Page 67 of Their Perfect Daddy

Micah gives me a once-over as if he's not sure the offer is serious. When I don't pull back, he explains everything going on in Vegas, as well as how he thinks it needs to be handled. I agree with him. We move over to a set of chairs in the midst of our chat, then spend half an hour going over what I think will help him streamline the processes.

By the time we're done, his shoulders have dropped. He looks relieved. “You're more than a doctor and a pretty face aren't you?” he asks with a laugh.

I shake my head at him. "Don't go flirting with me. I've already got my hands full with your brother and Danny."

Micah scoffs. “I can say someone has a pretty face without flirting. Besides, my brother would throw a fit if he thought I was trying to take you from him. Not that I am obviously. No offense.”

I bark out a laugh. “None taken. I know how good he is at throwing a tantrum.”

At least I thought I knew.

Getting home becomes an adventure of sorts. By the time we have everything set up and get Monty back to his place, he’s a very, very grouchy boy. I know a big part of it is because he's in pain, which I truly hate for him.

I wish I could take it all away. If it were up to me, he’d be back on his feet tomorrow.

Except healing isn’t an instant process. We have to be safe, and safe means he can only have so much pain medicine at a time as well as limited movement. I give him the maximum amount with each dosing window, making sure to ease him around as best we can.

Unfortunately, his home is not particularly built for someone in need of accommodations. “I can't believe you don't have any bedrooms downstairs,” Danny says once Monty is comfortably propped up in bed. He scoots close to our boy, as if he wants to snuggle him, but he doesn't know what will hurt him and what won't.

Monty must sense it as well because he opens his arm. Danny dives forward, laying his head on his chest. Monty sighs as he plays with the ends of Danny's curly hair.

“I didn’t really think about it when the house was built. The bottom floor is meant to be for parties and hanging out, not bedrooms and such. Besides, I never thought I would need this kind of thing. Injuries are not something you think of when you're a professional athlete. It's considered jinxing yourself.”

Danny nods against his chest. “Yep! It's like when there's a wedding, and we talk about the weather beforehand. Guarantee it's gonna rain.”

Monty kisses Danny on the forehead as he grunts his agreement. His other hand holds his phone as his thumb swipes across the screen. As I walk over, I notice he's on social media.

I take the device from him quickly, not wanting him to catch sight of the footage from his accident. When he scowls at me, I shake my head.

“We need to be careful about your screen time,” I say as an excuse.

His bottom lip pops out in a dramatic pout. “But it's my phone, and I'm an adult.”

Danny looks up at me, his eyes wide. I hear him whisper“uh-oh”under his breath.

I know Monty hears it too, but the tantrum has begun already. He's not going to pull back. It's the first time I'm getting to see my brat truly let this side out. An eagerness moves through me at knowing he feels safe enough to do this with me.

“I want my phone, Daddy!” he demands.

Shaking my head again, I put the device in my pocket. Next, I place my hands on my hips as I look down at the two of them on the bed. “You can whine all you want, but you need rest. To heal, you have to relax and let the medicine do its work. The more you scroll through social media or try to answer messages from people, the worse you're going to feel. Let your body heal. This is the first step.”

Monty slams a fist down on the bed at the side closest to me. Tears sit at the corners of his eyes. “You don't get to make these kinds of decisions for me.”

Done with this back and forth, I lean down and put my hands on the side of the bed. I'm close enough he can feel me, but I'm not touching him.

“I want you to listen closely to me, Brat. You can throw a hissy fit all you want. You can scream and cry and shout ‘til the walls come down. It is not going to change my decision when it comes to your health. It is not going to change anything because I am the one in charge of taking care of you. I put everything, every duty I have, on hold because I want you well.”

“We both do,” Danny adds, nuzzling his nose into Monty's neck. The move softens him slightly. Not enough to extinguish the fire in his eyes.

He clenches his jaw, gritting out, “It's not fair.”

I lean closer, my face a mere inch from his. “I know it’s not, baby. I want you to have everything you want, but this is something I'm not going to back down on. Why don't you let our princess snuggle you? You both need to get some rest. I'll get some snacks prepared and make sure everything is set up for when you two wake up. Deal?”

His fist tightens for a moment before he relaxes his hand on the bed beside mine. I slip my fingers into his, then squeezing once.

He nods, then pecks my lips and turns to Danny. He buries his face in his hair and closes his eyes tight. I watch the tear trail down his cheek. As quickly as I can, I swipe it away.

The sight makes me angry. It makes me want to lash out at the world for this happening.

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