An hour later, he watched Lottie slip around her table and cross the aisle. She looked cute in the denim chef’s apron with Lottie’s Lollies embroidered across the top. Without a word, she laid the form on the table and then scurried back to her table just as a gaggle of Littles stopped in front of it.
“Want me to run it?” Sam asked as he picked up the paper and began to read it before Travis could.
Though he wanted to grab it back from one of his best friends, Travis forced himself to remain still. Letting Sam do the matching would keep him from slanting the results in his favor.
“Yes, please.”
“Your profile still active on the site?”
“You know it is,” Travis said, wishing his friend would stop talking and get to typing.
He had a strong gut feeling that he and Lottie would be a match and was impatient to get the computer’s confirmation. As retired sailors, they were used to logical thinking based on facts and computer printouts, and his growing feelings for Lottie Smith were anything but logical.
A few minutes later, Sam twisted the laptop around so he could see the screen. “Not perfect, but as close a match as I’ve ever seen. And from her answers, Lottie Smith really needs a Daddy.”
Travis looked at the screen and sucked in a breath at the score. Ninety-five-percent match. Yeah, that was about as perfect as you could get. If Sam hadn’t done the inputting, he would have sworn someone had cheated. But Sam had done the computer work, and he and Lottie were a near perfect match.
“I’m laying claim,” he said softly. “Lottie Smith is mine.”
“I’ll put a hold on your profile, but you need to remember you’re only supposed to be Daddying hertemporarily.”
“Uh-huh,” Travis grunted as he began to make plans on how to help Lottie free her Little from lockdown.
Chapter Three
Over the next few hours, whenever she wasn’t helping her own customers, she found her attention split between watching over her sisters, and trying not to stare at the man across the aisle. Travis and his friends appeared to be having a great time as they talked with the young men and women who stopped at their table. The already matched couples moved along quickly, but the singles stayed and talked. Some even filled out the form before moving on.
Each time she found herself watching him, Lottie forced herself to turn away. As she did, she reminded herself that she did not have the time or energy to devote to a new relationship, even if a temporary Daddy could be just what she needed.
After glancing at her sisters to make sure they were all right, Lottie turned back to check on whether she needed to refill any of her display.
“Eep!” she squeaked when she found Travis standing in front of her table. “Can I help you?”
Travis grinned as he looked over her table. “I’d like a dozen lollipops and a stack of business cards, please.”
“Any special color or flavor?” she asked as she grabbed one of the bigger treat bags.
“No, just a variety. I thought we would give them away to people who filled out the application, along with a business card so they know where we got them from. Do a little cross-advertising for you, if you’re interested.”
Lottie blinked. “That would be so great. Thank you.”
Pulling out a box of lollipops, she pulled two of the six different colors and slid them into the bag. Adding a stack of business cards, she handed the bag over the table. “There you go.”
“What do I owe you?”
“Nothing,” she said, making note of the gift and that it was an advertising cost.
“Horse-hockey,” Travis said as he studied the table then pulled out his wallet. “You’re not making any money if you give all your inventory away.”
After taking the bag from her hand, he laid a bill on the table and walked away. Lottie picked it up and shook her head. It was way too much money. After tucking the bill into her money bag, she looked across the aisle into Travis’s bright-blue eyes and mouthed, “Thank you.” He nodded with a grin before mouthing, “You’re welcome.”
Travis returned several times during the afternoon, each time buying a dozen lollipops and leaving money. When she tried to argue about taking it, he frowned and said, “No, little girl. You’re here to make money selling your treats.”
“Then you should at least get a discount since it looks like you’re going to be my best customer,” she said, adding several extra candies to the bag.
“How about joining me for dinner tonight?”
Lottie took a deep breath before shaking her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t. My sister and I have to head home tonight. As the oldest, it’s my job to watch over them and keep them safe.”
