Page 84 of Daddy's Naughty List

Poor little girl. “Well, I happen to know Santa has a Daddy loophole.”

Eyes widening, she jerked her head up. “Really? What kinda loophole?”

“The kind that says Little girls who have Daddies to love them and punish them when they’re naughty get a permanent spot on the nice list.”

“Oh! But… what about the times you didn’t punish me?”

Fuck. She sounded so damn sad.

“Let’s talk about this inside.”

“Okay, Daddy.”

Climbing out of the car, he made his way around to the opposite side, helping her up from the passenger seat and swinging their hands between them as they walked. It made her giggle, as it always did, and his heart leapt at the sweet sound of her laughter.

Upstairs, he helped her change into her Christmas Eve pajamas, and then changed into his matching pair. He’d groaned a bit when she’d asked about ordering them, but the idea of matching pajamas had made her so happy he hadn’t been able to tell her no.

Looking back now, he could see how that was one of those times where it was okay to give in. To spoil her a bit. Not when she was breaking rules and putting herself in danger.

There had to be a way to balance the two, right? Their friends all seemed to have a balance that worked for them. Matt was stricter, but he spoiled Carly plenty. And while Dom was the more laid-back Daddy of the group, he would never let Noelle get away with putting herself in harm’s way.

So he and Taylor just needed to find their own balance. Find what worked for them, and not worry so much about what everyone else was doing.

“All right, Tayter Tot. Let’s go get Santa’s cookies ready, and make ourselves some hot chocolate. Sound good?”

“With marshmallows and whipped cream?”

“Hmm.” Pretending to think about it, he tapped a finger against his chin while she clasped her hands together and gave him the widest puppy dog eyes he’d ever seen. It took everything he had not to bust out laughing at her antics. “Since it’s a special occasion, I don’t see why not. Butjustthis once, little girl.”

“Yay! Thank you, Daddy!”

“No running in the house!” he called after her when she took off for the stairs.

Her sigh was loud and exaggerated, but when he stepped out into the hallway, she was carefully picking her way down the steps.

Good girl.

He whipped up their hot chocolate with his mother’s recipe while Taylor chatted away about Santa and Christmas and how excited she was Edie was back in town. It didn’t escape his notice that she wandered around the kitchen instead of sitting on the hard wooden stools at the island like she normally did, but he refrained from teasing her about it.

With Santa’s cookies carefully arranged on the special plate his mom had given them—a hint, he was certain, at her desire for grandchildren rather than a nod to Taylor’s Little side, which amused him to no end—they carried the cookies and their drinks into the living room. Sitting on the couch, with his babygirl curled up next to him and the colorful lights of the Christmas tree dancing in the dim light, he couldn’t imagine anywhere he’d rather be.

“I love you.” The words, though he’d said them a hundred times before, felt heavier tonight. More important, somehow, for reasons he couldn’t explain.

Shifting beside him, Taylor tilted her head back, her smile more radiant than a thousand Christmas trees, though it was tinged with concern. “I love you, too. You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m just… feeling sentimental right now, I guess.”

Her grin turned mischievous. “Mushy Daddy? Maybe now is the right time to ask if I can have a kitten.”

“You already have two rabbits, Taylor Grace. We don’t need another animal.” But even as he said it, he knew he’d give in.

Eventually.

“Aw. But think how much fun we’d have with a tiny kitten running around!”

“I already have my work cut out for me chasing one mischievous little thing around the house, thank you very much.”

As he’d hoped, her cheeks went pink at his words. “I guess that’s true.”

---