Excitement zips along my veins, and without thinking I bounce on his lap, then wince at the flash of pain the movement causes. As much as I’ve enjoyed being his Little girl, I’ve missed working. I’ve always loved being a nurse, and I especially love being a nurse on our island, surrounded by other Littles and their caregivers.
What I didn’t love was the way Doctor D treated me, however. And I’m not sure our relationship can survive a return to our old normal.
My stomach rolls at the thought of telling him that, but I manage to take a deep breath and gather all my courage. “I want to. I really do. But I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”
“Why not? You love being a nurse, and I don’t want anyone else.”
Hearing him say he doesn’t want another nurse almost crumbles my resistance, but I force myself to stand firm. “Ido love it. But I can’t be your Little girl at home, with you pampering me and spoiling me all the time and then turn around and be your punching bag at work. I think… I think that might break me, in a way we could never come back from.”
“Oh, sunshine.” Emotion swims in his eyes as he cups my cheek in his hand. “I’m so very sorry for how I treated you before. But if you agree to come back to work, I give you my word things will be different.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“I can, and I am. Working with you today at the farm, it solidified for me that I don’t want anyone else by my side. Give me a chance to prove you wrong, little one.”
The farm. I reallyhadenjoyed our trip out there, taking care of Penny.
And if I’m being honest with myself, it was different. Even when he snapped at me, he immediately apologized, and he didn’t do it again while we were there.
Will it be perfect? Probably not. He’s likely to slip up, lash out when his patience runs thin. But if it’s like it was at the farm today… I think I can handle that.
“What about a trial run? I’ll come back to work for a month, and at the end of the month we can both decide if I should stay on as your nurse or if you should hire someone else.”
“I think that’s perfectly fair.” Still cupping my face, he leans in, brushing a kiss over my lips. “Thank you for giving me another chance, little one. I promise things will be different this time.”
“If it’s not, does that mean I get to spank you when you’re mean?”
His expression hardens and my bottom instinctively clenches in the face of his disapproval. “Absolutely not, and I don’t think I need to explain what will happen if you try.”
“No, Daddy.”
There must be something seriously broken in me, though, because even with my bottom still aching from his rough treatment just this morning, I already know I’ll be testing that threat the first chance I get.
Donovan
Happy shrieks and giggles pierce the air as our Little ones frolic through the waves. After we finished breakfast, Camilla begged for a trip down to the beach, and before I knew it, the entire family was tagging along.
Which means all her uncles and her Auntie Cat and her friends got a front-row seat to my Little girl getting her bottom spanked bright red after she argued about putting on sunblock.
But even with my handprints still fading on her skin, she seems no worse for wear, laughing and playing with her friends as they run into the crashing waves hand in hand and then back out again when the water nearly topples them over.
Gideon stands at the water’s edge, watching them like a hawk. Of all of us, he seems the most nervous that an errant wave might come along and drag our babygirls out to sea.
“She looks happy.”
Glancing over, I smile at Catharina. She looks like she just walked out of a magazine in her retro-style swimsuit and oversized hat and black sunglasses. Even with her eyes shaded, I can feel her gaze on me, taking my measure as if to be sure I’m living up to my role as Camilla’s Daddy.
“I believe she is. I know I certainly am.”
A knowing smile curves Cat’s lips. “Of course you are. You got what you’ve wanted since she stepped foot on the island.”
“How did you…”
“Please.” Cat waves a dismissive hand. “You men aren’t nearly as mysterious as you like to think. Granted, you held out much longer than I thought you would. I figured you wouldn't last a month with that sweet girl under your nose like that.”
“Was I really that obvious?”
“You were,” Maxwell agrees, with Evander and Jasper chiming in as well.
