Page 143 of Daddy's Naughty List

Chapter Nineteen

Bliss snuggled into her Daddy’s arms. Her first real Christmas had been perfect so far. Perfect for her. Perfect for their girls. Her life was perfect.

Connor shifted beside her. “I have one more surprise for you, babygirl.” He reached over to open the top drawer of his nightstand but stilled. Turning back to her, he crossed his arms over his chest.

Uh-oh.

“Care to tell me why my clock is an hour ahead of all the other clocks in the house?”

Shoot! She’d meant to sneak back in and set it back to the right time. “Umm… maybe the power flickered or something.” It could happen. Right? She snagged her bottom lip between her teeth and waited.

“That could have happened, but if it had, all the clocks would be wrong. And losing power wouldn’t make the clockgainan hour. Try again. When you do, remember your rules, specifically the one about lying to Daddy.”

Holy Pinocchio. She sucked at lying. There was nothing for it but to confess. “I changed the time while I was waiting for you last night. Because, you know, if you were awake enough to look at the clock, you’d be awake enough to get up and see what Santa brought. I wasn’t going to wake you up special. I did my best to wait. You didn’t have to look at it.”

Hmm, that crease between his brows was never a good sign. She needed to come up with something else. Fast.

“You’re one lucky Little girl. Daddy wants to give you your surprise right now, but don’t think we won’t talk about this later.”

Whew! Bullet dodged. He was getting older. He’d probably forget about the clock by later. Maybe. Her bottom clenched. Did she hope he did or didn’t forget? Before she could decide, he held out a glossy red box with a wide white bow.

“Daddy! You’ve already given me too much.”

“Well, if you think so, I can try to return it.”

He started to pull the gift back, but she snatched it out of his hand. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t take it. Thank you, Daddy. Not just for this present, for the whole day. It’s been the bestest day of my life.”

His eyes warmed. Kissing the top of her head, he said, “That was the plan. Go ahead. Open your present.”

Lifting it with both hands, she shook it. “It doesn’t make any noise.”

“It might if you keep shaking it like that,” he said with a drawl. “If you want to know what’s inside, why don’t you open it?”

Excitement sizzled through her. The box wasn’t too heavy, though it was almost too pretty to open. Almost. She ripped off the bow and snatched the lid from the box. “Thank you, Dad—What in the world?” The only thing in her box was another box.

Connor wore a confused expression, but she could have sworn his lips twitched at the corners. “Wow. I don’t know. That’s weird. I guess you’ll have to keep going.”

It could have been a mistake, she guessed. The stores were very busy this time of year. “That’s okay. Whoever wrapped the box must have made a mistake.” She tore the ribbon from the second box, only to find another. And another. And five more boxes after that.

Connor chuckled, but when she looked up, his face was blank.

When she opened box nine, she was ready to hit something. The only difference was this box was white with a red ribbon. Nothing could be inside a box that small.

But there was. A white slip of paper, folded twice, perched on the bottom of the tiniest box. Unfolding the paper, she found Connor’s familiar handwriting.Daddy’s hiding. Come and find him.

Her gaze darted to where he’d been, only to find he no longer sat on the bed with her. How had he left the room without her notice? She’d heard of hyperfocusing, but geez!

Hopping off the bed, she wondered where to look. She’d never played… well, anything really. She definitely had not played hide and seek.

Mary Poppins popped up on her right shoulder.Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

She had a point. Miranda only encouraged her to be the fastest girl in town. Also good advice.

Leaving the bedroom, she entered the family room and decided either she was very good at hide and seek, or her Daddy didn’t know how to play either. Connor stood in front of the Christmas tree.

“Come here, babygirl.” The serious expression on his face gave her pause. If he were anyone else, she’d say he was nervous. But that couldn’t be right. He’d never been nervous before. Not even at the hearing.

It was then she noticed the box he held. It was different than the ones she’d opened. This box was small. And square. Her breathing hitched. She knew what boxes like that usually held, but she didn’t dare hope the one in his hand contained that.

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