“Watch me.”
“You don’t know me well. For all you know, I could be running from the police because I’m a serial killer.”
“A pregnant serial killer?”
“Yes, a pregnant serial killer! It’s probably happened before. You don’t know anything about me. I could be a member of a cartel, opening this coffee shop so they can launder money. I could be part of a gang or sell drugs through my coffee shop. You don’t know anything about me. You only know my name and that I’m pregnant.”
“I know you moved here a coupleof months ago. I know you have a soft spot for elderly people who come into your shop. I know every time a baby comes into the shop, you look at it with longing, and then you rub your belly.”
Her eyes went wide, and her mouth hung open. “Have you been stalking me?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I wouldn’t call it stalking, but I have walked down the street several times and may or may not have watched you for a few minutes.”
“You’ve totally been stalking me.”
“I have not. My dog likes this route, and it just so happens to go in front of your shop. It’s not my fault my dog likes to pee and poop right on the grass in front of your shop. Don’t worry, I pick it up. But still, I know for sure you won’t be blaming my dog because I feel like you like animals.”
She opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to come up with something. Right now, her brain was a little frazzled, and she couldn’t remember if she saw him walking in front of her coffee shop. Daddy was spot on in her not being able to blame his dog. She loved animals, especially dogs.
“I also have to say I wanted to make sure you were okay. Moving to a new town while being pregnant can be hard.”
Rainey took a step back and nodded. He was right; it was hard moving to a new town and not knowing anyone, but she had done it. Did she spend several nights crying herself to sleep? Absolutely. She had gone back and forth on whether she should move back to her hometown or not. She didn’t want to, but she didn’t know anybody here and was struggling.
“You can leave me here. I’m perfectly fine sleeping here, and I’ll be working in the morning around other people. They can make sure I’m okay.”
Daddy shook his head. “Not happening. I told the doctoryou were coming with me so I could take care of you if you didn’t have anybody. You don’t have anybody, so the responsibility is on me. I want to take care of you. My Daddy side is screaming at me to take care of you, and if I let you sleep here again, I’m going to be kicking myself the whole time until I fix it.”
She opened her mouth to say something but quickly closed it. She didn’t want to be disrespectful, but at the same time, he needed to know she wasn’t just a project he could start and half help.
“You can’t do that!” She raised her voice for the first time.
“Why not?”
“Because you don’t know me. We don’t know each other, and it would be weird.”
How did he not see that? They may have seen each other a couple of times but they had only really been talking for less than a day.
Daddy gently grabbed her face with his hands. “It might be a little weird in the beginning, but no matter what, it’s happening. I know you feel this connection we have, and I’m not about to let it go.”
She couldn’t deny she felt the connection. It was there, and she wanted to see where it could go, but it was all moving really fast.
“Are you allergic to dogs?”
Rainey looked at Daddy in confusion. Why was he asking that?
“Are you allergic to dogs?”
“No, why?”
“I have a dog. I wanted to check beforehand that you weren’t allergic.”
She stared at him for several seconds. He’d told her he had a dog a coupleof minutes ago. She just didn’t register it in her mind. Her brain was fried, and it was hard for her to remember the small little details.
“What’s his name?” she softly asked.
“Dane. He is a big dog, but he’s a sweet boy. He loves to be petted, but he really loves cuddles.”
Her heart melted. She loved dogs who liked to cuddle. They had a special place in her heart because she loved to sit and cuddle, too.