“Me too. You’re gonna like him. And then he can help with us too because I know we’re a handful sometimes.”
Kylie came up behind him and jumped on his back, riding him like a pony. “We’re not handfuls. We’re Lovelies.”
“That’s what I told him!” I spread my arms wide in exasperation. “And he likes to bring me presents, so maybe he’ll bring us a present tonight?”
As soon as I said it, I realized I shouldn’t put those kind of expectations on Daddy, especially without telling him. I wanted my friends to like him and not be disappointed if he showed up empty-handed. “But I didn’t ask him to bring anything tonight.” I looked between my friends to make sure they understood. “So don’t be sad if he doesn’t. We have lots of pizza here.”
Briana tugged on one of my ponytails. “We just want to meet the Daddy who’s making you so happy.”
Kylie slid off Daddy Troy’s back and landed on the floor in front of me. “And I brought the leftover pastries from work. I thinkthere are a few chocolate croissants and some blueberry muffins. Oh, and banana bread.”
“I love the banana bread,” Poppy said. “Dibs on that.”
I loved it too, but Poppy could have it. I was too excited to see my Daddy to be worrying about dibs on snacks.
A few minutes later, Hannah called from the rocking chair, where she was feeding her baby doll a bottle. “A car just pulled up out front.”
My head perked up. “Is it black?”
“Yep. And the man getting out of it is very handsome…”
I hopped up off the ground and smoothed out my dress. “That’s him. That’s my Daddy.”
I ran out to the front door and opened it just as he was about to knock. “You’re here.” I held my arms open wide, and he stepped right into them, lifting me off the ground with a big hug.
“Of course I’m here, sweet girl. I’ve been excited for this all day.” He kissed me, but kept it sweet since everybody was watching.
“Me too. My friends all want to meet you.”
“Well, lead the way.”
I held his hand and pulled him through the viewing room and into the main play area. “Everybody! This is my Daddy Dayton. You can call him, sir or Daddy or Dayton.” I glanced at him and winked. “Or DJ, if you’re into EDM.”
Troy laughed at that. “DJ, hunh? We may have to have a spin battle sometime.”
Daddy laughed and turned to him. “You must be Troy.” He held out his hand and shook it. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Yeah, and we’ve heard a little bit about you.” Troy shook Daddy's hand. “Cassie has mostly just been telling us how hot and nice you are.”
Daddy choked out a laugh and pulled me closer to his side. “Is that true, sweet girl?”
I shrugged and looked up at him. “I always tell the truth.”
He kissed my forehead. “Well, thank you. Who else do we have here?” He looked around the room at all my friends who were eagerly waiting to meet him.
I took him to each person individually and gave him a quick introduction to who they were and some other things they liked. I knew he wouldn’t remember everybody, but that was okay. I just wanted him to feel welcomed.
After meeting all my bestest friends and their Daddies, I was about to introduce him to some of my favorite toys and books, but then I noticed a small paper bag tucked under his arm. “Daddy?” I crossed my arms over my chest and looked up at him.
“Yes, Cassie.”
“What’s in that bag?” I pointed to it in case he didn’t know what I was talking about.
He grinned and waved it between us. “You mean this bag?”
“Uh huh.” My Little Lovely friends all took notice and started creeping closer to us. I could hear them murmuring about treats and sweets, but nobody questioned him. Nobody but me. “Yeah, that. What is it?”
“Nothing special.” He shrugged and opened it up. Then he stuck his hand in and pulled out a handful of colorfully wrapped taffy. “Just a little bit of candy I picked up in the gift shop, but I don’t know if anyone around here likes candy…”
