“Let me guess—landlord doesn’t seem to care.”
“How did you know?”
“Typical. Sometimes these big companies buy up property and they own so much that they can’t tend to it all. Half the time they’re out-of-state operations. You can’t even get to the top people. Other times it’s just absentee landlords who couldn’t give a rat’s ass about their tenants.” He winced. “Excuse my language.”
Her genuine laughter was one of the sweetest sounds he’d ever heard. “You’re such a Daddy. Worried about the stairs. Worried about your language. I love it.”
What the heck? Kendrick wondered as he stepped around from behind the stairs and assessed the beautiful woman. “How did you know I’m a Daddy?”
Her face was as white as a sheet. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination or if it was really a bead of sweat he noticed forming along her brow.
Either way, she was clearly shaken up.
Where had he met her before? He was more convinced they’d encountered each other, now more than ever. She just knew too much about him and even Isaiah for such not to be the case.
“Uh. How did I know?” she asked while shifting from one foot to the other in labored movements.
“Yep. That’s what I’m asking.”
He made a mental note to watch his tone. This wasn’t an interrogation. He didn’t want her to be intimidated by him.
She never needed to be afraid of Daddy.
“Well, you, uh, just give off those vibes. I… uh… can I confess something to you?”
“Anything.”
Here it comes, he thought. The truth was finally going to be revealed.
“I know about Auntie Athena’s because I’m… well… I’m a Little. And I’ve never been there, really. Not in the traditional way. But… I’ve snuck up on the back fence to watch.”
Kendrick couldn’t believe it. What were the odds that he’d found his sweet princess out in the wild like that? But her explanation made sense. It wasn’t very long ago at all that Little Annika had been discovered doing the same exact thing. Isaiah had literally caught her as she fell off the tall fence.
How many Littles in the area spied on the place?
The thought broke his heart. They didn’t need money. Auntie would never turn them away.
That was a problem for later. Right now, he was just thrilled to know that his Daddy instincts were right.
Samantha was a Little.
And something told him she washisLittle.
Forever.
Chapter Eleven
Samantha froze as panic seized her entire body.
She felt guilty for lying. Though her explanation wasn’t entirely untrue. She’d never visited Athena’s… in the traditional sense.
Her visits had always been as Tonya.
So, in a way, Samantha Mayfield had never been to Auntie Athena’s West Hollywood Nursery.
Was Kendrick going to buy it? Or had she derailed this—whateverthiswas—before it even began?
If the grin that stretched across his chiseled face was any indication, he wasn’t doubting the explanation. And he sure wasn’t upset.
