me safe. I know you’ll do the same for our baby. You’ll protect him or her the same way you’ve protected me.”
I leaned in and kissed her again, elated at her words. For years, I’d felt like I fucked up irrevocably when Jenna died, and I felt like I shouldn’t be with a woman again in case I failed to protect her in the same way; in the way a man was supposed to. But Lily had brought me back to life, and I knew better now. I hadn’t failed back then. Sometimes things were just beyond our control because of other people’s actions. But it would never be like that with Lily. She was a good girl, and as long as we were together, I’d be able to keep her safe. Keep her happy. That was all she’d ever asked for. She didn’t care about my money or my status. She just wanted love and protection. And boy, she was going to get a hell of a lot of that. I was never going to stop fighting for her or looking after her.
“No matter what happens,” I said, pausing to kiss the top of her head. “You’re always going to be my little girl…”
Epilogue
Lily
Three years later
“Ah! Mama!”
I turned to look at my little girl, who I’d just set down in a high-chair. “What’s wrong, Mia?” I asked, fretting over her as I pulled my hair back into a ponytail. She’d recently picked up the nasty habit of pulling my hair (along with anything else she could get her hands on) so it wasn’t safe to keep it down around her.
“Umm,” she gurgled, and I smiled, staring into her big blue eyes. Jackson’s eyes. She took after him in every single way. No wonder she was so interested in pulling my damn hair out; he’d always liked to grab my hair too.
I giggled at the naughty thought as I heaved Mia out of her chair and onto my hip. “You just want to be held, don’t you?” I said before crooning a lullaby to her.
It wasn’t easy being a young mom to a toddler, especially when I was still in college. I’d gone part-time just before giving birth to Mia, and so my degree took three years to finish, rather than the one and a half years which had been remaining on my course before that. So for the last few years I’d been dealing with late night feedings, diaper-changing and studying, all at the same time. It was hard, and it was exhausting.
I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Jackson helped as much as he could, and I wouldn’t have gotten through any of it without him. He’d done so much for me; kept me safe and happy all these years. That wasn’t easy, given the things I’d gone through, but he made me feel like it was all okay. And it was okay. I still thought about the past sometimes, and I knew I was a bit messed
up. For years I thought my mother was a murderer, and then I found out it was my father who was the real murderer. That sort of stuff couldn’t be erased from my memory, and it impacted on who I was. A lot. But now I was more than the messed up girl with the crazy family.
Now, I was a mother.
Now, I was Jackson’s.
And I always would be. All that mattered now was our future, and the less I looked back on the past, the better it would be.
That didn’t mean I was ignoring the past completely, though. I still saw Dr. Steinberg from time to time to help me deal with the trauma surrounding my mom’s death at the hands of my dad, and with Jackson’s help and government connections, I’d also begun to set up a non-profit organization with Alexandra during my last break from college. When it was officially up and running, it was going to be a small legal organization which was committed to exonerating wrongly-convicted people who were currently still serving time in prison for crimes they didn’t commit.
It was named after my mother, and I knew she would be proud. Her name was clear now, after all the years of people holding her responsible for Jenna Potter’s death, but having it cleared simply wasn’t enough. Starting this organization helped me move on from the trauma of discovering what really happened to Mom all those years ago, and I knew it was exactly what she would’ve wanted me to do.
Perhaps it wasn’t close to my old dream of running a restaurant, but I could always do that further down the track. Things never turned out how you planned, and it was better that way—life didn’t happen in a vacuum, and we all needed to grow and evolve around everything that happened to us, or else we’d all go nuts.
“What’s my little girl doing?”
I turned to see Jackson watching me from the doorway of the kitchen, and my insides sighed at the sight of him. He was so damn sexy with that cocked eyebrow and tight T-shirt which showed off all his muscles. I wanted to run my hands all over him right away.
“I’m just singing to Mia,” I replied, rocking our girl back and forth on our hip.
“You dirty girl,” Jackson murmured. “I meant Mia, not you.”
I pretended to pout. “I thought you said I’d always be your little girl,” I said before sticking my tongue out at him.
“Careful. Young kids pick up on a lot of stuff,” he said with a grin, striding over and encircling the two of us in his strong arms. “Wouldn’t want Mia to overhear some of the filthy things you say and do…”
I smiled and pulled away. “Oh, she’s already a naughty little thing. She threw her breakfast across the room today. Didn’t you, darling?” I said, turning my attention back to Mia.
She blew a raspberry at me, and Jackson and I both chuckled. “She’s your daughter, all right,” he said. “I’m stuck with two bad girls now. What am I going to do?”
He let out a dramatic sigh, and I smiled. “Oh, hush. You know she takes after you. I was a good girl until I let myself be corrupted by a bad older man.”
“Is that right?” he said, arching an eyebrow. “I might have to corrupt you some more when Mia goes down for her afternoon nap.”
I gave him a devious smile and set our daughter back down in her chair. She was getting sleepy now; I could tell from the way her eyelids were beginning to look heavy, and the way she sat still instead of flailing about. “She’s going down in five minutes. You sure you’re ready?” I asked.
“I was born ready for you,” he growled, watching me as I bent over to pick up a rattle that Mia must’ve thrown to the floor earlier. She was already nodding off to sleep in her high-chair after just twenty seconds.
“These damn toys everywhere…” I said, putting the rattle up on the table.
Jackson grinned. “Speaking of toys…I’ve got some new things for the toy box. Did a little shopping earlier.”
I gasped and stepped over to him. “You claim I’m the bad one, saying stuff while we’re in the same room as Mia. But then you say that…”
“She’s asleep. She didn’t hear.”
“Excuses, excuses. So what are these new toys?”
“You’ll have to see later,” Jackson murmured, circling my waist with his arms again. “But for now, I’ve got another kind of box I want to show you. Not a toy box.”
I puckered my brows with confusion. “Oh?”
“While I was out earlier, something occurred to me. We’ve been so damn busy these last few years. Too busy. I haven’t made an honest woman out of you yet, baby girl.”
“What do you mean? I think that saying is from a bit before my time,” I teased. But I knew where this was going. I just knew.
He leaned down and planted a kiss on my forehead before drawing back and pulling something out of his pocket. It was a small jewelry box. “I mean…” he said slowly, opening the box and sinking to one knee. Nestled in the center of the box was a gorgeous ring with the biggest damn diamond I’d ever seen. “I made you my little girl a long time ago. But I haven’t made you my wife yet. So I’m fixing that now. Will you marry me, Lily Rubio?”
I didn’t even pause, because I didn’t need to consider my answer. “Yes!” I replied, practically throwing myself toward him.
“I was going to wait for a better moment,” he said softly, sliding the white gold and diamond ring onto my finger. “I suppose proposing in the kitchen isn’t exactly the height of romance. But seeing you in here with our girl…having the ring already in my pocket….I couldn’t stop myself.”
“Don’t be silly,” I replied, grinning from ear to ear. “It’s amazing. You’re amazing.”
It wasn’t a monumental proposal with fireworks and flowers, but that had never been me anyway. I’d always been a girl with simple tastes, and I’d never cared too much for glitz and glamor, notwithstanding the massive diamond Jackson had just put on my hand. All I really wanted in the end was my little family—Jackson and Mia. And now we were going to be an official family, all sharing the same last name.
To me, that was enough. To me, that was perfect.
Sure, there would always be some people who had a problem with our age gap, thinking it was weird or that I was some sort of gold-digging harpy, but I didn’t care. We were both adults despite our difference in years, and we were allowed to make whatever choices we wanted. I chose Jackson, and he chose me.
We made the right choice.
THE END
Thank you so much for reading my book! I hope you enjoyed Daddy’s Toy-Box, and I hope it made your day a little brighter :) If it did, I’d love it if you could leave me a review on Amazon—it helps my books reach more readers.
Keep reading on for some bonus content from me and my friend Paige, who has kindly donated a freebie that I helped her write a while ago!
Thanks again <3
Love,
Caitlin
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I Got It From My Daddy
By Paige Archer
Edited by Caitlin Daire
2017
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Prologue
Jacob’s breath was warm against my neck, sending tingles up and down my spine as he pushed me toward the sofa and sat me down. My legs shook and my lips quivered, trying to speak but never quite forming the words as he circled me. I wasn’t supposed to speak right now, anyway. Not until Jacob said I could.
He sat down next to me. I took a deep breath, inhaling the sinful scent of him, the pure masculinity, the promise of sex dripping from every pore. Another breath and I was turned over his knee, face pres
sed downward. His left hand held me steady as his right hand pressed against my soft skin, trailing up and down my thighs as I squirmed.
“Stay still, Vanessa,” he said, holding me tighter. I couldn’t move at all now, and I didn’t want to.
I wanted him to hold me down.
I wanted him to punish me.
I wanted him to own me.
The scorching heat between my legs was near driving me insane, and I let out a moan as Jacob’s fingers continued on their soft path toward my core. I wanted him to slide them inside me, see how hot and wet I was for him. I could feel how hard he was for me, his cock throbbing under his pants, begging to be released and sucked. But that wasn’t what we were here for.
“Tell me what you did, Vanessa,” he said, his voice soft yet dangerous.
“I was bad. So bad,” I gasped out. My breaths were ragged now, desperate. Desperate for him to touch me, spank me, show me who the boss was.
Jacob’s probing fingers found my clit, teasing me as they grazed over it. “You know what happens to bad girls in this house.”
I nodded. I knew exactly what happened to naughty girls, and I couldn’t wait a second longer. I took another deep breath and replied, my voice soft and timid.
“Yes, daddy. I’m ready.”
Chapter One
Vanessa
Two months earlier
If there was one thing I hated more than anything, it was the afternoon rush at Boci Café, where I worked part-time as a waitress.
To be honest, working in the service industry pretty much sucked all the time, but some of the times I disliked more than others. Like the aforementioned afternoons, for instance. That was when all the wealthy western suburbs mothers came in with their friends to get coffee before school let out. They always ordered things like non-fat almond milk caramel lattes, and god forbid if the barista steamed the milk to a temperature even half a degree above their liking.
Daddy's Toy-Box (A Daddy's Best Friend Romance) Page 22