“What’s got my beautiful boys beaming at each other?” Daddy asked, coming back from collecting our scavenger hunt list with another hot Daddy in tow.
Not, of course, as hot asourDaddy, but the other man was definitely attractive.
“I was just telling our sweet little sugar pop why we were here today,” Jules said, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly as he assessed Daddy’s friend. “Becauseyouwanted us here… Daddy.”
That hadn’t been what Jules had just said to me at all, but it was still true. Daddy had told us to come to the scavenger hunt, and that it would be okay—and hewasan actual paid member of Cuffd attending the event as a guest, so I guess it must be true—and so ultimately, Jules was right.
We’d come because Daddy had wanted us to, and because when I’d worried about whether or not we should, he’d reminded us that he was the one in charge.
Growled it, actually.
Which had been super sexy.
And which had also led to us being a little late, since Daddy had followed up the growling with more activities that I really, really shouldn’t be thinking about in public.
I scooted a little bit behind Jules, hoping no one noticed my trousers getting so tight.
“Hi there, handsome,” Jules purred to Daddy's friend, thrusting his hand out aggressively. “And you are?”
“I’m Santiago de León, pretty boy,” the man, Santiago, said, clapping Daddy on the shoulder with one hand and shaking Jules’ hand with his other. “An old friend of Roman’s.”
Jules’ eyes narrowed even more, then he flicked Santiago’s hand off of Daddy, moving in between the two of them.
“You mean, you’re a friend of Isaac’s and myDaddy,” he said with a Mean Girls’ smile. “As in, he belongs to us. He’s ours.”
Santiago’s eyes widened, and then he laughed, backing away with both hands in the air. “Happy to hear it,” he said. “And also happy that Roman’s trip across the pond wasn’t entirely in vain.”
“Not at all,” Daddy said, wrapping an arm around Jules as if he’d seen through Jules’ behavior just as easily as I had and knew Jules needed to feel a little… claimed.
Julesdidfinally believe that Daddy really wanted us, I knew he did. But still, Jules was Jules. He didn’t exactly have a history of letting anyone get close to him, and those he did? Well, that would just be me, up until now. But the point was, he had trust issues and a possessive streak a mile long, and even though I knew for sure that there was no way Daddy wanted anyone but the two of us—and if Daddy likedus, then a tall, confident man who screamed dominant Daddy vibes like his friend Santiago definitely wasn’t his type—Jules would still assume any man who Daddy paid the slightest attention to was a threat to our newfound happiness, until it was proven otherwise.
Or, well, probably forever.
But maybe, someday, he’d learn to trust that Daddy wasn’t going anywhere.
I swallowed hard, a heavy weight suddenly settling in my chest. Because… because I knew what Daddy had said last night, and Ididbelieve him, with my whole heart. We’d find a way to be together because we weremeantto be together, but before that happened, Daddy was going somewhere, actually.
He was going back to his home.
Back to New York City.
Back to America.
And what if Jules was right to be worried? What if I was wrong to think everything could actually be as perfect for the three of us as it had felt like last night? What if Daddy left, and then changed his mind?
My chin trembled, my eyes flying up to meet Daddy’s for reassurance.
“What is it, beautiful?” he asked, pulling me into his other side. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I said, not wanting to ruin what was supposed to be a fun day.
Maybe our last day.
“Tell me, little lamb,” Daddy said firmly, because I guess—just like he had with Jules—he saw right through me.
I darted a glance at Santiago, a little embarrassed at the thought of sounding so clingy in front of the man. Especially because he was an old friend. He’d known Daddy for longer than we had. Would he think it was weird, or too needy, or too clingy for someone like me, who Daddy had just met, to be asking about the future?
But then I remembered when Daddy had pulled me onto his lap during Diva’s brunch performance.
