Page 171 of Pucking Daddy

“I didn’t want to make her sad,” she adds.

A sharp surge of anger hits me, hot and immediate, but I push it down.

I shift, sitting down on the couch with her in my lap, turning her slightly so we’re facing each other.

“Hey,” I say gently. “Can I ask you something?”

She nods.

“What did you think in that moment?” I ask. “Like, what felt right to you?”

She frowns, thinking. “I… looked at Zara.”

My chest tightens just a fraction.

“And?” I prompt softly.

“And she said we were sticking to the plan,” Lily says. “So I stayed.”

I nod, like that’s the most natural thing in the world. “That makes sense.”

She watches my face carefully. “Was that okay?”

“Yeah,” I say easily. “That was a really good decision.”

Her shoulders relax just a little.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I add, keeping it simple. “You just followed the plan. That’s exactly what we want you to do.”

“Okay,” she says, a little more certain now.

“And if something ever feels confusing again,” I continue, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, “you can always take a second, look for one of your grown-ups, and stick with what we talked about. Sound good?”

She nods. “Yeah.”

I smile at her. “Good.”

There’s a beat. Then she leans into me again, a little more like herself.

Zara steps closer, quiet, steady, and Lily reaches for her without even thinking about it.

Zara takes her hand, squeezing gently. “You handled that really well,” she says softly.

Lily glances between us. “It was a little weird.”

I huff out a quiet breath. “Yeah. Sounds like it.”

“But not bad-weird,” Lily adds quickly. “Just… weird-weird.”

I nod. “I get that.”

She seems satisfied with that explanation.

Then, just like that—

“Can we have a snack?” she asks.

Zara laughs softly. “Of course we can.”