Page 131 of Daddy's Naughty List

She gave him and his stinky rules the international symbol for okay with her thumb. Maybe Winnie could talk to Reid and get him to talk to Connor about how to make better rules. Miranda and Mary gave each other a high five.

“You don’t seem impressed with the rules, babygirl. Do you want to tell me what’s going in that head of yours?”

Not really. “It’s all right, Daddy. Your rules are, um, fine. I mean, I don’t understand the point of making a rule that’s so easy not to break.”

Understanding lit his eyes. “Easy to keep, huh? So, what rule did you break to earn the spanking you just got?”

That was a good question. He shouldn’t have spanked her at all. Should she tell him that?

Connor sighed. “You already told me, trouble. Think. Which rule did you break?”

“Well, I guess you could say I broke the one about taking care of my health and safety.” She was pretty sure of that, now that she thought about it.

“I guess. Is there another one?”

Was there another one? She didn’t think so. Of course, if you respected someone, you didn’t do things you knew they wouldn’t like.

Oh. Okay, so she broke two of the rules. Maybe his rules weren’t so easy to follow.

“It wasn’t respectful, either.”

“No, it wasn’t. And if you knowingly broke either of those rules and didn’t say anything about it…”

She couldn’t hold back her sigh. Daddies could be exasperating. And sneaky. This one she had read about.

“Not saying anything is a lie of omission.”

“Right. So, you broke all three rules at once.”

Maybe she should have Connor to talk to Reid about setting rules. Although Winnie might not thank her.

“I get it, Daddy. I’ll do my best to follow the rules.”

“That’s my good girl.”

The smile on his face did dangerous things to her heart. To hear him call her his good girl again, she’d never break a rule ever again.

“Let’s not set ourselves up for failure, trouble. Just shoot for not breaking one again today. Besides, what fun would there be in you never breaking the rules?”

Before she could answer, a baby’s cry came from the baby monitor. “That’s my cue. Would you like to help feed them their bottles?” She threw the question over her shoulder on her way to the refrigerator.

Opening the door, she reached in and froze. Holy cow! What had happened to her refrigerator? Everything—and there was much, much more than there had been that morning—was organized and orderly. And the sticky brown puddle she hadn’t able to make herself touch was gone.

She peered over the door of the fridge at Connor. He was watching her. “You… my refrigerator looks… It’s more organized than a grocery store. Wait, hold on.”

She dashed like a kid in a candy store to the kitchen cabinets. Sure enough, they looked just like the refrigerator. “How long have you been here?” It would have taken her hours, maybe weeks, to get this much done.

“I met you right past the turn onto the dirt road leading to your house. If I’d known you weren’t wearing your seatbelt, you’d have gotten that spanking then. Right on the side of the road.”

Yikes. She hadn’t seen him this morning. Still, that was only five hours or so. He wasn’t just a Daddy. He was a miracle worker.

“Well, thanks. It looks fantastic.” For as long as it lasted anyway.

Her face burned with shame. He shouldn’t have had to clean and organize her kitchen. She should be able to do basic household chores. He must think she was a lazy cow. Not that she’d ever thought of cows being lazy, but still. Everyone else could take care of their children and their house. He must be right. She was a slacker.

Large, warm hands landed on her shoulders. Connor stood in front of her, his brows forming the letter V. “I did not call you a slacker. You aren’t a slacker. You are a working woman with three children less than a year old. They are happy and healthy, and more important than organized cabinets.”

She searched his eyes but didn’t see any sign of disappointment. She’d shrivel up into a raisin if she disappointed him after all he’d done for her. Top of the list, moving in with her and pretending to be her fiancé. He’d said it was real, but she still didn’t have a ring.

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