quickly finding myself thinking of him as my Daddy, not just William, the ornery jerk who helped out
Jack from time to time.
I relaxed into the touch when William slid a hand along the side of my neck, his thumb brushing
over my cheek. He leaned in and my eyes closed as I met him halfway. The press of his lips against
mine was tender and slow. “You’re perfect, Corey. Don’t ever try and convince yourself otherwise.”
I wasn’t so sure—
Nope. I wasn’t going to finish the thought. If he said I was perfect, I was supposed to trust him. I
grabbed William’s waist, stepping close enough I could straddle his thigh. “You’re pretty perfect
yourself. Thank you for this.”
11
WILLIAM
THE NIGHT FLEW BY. COREY QUICKLY FORGOT ABOUT HIS INSISTENCE THAT HE COULD ONLY HELP
through the main presentation before changing so he could relieve Doug behind the bar. He sank
beautifully into his role, and I was certain he’d played with nearly every toy in the area of the
playroom where he sat. As I chatted with a couple of Daddies who’d stayed the entire night, he
played the good little host, helping Levi’s boy when he struggled with a tower he was building.
He glanced up at me, and the smile he threw my way had me weak in the knees. I’d long thought
he was attractive but seeing him without the worry he typically carried around was breath-taking. I
winked back at him and he blushed, dipping his chin before turning back to say something to one of
the boys.
“Never thought I’d see the day you settled down and found someone to call your own,” Levi
remarked when he caught me stealing glances at Corey.
“Too early to make that leap,” I hedged. No matter how I wished it were real, there were plenty of
roadblocks in my way, most erected by Corey and his ideas of what a single father should look and
act like. I shrugged. “For now, I’m helping him out. If something more comes of it, I wouldn’t be
opposed.”
“Give it a rest,” Theron scoffed. I’d caught him eying Corey earlier, before he knew I’d already
laid claim to him. “You look like a man who’s already half in love. That boy probably carries your
balls around in his backpack, even if he doesn’t know it.”
“It’s not like that,” I insisted. “And seriously, a few hours aren’t long enough to proclaim him as
