Page 42 of Daddy's Little Cupcake

It was going to be hard in the beginning, but once Charlotte had saved up some money, then she could work a little less and spend more time with Finn.

She felt guilty for keeping the secret, but they didn’t need to know right now. It wasn’t important, and they hadn’t asked. Just like she wanted right now.

Charlotte took a couple deep breaths in and let them out slowly. She remembered what Finn had told her when he got anxious or nervous about things, take a couple deep breaths and let them out. It had worked the previous day when she got nervous, and it was working now.

She turned the car on and drove to the club. The whole way there, Charlotte felt nervous about tonight. What would it be like? Would she make any friends? Would she embarrass herself or Finn?

Charlotte turned the car off and sat in the parking lot for a couple of minutes. It was darker outside, and Charlotte didn’t want to walk to the front door by herself. She had told Finn she would text him when she got to the club, but she wasn’t feeling brave right now.

All her braveness was going toward being inside the club, and she was stuck inside of her car right now. With shaky hands, Charlotte texted Finn.

Charlotte

I’m outside in the parking lot, front row. Can you come to me?

It took her several seconds to actually send the text, but once she did, she was relieved. She wouldn’t have to walk alone in the dark tonight.

Charlotte knew that was why working at the bakery was so appealing. She loved baking, but she also got out before it even started to get dark, so if she had to walk home, she could in the daylight. It was a win-win in her eyes.

Now she just needed to be brave or drive herself when she worked at the cafe.She knew she wouldn’t be able to walk home every night when she worked at the cafe. It was already exhausting suppressing her little side all day and night, and she didn’t need the added stress of walking home at night. But she also didn’t need the extra stress of driving to and from work.

Charlotte didn’t know what to do, but she was going to have to figure it out soon. Her first shift at the cafe was in two days.

A knock sounded on Charlotte’s car window, and she jumped in her seat, wide eyes as she stared into Finn’s. She turned the car off and got out of the car.

“Hello, little one. Drive here safely?” Finn asked.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him for several seconds. She melted into his arms and found herself leaning into him. Charlotte loved it when he called her little one, but she also loved it when he hugged her.

Safe and secure.

That’s what Charlotte felt every time he wrapped his arms around her. Something she hadn’t felt in years and cherished every time it happened.

“I did,” she whispered.

Charlotte didn’t know if that was a lie or not. She didn’t remember any of the drive here, too worried about tonight and the bills she had to pay.

“Are you excited for tonight?” he asked as they walked toward the front entrance.

Charlotte felt her hands start to shake. “Yes.” Her voice was shaky.

She hung her head and tried to hide from Finn. She didn’t want him to know that she was so nervous about tonight. Charlotte didn’t want him to know that while she was excited, her anxiousness was higher than normal.

Finn stopped and cupped her face with his hands. They made eye contact, and Charlotte couldn’t look away, no matter how intimidating his stare was.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Before Charlotte knew what was happening, tears sprang to her eyes. She tried to blink several times to get rid of them, but it wasn’t working. All the anxiousness bottled up inside of her was overfilling and spilling out.

“Oh, little one. Tell me what’s wrong.” Finn wiped away the tears as they slid down her face.

Charlotte opened her mouth to tell him, but a sob came out. So much had happened in the past several hours, and it was all coming out. All day Charlotte had felt the anxiousness inside of her, and she didn’t do anything about it. She didn’t know what to do.

James had seen that something was wrong and asked her multiple times if she was alright or needed anything. Charlotte didn’t want to tell him anything, and so she lied and said she was okay.

Charlotte didn’t like lying to anyone.

“It’s okay. Take a couple of deep breaths in for me,” Finn instructed as they stood outside the front door.

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