Pulling away, Tori gets in on the fun. “Doo-doo head!”
We all try to smother our laughter, so we don’t alert the Daddies to our conversation. They’ve given us a wide berth, letting us explore the store more or less on our own, but they’re hovering close enough to overhear us if we get too loud. And I have no doubt that if they were to overhear exactly what we have to say about Doctor D, all our bottoms would pay the price.
“Dreadful,” I say with a decisive nod when our laughter dies down. “That was all I could think during my ‘exam’ was how dreadful it all was.”
“Oooh, Doctor Dreadful.” Humor dances in Juju’s bright blue eyes. “It has a nice ring to it! Like a character out of a horror movie.”
“We should get a plaque made for his office.” Tori giggles. “We’d have to figure out how to sneak in and hang it up though.”
“Maybe Millie would help us.”
Juju shakes her head at my suggestion. “No way. Have you met her? She’s totally in on all of it. She’d tattle on us before we could blink.”
Before we can flesh out our prank any further, movement catches my eye and I turn to find all three Daddies making their way down the aisle toward us. “Daddies incoming,” I whisper.
Juju and Tori immediately shift to face their Daddies, their expressions the picture of innocence. All three men stop in front of us, their brows rising in such a uniform way I wonder if they practice that gesture together.
“What are you Little girls up to?”
ChapterFourteen
Isabella
There's a note of amusement in Uncle Max’s voice, and some of the tension leaves my shoulders. If they’d overheard us, there’s no way they would be laughing. I have no doubt if they caught wind of our plan, we’d all be getting our bare bottoms paddled right here in the middle of the store.
“Nothing, Daddy,” Victoria says in a sing-song voice that nearly makes me groan. I’m certain she’s about to give us away, but Uncle Max just laughs and shakes his head as he takes her hand in his.
My own Daddy scoops me up, propping me on his hip the way he always does. “Have you picked out any new toys yet, little doll?”
“No, Daddy. There’s too many choices.”
“Hmm. Why don’t we start with the stuffies, then? Every Little girl needs a special stuffie all her own.”
Tori gasps, narrowing her eyes at Uncle Max. “How come I don’t have a special stuffie all my own?”
The look Uncle Max gives my Daddy is so withering, I can’t help but giggle. “Thank you, Gideon.”
Daddy shrugs. “It’s not my fault you neglected your sacred Daddy duties.”
“You’re right.” With mock solemnity, Uncle Max gives his head a slow shake. “My apologies, little thief, for neglecting you so severely. We will rectify this oversight immediately.”
“Thank you.” Tori tilts her nose in the air with a delicate sniff. “That’s more like it.”
“Where is Cat and her hairbrush when I need her?” Uncle Max raises a brow. “If you’re going to be sassy, we can go home and you can spend some time in the corner with a red-hot bottom instead of picking out a new toy.”
A furious blush slashes across my friend’s cheeks. “No, Daddy. Sorry.”
“That’s better. Let’s go find you a stuffie.”
We move as a group back toward the front of the store to stand in front of the long wall of stuffies.
“A unicorn!” Squealing excitedly, Tori wriggles out of Uncle Max’s arms and races straight for a giant pink unicorn with a sparkly rainbow-colored mane. It’s so large, she staggers backward under the weight of it. “Can I have this one? Please, Daddy, please?”
“I should have known.” Shaking his head, Uncle Max chuckles. “Is there a more reasonably sized one, little thief?”
Bottom lip trembling, Tori pouts up at him. “But I wantthisone.”
I watch, fascinated by the exchange. It’s clear from the look on his face he would prefer for her to pick out something different. But it’s equally as clear he isn’t about to tell his Little girl no, at least not when it comes to this ridiculously giant toy.
