Page 24 of Daddy's Desire

Larkin gasped. “Daddy. I can’t believe you would say that?”

Darian tucked her against his side and kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry, Pet.”

Courtney hid a smile behind her hand when Darian winked at her over Larkin’s head.

“Let’s go and celebrate,” Larkin said.

Ronin shook his head. “I can’t. I have a meeting in an hour.”

Courtney couldn’t believe how disappointed she was, but she hid her expression.

She listened to the three in the car on the way back to thehouse.

“Why don’t I make a reservation at The Winstonian for you two and some of your friends? Would you like that?”

Larkin squealed and clapped. “Yes. How many friends can we have?”

Darian rolled his eyes. “How about you invite up to ten? It will make an even dozen littles.”

Larkin giggled and started punching away at her sparkly pink phone. She looked up at Darian. “What time, Daddy?”

Darian glanced at his watch. “Let’s make it at one. That will give you two time to change and your friends to get there.”

“Yes. We’ll do that,” Larkin said.

They pulled up to Larkin’s house.

Courtney stood beside Larkin as the two men talked. She was waiting to see what would happen, and she was relieved when Ronin walked over to her.

He laid his hand on her shoulder. “I hope you feel better, Honey.”

She nodded and tried to sound casual, but it was hard when her anxiety rose again, and it had nothing to do with her mother this time and everything to do with Ronin. “I do. Thank you for everything.”

He kissed the top of her head and walked off toward a car parked to the side. She waited a moment longer to see if he’d look at her again, but he just drove off. It was ridiculous, but it felt like her heart was going with him.

Larkin wrapped her arm around hers, leading her into the house and up the stairs. “It’s okay, Girlfriend. Guys can be stupid sometimes, but the ones I know usually can get their heads out of their asses quickly.”

Courtney tried to smile. “It’s okay. I’m being silly. We only just met, and he stayed to help me because he’s a nice guy.”

Larkin snorted. “Let’s get dressed up. We have somethingto celebrate, don’t we?”

Courtney decided to put Ronin in the back of her mind and enjoy the day and her victory over her mother.

Chapter Ten

The rest of the day felt like a dream. She felt free for the first time she could remember and had the time of her life. There were twelve girls, including her, in a small room with a large round table. She liked that because she could see everyone’s faces. She met two new girls, and they were just as sweet as the rest.

When the others talked about their daddies, Courtney started to feel like an outsider. She knew she’d have to think about her future, and she didn’t know where to start. She never imagined being free from her mother. Now that she had that freedom, she had to be independent.

She wasn’t worried about money. Even though she couldn’t get her father’s inheritance until she was twenty-five, she still had enough in her bank account because of the monthly dividends her father had set up. She wasn’t sure, but she figured it would be a large sum since she’d never used a cent of it.

They stayed at the restaurant for over two hours. Some of the women came home with Larkin, but others were picked up by their daddies or their daddies’ drivers.

Once back at the house, Courtney decided to go to the bank and check the balance in her account. The only problem was she had the bankbook but didn’t have any identification to prove it was hers.

“Hey,” Brylee said. “What are you thinking about? You look so sad.”

Courtney shook her head. “No. Not sad. I’m just trying to figure a few things out.”

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