“It’s okay. I understand why you said them. But I’m glad we can be friends now.”
Juliet’s nose wrinkles slightly at the word “friends” but she thankfully doesn’t protest. Uncle Jasper rebuckles his belt with a look of relief and scoops his Little girl back into his arms.
Clearing his throat, Papa steps forward with a welcoming smile. “Now that we’ve gotten that bit of unpleasantness out of the way, dinner is served.”
“Oh! Just a second!” Auntie Cat hurries from the room and returns a few moments later carrying a white box. Beaming, she hands it over to me with a wink. “Your Uncle Jasper asked me to pick this up for you on the way over tonight. It’s a bit of a tradition in our family but the day got away from him so he didn’t have time to get it himself.”
Judging by the look Uncle Jasper sends her, he didn’t ask any such thing. But if it means everyone stops being mad at me, I’m willing to play along for a bit. Taking the box from Auntie Cat, I open it, a shocked gasp falling from my lips as I pull the ornate tiara from the box.
“Your Daddy told us you love the color black, you spooky little thing,” Auntie Cat says with a laugh. “So your Uncle Jasper thought this would be appropriate.”
“It’s beautiful.” And it truly is. Black jewels are nestled into twisting black metal and I immediately turn to hold it up to the two men grinning down on me. “Papa, will you put it on me? Pretty please?”
“Of course, little one.”
“Why does she call him Papa?” Victoria whispers, more than loud enough for everyone to hear as Lucas nestles the tiara in my hair, fixing it in place with the pins provided for us in the white box.
“It’s just our term for someone who is like a grandfather,” Daddy explains, giving one of my curls a gentle tug. “Lucas has been like a father to me since I was a very young boy, so it seemed fitting for my Little one to refer to him that way.”
Bottom lip pushing out in a pout, Victoria glares up at her Daddy. “How come I don’t get a Papa?”
“Now look what you’ve done.” Though he’s pretending to glare at my Daddy, Uncle Max’s tone is light and teasing as he scoops Victoria up into his arms. “They’re all going to be demanding Papasof their very own now.”
“As they should. It’s pretty great,” I say with a grin for Lucas as he taps the tip of my nose.
“I agree. Every Little girl should have a Papa.” With a slight adjustment to my tiara, he beams down at me. “There you are, little one. All ready for your first family dinner.”
Chapter Seventeen
Evander
To my delight, Natalie doesn’t even balk at the idea of sitting in a highchair for dinner. Or to being fed like a baby as we share our first of hopefully many dinners with our new family.
Even Juliet and the other Littles seem much more at ease, acting like their usual happy selves, regaling Natalie with tales of life on the island. She returns the favor by telling them all about her favorite and not-so-favorite celebrities she’s met.
It isn’t until the second-to-last course is cleared away that the other Littles grow quiet, shooting glances at each other as I rise to my feet.
“As you all know, we have a tradition here on the island. A way for us to come together as a family, unifying ourselves together as a single unit.”
Bright-eyed, Natalie bounces excitedly in her seat. “Ohhh more traditions! Is it another tiara?”
God she’s adorable. Chuckling at her exuberance, I unbuckle her from the highchair and lift her out to stand at the end of thetable, facing our family. “Not quite, kitten. This is something a bit more… intimate.”
“Oh. What is it?”
“Patience, little one.” Pushing her forward to bend over the edge of the gleaming wood, I flip her skirt up and reach for her diaper.
“What’s happening?” Panic creeps into her voice as she cranes her neck to try and look over her shoulder. “What are you doing?”
“Claiming you, for our family to see.”
“He means he’s going to fuck you in front of us,” Juliet says in a loud whisper.
Looking up, I frown at my niece. “That’s enough, Juliet.”
But the damage is done. Taking advantage of my momentary distraction, my naughty little kitten does what she does best when she’s frightened.
She runs.
