“Universal Studios! Oh my gosh! I’ve always wanted to go here!” Samantha declared.
She ran ahead of the group, stopped in front of a big movie theater and spun in a circle atop the paved walkway. The area was closed off to cars. All around the theater, connected like one big building, were shops and restaurants. In the distance, a blueish King Kong hung off the side of one structure.
“And this is just CityWalk,” Lana told her. “Wait until you actually get inside the park!”
Samantha was beyond excited. She started to run deeper into the CityWalk portion and toward the actual theme park, but Daddy called out, saying, “Honey, wait up! I don’t want us to get separated and you get lost.”
She fell back and took hold of his hand. “Yes, Sir. This is just amazing!”
He kissed the side of her head. “I’m glad you’re excited. But you know what? Why don’t you share your location with me? This is a giant place. The park is actually multiple levels, going down the mountain a ways. This way, if we get separated, we can easily find one another.”
She pulled out her phone and took the necessary steps to share her location with him.
“Good girl.” He gave her another kiss. “Like I said, you’re going to have a blast today.”
Kendrick was proven right. She loved every second of their day!
They rode everything—some attractions more than once—and ate their way through the park. They saw shows, toured the actual studio, and shopped.
When night fell was when the real magic started, though.
The park came alive in brilliant, beautiful, dazzling Christmas lights.
The Christmas trees and wreaths had been magnificent in the daylight hours, but now, awash in the festive glow, they were otherworldly.
“Daddy!’ she cried, not realizing that she was calling him that in public, around so many people. “There’s a Christmas parade starting soon!” She pointed at the sign advertising the big event.
“That’s the main reason we came. I’m going to show you those lights you’ve always wanted to see,” Kendrick told her.
Tears welled in her eyes. Holding Daddy’s hand she stood by her new friends—or were they her family?—along the parade route, waiting for the floats to come by. Eventually, they did. And she loved every moment of it.
But it wasn’t the characters and fantastic lights or the breathtaking spectacle that made the experience so special.
She never thought she’d find herself in a situation like this, with people who cared about her.
With a Daddy.
Yet here she was. Life sure had a way of working out sometimes, she reflected. In fact, all seemed so right with the world, that she forgot about the break-in at her apartment, the harm she’d caused as Tonya, and the fact that her dirty little secret was still out there.
Just waiting to come to light…
Chapter Twenty-Seven
By the time they all got back to the mansion, the ladies were exhausted.
Not so exhausted that Samantha wasn’t considering extending her night and its fun—albeit in a different fashion than what she’d experienced at the park.
She’d snuggled against Daddy the entire way home. Just when she thought she might nod off to sleep, the feeling of his warm, hard body against her would wake her up and think about… other things.
“Who wants to sleep in front of the Christmas tree?” Iris asked excitedly as they all walked into the mansion.
“Me!” Lana replied with a raised hand.
“Same!” Cami chimed in.
“I’m cool with it,” Annika added.
Samantha nodded eagerly. But deep down, she kind of wanted to stay with Daddy.
