Now, she got it.
Of course, any living room would seem boring in comparison to this place. LittleLand was amazing. And the clue to what it was was in the name. It was a store dedicated to Littles. She’d had no idea that anything like this existed. And as Cash led her through, showing her all the different areas where she could relax and play, she realized that he’d figured it out.
There’s no way he would have brought her here unless he thought she was a Little. Ralen must have known too.
They stopped in front of an area, which had been built into one corner. It had a plush, fluffy sofa against the wall. There were shelves with books and a really soft-looking pink rug on the floor. There were also blankets and stuffed toys. It looked like an absolute dream.
“Some of the Littles wait in here while their Mommy or Daddy does some shopping,” Cash explained.
“How did you know?” she asked without looking up at him. She was holding onto his hand. When they’d left the others, Cash had taken hold of her hand and told her to stay close.
She hadn’t questioned it. She hadn’t really questioned much of the way that he’d treated her. She should have figured it out.
“I had a feeling,” he said. “Us Daddies can sometimes tell.”
She froze. For some reason, she hadn’t yet figured out that he was a Daddy.
“You’re a Daddy.” It was more a statement than a question because that made total sense. The way he looked out for her, his lack of reaction to her having Snaggles, him wrapping her up in blankets and rocking her on his lap while telling her a story.
“Yeah, I am,” he said. “Does that surprise you? Do you think I’m too young or too reckless? That I wouldn’t be able to take care of a Little?”
There was a strange note in his voice. He almost sounded like he was accusing her of thinking those things, but she’d never once thought them. Hurt filled her. He’d never spoken to her like this, and she didn’t like it.
She slid her hand from his and took a step away, hunching her shoulders. Maybe he wasn’t such a nice guy after all.
Fuck.
Fuck. Fuck.
What was he thinking? Why had he done that? He’d just taken things that other people had said to him and placed them on her shoulders. She’d never once said anything like that. She’d never given him any indication that she thought that way about him.
So why was he trying to paint her with those accusations?
“Fuck, I was just a complete asshole, wasn’t I? I’m so sorry, Addie. You didn’t deserve any of that.”
She startled and glanced up at him with surprise on her face. Had she not expected him to own up to that?
“You said sorry.”
Or was it the apology that had her looking so amazed? Was she not used to people apologizing when they were in the wrong?
“Yeah, because I am. You didn’t deserve all of that vitriol that I just spewed at you. I was just taking my own insecurities and putting them on you.”
“You have insecurities?” She moved closer, staring up at him in amazement.
“Pretty sure everyone does, Stowaway,” he told her as he brushed some hair back behind her ear.
God, she was gorgeous. How had he not noticed it in the bar? He guessed that her other traits had been more noticeable at first, like how quiet and nervous she was, jumping at every loud noise.
But the more time he spent with her, the more he realized how stunning and special she was.
“Do you really think so?” she asked with wonder.
“Even those people who seem ultra confident and act like they know what they’re doing have insecurities and fears.” He thought about that for a moment. “Well, there’s probably one or two exceptions to that.”
He doubted that the Fox ever had any insecurities or worries about what he might have done.
But there weren’t many people like the Fox.
