“And you will do the same?”
“To a certain extent. I don’t want to put things on you all the time. I’m one of the club's owners, and when things go wrong, I have several other people I can go to about it. You’re the only owner of your place, and I want you to be able to come to me for even that.”
“I don’t really think that’s fair.”
She understood he had business partners, but he could do the same with her, period. She was there for him and wanted him to come to her.
“I know it may seem unfair, but I’m trying to protect you. In a coupleof months, we are going to have a baby in the house, and I want you to be able to focus on the baby. I don’t want you to worry about the club.”
“Protect me from what?”
“From this stress. I know you’re already stressed about your coffee shop. You want it to work, and it is going to work. Itisworking. I will tell you some things, but if it’s a huge issue at work, I don’t want you stressing about it. Not when you’re pregnant and not when you have the baby. You don’t need to be stressed any more than you already are. Not unless you want to go on bed rest for the remainder of your pregnancy.”
“I don’t want that.”
Rainey really didn’t want to be put on bed rest. She had been in bed all day so far, and it was torture. She never was good about resting and taking her time on things. She always had to be in “go mode” to make things happen and survive.
“So then, let me protect you. I’m not going to keep everything away from you, but if I know it’s going to be a long time until there is a solution, I won’t tell you, so you don’t have to be stressed.”
She sighed and gave him a smile. “Thank you. Snuggles?”
“Of course, Little girl.”
Daddy moved Dane further down the bed and climbed in. She immediately snuggled into his side and let out a deep breath. She loved it when his arms were wrapped around her. It had only been a day since they had officially met, but she was getting more and more comfortable and loved how safe she felt.
He was gentle and caring. He was understanding and explained things when she didn’t grasp them. He wasn’t just saying something for her to blindly follow. If she had a question, he answered it to the best of his ability.
“Are you feeling okay?”
She nodded and relaxed further into his embrace. In only a day, he had shown her what an amazing Daddy he was going to be. He told her to think about the future, but she hadn’t given it much thought.
Was it too soon? They had only known each other for a day. Maybe that was a little too soon. But at the same time, if she didn’t feel like it was a good fit, they could always break up. She didn’t want that to be on her mind, but she needed to realistically think about it. What if they weren’t a good fit?
“Are you sure? Do you want to talk about something? Something is on your mind, and I want you to know that I'm here for you if you want to talk. I’m not going to judge you.”
Rainey held on to him tighter. “Okay, you can be my Daddy.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
RAINEY
She expected Daddy to tense, but he didn’t. If anything, he continued to hold her like she hadn’t just told him he could be her Daddy. Did he still want that? He had just brought it up several minutes ago, and yet he could have changed his mind. What if he had and he was going to tell her soon?
Rainey would be devastated if he did. She was already calling him Daddy in her head.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
She tried to pull herself off his body, but he wasn’t having any of that. His arms tightened around her and held her in place.
“Please, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Why couldn’t she have waited until he brought it back up? He was quiet, and it made her nervous. What was he thinking? Was he ever going to respond to her?
“Why are you sorry? Why shouldn’t you have said anything?” he asked.
She lifted her head and looked at him. No emotion but concern was written on his face. She honestly expected to see anger. She figured she had messed up.
“Little girl, why are you sorry?”