Page 61 of His Wilde Little
“So, what’s in the basket?” I asked, letting myself fall into him from where he tugged me. Not to be dramatic, but my body demanded it. I knocked his hat forward, and when he pushed it back again with me in his lap, the light hit his eyes just so—perfectly. “We need to stay close for warmth,” I whispered.
“?” he asked. “I think we should share more of that warmth too.” He leaned in and kissed me. “That warmed you up?”
I nodded and wrinkled my nose. The exercise of riding the horse had warmed me up, but now we were sat, the fall chill whipped around us, sending a shiver through me. I nearly headbutted him in the process.
“Whoa, hold on there, baby,” he said, escaping my head by leaning back.
“Sowee, Daddy.” Pouting was a secret weapon, pulling it out wherever possible to be forgiven. “Do I get to see what’s in the basket now?”
“Of course,” he said, pulling it close while I was still in his lap. His multitasking was peak Daddy activity, and I wished I had my stuffie with me so I could fully embrace the moment, considering, I had already assumed it was going to be a picnic.“Close your eyes.”
“I can’t, I’m scared of the dark.”
“Well, you’re never scared of it when you’re with me.”
“Sometimes I am, but you’re right, I’m always with you, so it’s not as bad.”
“Then close your eyes.”
I screwed them shut, mostly because he was watching me do it, otherwise I might’ve peeked just a little bit. And in my hands, he shoved something soft and thick. I knew what it wasn’t because it was cold, and on his say so, I opened them wide to see my alpaca stuffy, Berty. I let out a squeal, quickly hushing myself as not to spook the horses. “How did you—”
“I figured you’d want him with you while I got us a little snack,” he said. “So, you remember last week, I mentioned running errands in town for your mom. I also had some of my own errands to get done.”
“Ok?” I asked, turning my head but Daddy’s hand was faster, placing it at my chin and keeping my head and eyes focused on him.
“I found these cute little bowls with animals in them and a set of matching plastic cutlery,” he said, the sound of the plastic clattering together as he did something with them using his free hand. “But that’s not everything, it’s just the start of all the things I wanted to get you.” He let go of me.
On the blanket, there were a set of three small bowls in red, blue, and green, they had different midlife animals on them, and each came with a plastic spork and a knife. “I love them.”
“Pick one,” he said.
“I want them all.”
“You can only pick one forthis.”
That didn’t make a whole lot of sense because I definitely wanted them all. “Well, red, but I get to keep them all, right?” I asked, squeezing my stuffy against my chest. “Because it would be unfair if you took the other two.”
“You get them all,” he said. “I’ll just tell you, I made tomato soup, should be warm, or at the right temperature in a thermos. I’ve also cut up some of that bread loaf you made. And, we can’t have a picnic without some fruits and juice boxes.”
“Mhmm, that’s true, but what about—”
“And those overly processed cheese snacks, oh, I got some of those as well,” he said with a chuckle. “And there’s one more thing.”
“One more thing?” I placed a hand to my forehead and pretended to fall back. “I don’t know if I can take anymore.”
“Come on now,” he said with a big grin. “I got us a night at the B&B in town. For the week after Thanksgiving. I’ve already cleared it with your mom, so we won’t have to rush back in the morning, and we can have a nice day in town.”
A barrage of warmth hit my cheeks, followed by a small trickle of tears. “I love it.”
“Aw.” He wiped my cheeks with his thumbs. “You deserve a break, and I cleared it with your friends there as well. You know, so you don’t have to spend the entire evening with me, you can go have a little’s party or something.”
“Oh my god.”
“Yeah, it helps that the guy who owns the B&B is with one of the people from your group, right?”
He was referring to Malcolm who was a new addition to the group, and we’d only communicated through the group chats which were a little dormant at the moment. I assumed those who lived in town met up more frequently since they were all closer, and I wouldn’t have even been mad if they had an entirely different chat that excluded me.
“Thank you,” I said, planting a big kiss on his mouth, followed by several smaller fast pecks to his cheeks. “It’s gonna be so much fun. And obviously, I’ll be with you at night, and we can have a lie-in, which means—” I wiggled my brows. “You know what that means.”
