Page 46 of Daddy P.I. 3.0

Faolan lets Matty drop to her own feet and stoops to rub his nose against hers. “Dragons, you say?”

She nods. “I’m an amethyst dragon.”

“You’re my little amethyst, that’s for sure,” Faolan says, kissing her cheek. Matty beams.

Daddy waves me over and tucks me under his arm. I take the opportunity to wriggle out of my coat, since skipping through the maze made me roasty-toasty. Once I’m coatless, Daddy offers me a cup of cider, which I drink down too fast because my throat is dry.

And then I get hiccups.

Livvy goggles at the noise, then grins around Logan’s finger. I tickle her bootied tootsies. “Are my hiccups funny, Livvy-bit?”

“Could just be gas,” Max observes.

I shake my head at him. “Babies aren’t really that gassy, if they’re being burped properly after they feed.”

Max shifts his eyes right and left. “Yeah. We had some issues with that.”

“Stop trying to break Daddy’s baby, Max,” I tell him.

He chuckles, then he grunts and bends at the waist. A pair of furry black arms come around his neck and Cynnie’s face, surrounded by the bobbing antennae and black fuzz of her bumblebee hoodie, pops over his shoulder. Max straightens,looping his arms around his little’s calves, and bounces her once to get her into a good position on his back.

“Hi, Oppa.” She cranes her head around his to smack a kiss on his cheek.

“Hey, bumble baby. Did you win hide and seek?”

“I was the third from last to be found, so almost,” she responds.

“You had an unfair advantage,” I say. “That outfit blends too well.”

Cynnie holds out one arm, examining her yellow-and-black-striped hoodie. “Corn is green.”

She has a point but I’m not going to concede it. “But you’re a bee and there are a lot of bees in the corn.”

Okay, there was one bee in the corn that I saw but still.

“Sure,” Cynnie says, evidently too high on hide and seek, apple-picking, and cider to argue. “Matty’s birthday is next month, Oppa. We’re going to be a flight of dragons for her party. I’m going to be a queen bee dragon.”

“Uh, is that a thing?” Max asks.

“It is now. We need at least fifty sleepovers at Emmy and Logan’s to make costumes.”

Max laughs. “I know what you’re angling for. You can play with the baby any time.”

“Now?”

“Sure.” Max squats to set her down. Cynnie wriggles off his back and approaches Logan, who slowly unstraps Livvy and passes her to Cynnie.

As soon as people see that Cynnie’s holding the baby, a cluster of littles and caregivers gather around. Daddy sighs, not very loudly but I feel it and look up at him.

“All okay, Daddy?”

He nods. “I liked having her on my chest.”

I know that feeling. I band my arms around his chest and squeeze. “It’s just the novelty, Daddy. It’ll wear off and then people won’t be as eager to hold her. We’ll have lots of time with her.”

He tips his head down and brushes a kiss across the tip of my nose. “You’re right, sweetheart. Are you okay with your friends descending for sleepovers?”

I nod. “As long as it doesn’t mess up your schedule.”

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