Page 17 of Daddy, Sir

“Bacon.”

“I’m starting to see an unhealthy relationship between you and bacon, little girl,” he told her as he handed her a perfectly crisp piece.

“It’s one of my favorites.”

“What else do you like?”

“Hawaiian pizza—thin crust, of course.”

“Pineapple on pizza? You’re not one of those people, are you?”

“Absolutely. Focus on the French toast. Let’s see if we can stay under the same roof together. Powdered sugar first.”

He stabbed a fork into a piece covered in powdered sugar, just as she loved it, and lifted the bite to her lips. Eagerly, she accepted and hummed her approval before mumbling, “You’re such a good cook.”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full. I don’t want you to choke. And thank you.” He smiled at her. “I’m glad you like it. My turn?”

She nodded, urging him on, and watched as he selected a bite barely touched by white sprinkles. “More Daddy. It’s not fair if you don’t have a real bite. Try that one.” Tatiana leaned forward to point to one not plastered by sugar, but with a decent amount.

Sighing gravely, her Daddy swapped selections and tried it. She watched his face closely. His expression didn’t change at all. She didn’t know what he thought.

“Hmm,” he said finally.

“What does that mean?” Tatiana waved her hand around in exasperation.

“I’ll have to admit. I was completely wrong. That is delicious.”

“Yesss!” She clapped with excitement. “Let’s try the syrup!”

“Maybe you’ll like mine.” He dipped a piece into a puddle of syrup and put it in her mouth before helping himself as she chewed.

Tatiana tried to keep her poker face in place, but knew she failed miserably when he asked, “Not bad, huh?”

“Oh, my God! That’s almost as good as the powdered sugar.”

A thought zinged into her mind. “Let’s try it with both.”

Gamely, he fed each of them a bite. Immediately, Tatiana shook her head as she chewed. It was too sweet and totally overwhelmed the French toast.

“I agree. Too much. Let’s just stick to the classics,” he suggested.

“Good idea.”

Their dinner lasted almost an hour as they ate and chatted about the day. Even working in the same office, they didn’t spend much time together. He had so many meetings.

It was nice being together. Tatiana struggled not to hope this could last forever. She crossed her fingers in her lap, hoping to freeze time.

“Are you okay, little girl?”

She nodded and looked down at the empty plates in front of them.

“Are you still hungry? I can make more.”

“I really want to sit in your lap,” she whispered, forcing herself to be brave.

“Let’s go over to the couch and we can cuddle.”

Her Daddy picked her up easily and carried her to the large couch. He sat down carefully and propped her foot up on a cushion before leaning back. Drawing her to rest against his chest, Jack brushed his fingers through her hair. He was so warm. His hard body pressed closely against her gave Tatiana all sorts of ideas. She sighed and relaxed against him.

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