books. I read through to the end ofHow to Catch a Mermaideven though her eyes were closed, and
her little snores filled the silence, just to make sure she wasn’t faking it.
And okay, maybe a little of it was an attempt to delay going out to the living room. I loved
William for stepping up to help with her today, but I hadn’t had enough time to figure out how this was
supposed to work. Hell, I was just barely comfortable with being his partner some of the time and her
dad the rest of the time, and now those worlds had collided in a big bang that left me with a life I
didn’t know how to navigate.
I paused at the door, debating whether I should leave it open, so I’d hear her, or close it so the
noise from the TV didn’t wake her. I opted for closed but not latched.
“All set?” I jumped, not expecting to hear William’s voice directly behind me as I exited the
bedroom. He slid a hand around my waist, holding me tight with my back pressed against his chest. I
allowed my head to fall to the side when he brushed his lips over my neck, ignoring all the protests
that I couldn’t do this. I could. Parents showed and accepted affection from their partners all the time
without fucking up their kids. And it wasn’t like she was sitting on the floor watching us. “Hey, what’s
going on?”
“Just a long day,” I admitted. I curled my fingers around his hand and rested my head against his.
“I’ll try to not be so jumpy.”
“You’re doing great, baby,” he praised me. “Now, how about you let me get you ready for bed and
then I want to do something with you.”
“I’m… I don’t know if I’m ready to fool around when she’s here,” I admitted.
“Then it’s a good thing I know you well enough that was never on the table. Come on.” My entire
body relaxed as Daddy laced his fingers through mine, leading me into the living room. I didn’t want
it to be this easy for me to slip into the space where Daddy had complete control, but I trusted him.
He wouldn’t do anything he knew I’d take issue with. And maybe I needed to let go.
I noticed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt draped over the end of the couch. My heart raced. My body
went rigid and I couldn’t bring myself to take another step. We’d talked about this, but…
“Baby, breathe for me,” Daddy urged, rubbing slow circles over my back. “They’re just new
pajamas for my boy. Nothing anyone would wonder about.”
He released me long enough to gather the clothes. My hand shook as I reached out to take the soft
shorts from him. They were cute. And really soft. Daddy was right; there was nothing about the cars
