Page 80 of Their Perfect Daddy

“I give it five stars,” he tells me loudly. Danny grins over at us before going back to his search. In a lower register, he asks me, “What’s bothering you, Daddy? You have your thinking face on.”

“My thinking face?”

“Yeah. The one you do when you’re getting ready to say something you think one of us won’t like. It’s kind of like this.” He gets a faraway look in his eyes and scrunches his brow a bit.

With a shake of my head, I scoot closer to him. This time, I keep my voice low as well.

“I wanted to ask how you felt about something. It’s ok if you’re not a fan of the idea.”

My brat rolls his eyes. “Unless it’s going vegan or something, I’m sure it’s fine.”

“Vegan is where you draw the line?”

“Yes! Bacon is a delicacy. I refuse to give it up. Also, I’m a big fan of brisket and chili. You’ll have to pry them from my cold, dead hands.” His growl would be threatening if he weren’t bedbound and grinning at me.

Danny gasps from across the room. “Is that a bear?! I heard a growl.”

“No bear here, Princess. Only a cranky brat,” I call out.

He goes back to his colors, leaving me to deal with a gloating Monty. “Our princess thought I was a bear.”

At his teasing tone, I shake my head. “Moving on—I wanted to see if you were ok with me hanging up some of Danny’s drawings around the house. I think it would be good for him to see them in a couple of places. Here and there, you know. The two on the fridge are great. He lights up every time he goes to get something. I want to give him the same feeling in other places.”

Instead of answering me, my brat pulls out his phone. He presses rapidly against the screen, his gaze scanning whatever he’s searching for.

“Care to share with me what you’re doing?” I ask as I lean closer to get a peek.

“I’m ordering frames for them. I need to find… ah! There we go. A pack of forty should do it, right, Daddy?”

My jaw nearly drops open at the gesture. Since I’m lost for words, I give him a nod of encouragement.

He smiles as he adds the items to his cart. With a few more taps, he’s secured them for delivery in a few hours.

The second he stops looking at his phone, I pull him into a kiss. It’s not meant to be seductive or lead to anything more. I’m too overwhelmed with emotion to not show him how much his actions mean to me.

And I know Danny will love it too. Our princess deserves to be spoiled rotten.

A few hours later, there’s a knock at the door. Since I already know what it is, I rush downstairs before Danny can. Considering he’s moved from coloring to snuggling with Monty, there isn’t much of a fight.

I lug the box of frames up the stairs. In the bedroom, I ease them down on the corner and motion to Monty to pause their movie.

“What’s going on here?” Danny asks as he eases closer to the box, slipping out of his Little side.

I grip the edge of the box. The loud ripping sound has Monty screeching like I’ve just gone to battle. It also eases the worry on our princess’s face.

“Show him! Show him, Daddy!” Monty bounces on the bed.

Pretending to scowl, I point a finger at him. “Don’t you dare hurt yourself, Brat.”

He stops moving as he raises his hands and gives me a wide-eyed stare. “I’ll be good if you OPEN THE BOX please.”

Danny giggles at the outburst and moves closer to Monty. I suspect it’s so he can use some of his happy energy to calm things down.

Once they’re both seated, I lift the sides of the box. Reaching in, I grab one of the plastic wrapped frames. Danny’s look of confusion deepens when he sees what I’ve got.

Scrambling over, he leans forward to look inside. “It’s a box of… frames? What do we need this many for?”

The question is hesitant. It’s almost like our princess already knows what we’ve planned. Knowing his ability to eavesdrop, he might.

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