“No. I’ve been… otherwise occupied.”
It isn’t a lie, exactly. I have been rather busy with my Little girl. But the thought of trying to replace her still doesn’t sit right with me, which is the real reason I’ve been putting off interviewing anyone. I know I'll need to, eventually, but with as small as the island is it’s not that difficult to handle the majority of my practice alone for now.
“You should definitely make it a priority.” Jasper’s gaze slides over to Maxwell as his lips curve up in a mischievous smile. “It would be ratherdreadfulfor you to have to struggle through on your own.”
To his left, Evander inhales so sharply he chokes on his whiskey, and Gideon slaps him on the back as he coughs and sputters. Maxwell and Jasper are both grinning now, and I can’t help but feel like I’m the butt of a rather private joke. It’s not a feeling I’m used to, or particularly comfortable with, and my voice is much sharper than it normally would be with the men who employ me when I speak.
“Would someone care to share what’s so amusing about that word?”
Maxwell chuckles. “Just something the girls came up with. Since you only go by ‘Doctor D’, they were trying to figure out what the D stood for and they’ve settled on Dreadful.”
“Have they now?” Amusement winds its way around my chest. “Well… at least now I know what I need to be striving for.”
Jasper chuckles “We tried to tell them it wouldn’t go well for them if you ever found out, but you know how Littles are.”
“Indeed, I do.”
And I can only hope my own Little girl joins in the fun, so I can have an excuse to show her how trulydreadfulher Daddy can be when he puts his mind to it.
Millie
“Millie, which dollie do you wanna play with?”
Victoria’s question draws my attention away from the door I've been staring at ever since our Daddies made their way downstairs.
Stop being such a baby. You used to do all kinds of stuff without him.
True. But that was before. After spending so much time practically glued to his side, it feels odd, almostwrongto be without him now.
But my friends want to play, and I really do want to be part of the group. So I force myself to smile and choose a doll—one with pretty red hair like I’ve always secretly wanted—and dive right into the game Victoria has concocted for us.
We’ve only been playing for a few minutes before Juliet turns those unnervingly pale eyes on me. “So what’s it like having Doctor Dreadful for a Daddy?”
“Juju!” Isabella’s voice drops to a low hiss. “You shouldn't tell her that!”
“Too late.” Victoria blushes and smiles sheepishly at her friends. “I let it slip at school the other day. She already knows.”
Juliet rolls her eyes. “Well, she was bound to find out eventually and honestly, what’s the big deal? It’s not like she’s going to go running to tell him. Are you, Millie?”
“No. Of course not.” Part of being a good friend is keeping secrets, and the thought of keeping such a funny nickname from my Daddy makes me giggle. “You’re all going to be in so much trouble if he ever hears about it, though.”
“That’s why it’s asecret.” Isabella glares at Juliet, who just rolls her eyes again.
“Whatever. Millie still didn’t answer my question. What’s it like? Is he as mean as he is at the office? I don’t think I could be okay with a Daddy who was mean to me all the time.”
“You woulddie,” Nelly agrees with a giggle. “Especially with how Uncle Jasper spoils you.”
“He doesn’t spoil me!” At everyone’s raised brows, she huffs indignantly. “Okay, maybe he spoils me a little, but aren’t Daddies supposed to spoil you?”
“They are, but they’re also supposed to hold you accountable and help you grow.” I don’t know why I feel the need to say that.
Or maybe I do. Maybe it’s my way of not so subtly reminding them of how mean they were to me and why they were punished for it.
“Well, he does that, too. Most of the time,” she adds sheepishly when Nelly pins her with a bland stare. “But seriously, what’s he like? We’ve been dying to know.”
“He’s…. different than I expected.”
“How so?” Isabella asks, her eyes wide with curiosity.
