Page 24 of Reaching Little Robyn

She hesitated but then nodded. “That makes me sound like a terrible person, doesn’t it?”

“No, it makes you sound honest. Never belittle or ignore your feelings. If that’s how you feel, it’s not my job to question it.”

Without thinking, Robyn reached out and placed her hand on his thigh. “You don’t have to be nice. It was rude of me to run off like that. I mean you did save my life. But even if you hadn’t, it was not the way I want to be remembered. I apologize if I hurt your feelings.”

He glanced at her and smiled. “Thanks, that’s sweet of you to say. And even if you don’t see me as future Daddy material, I hope you see me as a friend?”

Her heart lurched and not because he wanted to be her friend. Nope. It felt as if a small piece had just been ripped away and she knew why. She’d not only hurt his feelings, she’d practically screamed in his face that she would never consider him as her Daddy. Forget terrible, she was just plain stupid.

So just tell him already.

She couldn’t. But she could offer him the dignity of not having to wonder if she was a liar by keeping her sudden epiphany to herself, no matter how late it had come. Not only did she desperately want him to be her friend, he was probably the only man on earth she wanted to call Daddy.

“I’d like that.”

“Me too and since I don’t have anything going on for the next few days, I can be your legs until your ankle heals.”

“You don’t have to do that! I’m sure it’s not broken.”

“Helping out is what friends do. So broken or sprained, unless you want your guests to find their hostess sleeping on thecouch and being told to rummage in that hidden fridge for their own breakfast, I don’t think you have a choice.”

That thought did the trick as she instantly shook her head. “The couch. Can you imagine the reviews I’d get?”

Giving it some thought, he grinned. “Let’s see. How about ‘Little couch bird refuses to leave her nest’. Or ‘Despite its name, there is no red, red robin bob, bob, bobbin’ along to assist her guests at this B&B’? Wait, one more?—”

“Stop!” she said with a groan. “Okay, you win. You can help but only until my ankle’s better. Can you cook?”

“Not really, but I’m pretty good at following directions.”

She was highly skeptical, but willing to give him a chance. “I guess that could be fun. It’s not often we see a Daddy following a Little’s orders.”

When the green of his eyes turned the color of the conifers outside the truck’s windows, the words she’d spoken played on rewind.

Before she could do any damage control, he said, ““I’m quite the fan of having fun.”

Wow. Unless she wanted to make a complete fool of herself, she was going to need help with far more than cooking or running her B&B. It was definitely time to set up a girls’-only tea party. She’d just need to find a way to make sure the subject of that upcoming conversation wasn’t demanding he be the one to serve the tea.

From the heat in her face, Robyn knew her cheeks had to be red as she was carried into the resort. She didn’t know whether to pray for intervention or pray they didn’t run into any of her friends before they reached the infirmary.

“Robyn? What happened?”

So much for prayers. “I fell off my shoe,” she said as Erika came to meet them midway across the lobby.

“Do you mean out of your shoes?” Luna asked as she joined them.

“Nope, she means off. I’m shocked any woman who wears high heels can manage more than two steps before twisting an ankle,” Winston said.

“You’d be surprised. In the Dungeon, you’ll see women in stilettos as thin as a toothpick and at least six inches high walking as if they were barefoot.” Luna shook her head, her smile wide. “It’s pretty remarkable. How tall were your heels?”

“Maybe three inches and they were pumps, not stilettos,” Robyn said. “I told Roo… him that I was fine, but?—”

“But being a Daddy, he’s not about to take your word for it.”

Robyn closed her eyes and bit back a moan. Forget her friends. She’d never even considered running into Master Derek. She wasn’t about to contradict the very man she’d asked to help her find a Daddy, even if the man holding her wouldn’t be that Daddy.

“Which only adds points in his favor,” Derek continued. “Are you coming or going?”

“Coming,” Winston said, which, for some reason, had Robyn’s face heating anew.

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