Page 109 of Little Bits of Daddy (Montana Daddies)

“You’re stressed.”

What?

She frowned. “No, I’m not.”

“Little Rebel, don’t lie to me. I might not spank you today when you’re already miserable, but we’ve got the rest of our lives and I have a good memory.”

Sugar. He did.

“I’m not that stressed.”

“Yes, you are. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you running around, trying to do a hundred things at once and not asking for any help.”

She flushed. Uh-oh.

She’d thought he hadn’t noticed how much she had on her plate.

More fool you. Duke notices everything about you.

She both loved and hated that.

His care and attention still shocked her. The girl that had been basically left to raise herself. Whose ex had treated her like she was less than him. Who’d picked away at her until her self-esteem was in the toilet.

Yeah, that part of her was still surprised by how he saw her. Took care of her. Wanted her.

Of course, that also meant that there wasn’t much she could get away with.

Her bottom clenched at the thought of him putting her over his knee. But as much as she didn’t want her butt spanked today, she also knew that she benefited from his care. His rules and discipline.

“There are other people you can ask to help you, Little Rebel. Including me.”

“I know,” she whispered. “But I just . . . I want everything to be perfect. When I was a little girl, everything was always chaotic, you know? My parents moved around a lot. They’d have parties that would go for days and forget I existed. They aren’t bad people, just absent. And it made me . . . it made me cravenormality. Or what I thought was normal. I learned quickly how to take care of myself. Make my lunch. Get myself dressed. Go to school. Maybe that’s why I fell for Greg. He seemed normal.”

“Greg was an asshole.”

“Yeah. But I wanted something stable. The white picket fence. The dog. The gorgeous man. And now I’ve got all of that. I just . . . I don’t want to let you down, Duke. You mean everything to me, and I want this to be perfect.”

“Little Rebel, you could never let me down. You’re my fucking world. I’d be lost without you. And you know I’d be happy eloping to Vegas.”

“I know. That’s my point. I’m the one that wanted this wedding. So, I should do the work for it.”

Understanding filled his face. “You don’t want to ask for my help because you think I don’t want this?”

She shrugged. “I guess? You’re doing it for me. You do so much for me. You’re paying for?—”

“I’m going to stop you right there,” he growled at her. “What is mine is yours and you damn well know that. I’m about to forget about your sore head and tender tummy and turn you over my knee, anyway.”

Right. Whoops.

Mentioning the money wasn’t her smartest idea.

Stupid hangover. It was making it hard for her to think.

“I know. Sorry.” She winced. “I’m saying that a lot, aren’t I?”

“You sure are, brat. Here’s the deal. Today you’re going to relax and Daddy will take care of you. You’re running yourself ragged trying to do it all, and I won’t have it any longer. Tomorrow, you’re writing a list of everything that needs to be done and then you will delegate some tasks. You don’t have to give it all to me. Your friends have been pestering me about helping. Just don’t give me anything to do with flowers or decorations.”

“I thought you wanted to help?” she teased.

---