Page 54 of Spoiling Lillian
“No, Baby. I just said we had some things to discuss and invited us over to their house for lunch.” I snicker at my wording. That’s basically what happened.
Somehow, Lillian has the strength to giggle. “Maybe he is making boxed mac and cheese,” she jokes.
I pick up her hand and kiss her fingers again. I need to be touching her. When I’m done, I set her small palm on my thigh and pat it. “Keep your hand here, sweet girl.”
“Okay, Daddy,” she says softly.
That’s right, Little girl. I’m your Daddy.
Our drive is quiet. I’m sure Lillian is deep in her head like I am. But it doesn’t take long before I’m pulling up in front of Camden and Simone’s house.
I love that Lillian waits for me to help her out of the truck. I’m feeling so fucking possessive of her that I want to carry her. But that seems like overkill, so I set her on her feet, but I hold her hand once again as we head for the front door.
Camden opens it before we reach the porch.
Simone ducks under his arm. She glances from me to Lillian and back again before gasping. “What happened?”
I’m not surprised that she can see our distress on our faces. It’s impossible to hide our somber expressions or Lillian’s swollen eyes. She may have worked hard not to cry, but her eyes are puffy as though she had.
“Mom happened,” Lillian informs her as she lets go of my hand to hug her sister.
“Oh my God,” Simone shrieks. “What? Did she show up at your apartment?”
“Yep. And she was crazier than ever.”
Camden’s brow is furrowed as he ushers us inside.
Simone turns toward Camden. “Daddy, please can we go to the playroom?”
“Yes, Little one.” He shifts his attention to me. “If it’s okay with Bryson.”
My heart is still beating too fast, but I don’t miss the way Camden defers to me as though it’s a given that I make decisions for Lillian. She and I haven’t had a serious discussion yet about what our dynamic will look like in private, let alone in front of other people. But she looks to me with wide, hopeful eyes.
I turn to her, lift her by the waist, and hold her flat against me, eye to eye. I kiss her gently and move my lips to her ears. “Are you okay, sweet girl?” I whisper.
She nods. “Yes, Daddy.” She’s obviously feeling Little. That’s good because I’m feeling extremely Dominant and overbearing. This is my woman. I want her to be happy. I want to be able to protect her against the sort of thing that happened today. I wasn’t there when her mother showed up. It won’t happen again.
I continue speaking softly in her ear. “I think you need some time with your sister, but come get me immediately if you need me. Okay?”
“Yes, Daddy.” She wraps her arms around my neck and hugs me tightly.
It’s not until I set her back on her feet and watch her walk up the stairs with Simone that I realize her pretty white dress was probably hitched up a bit too high. Undoubtedly, both Camden and Simone saw her panties. It didn’t even make Lillian flinch. Either she wasn’t aware, or she didn’t care.
Camden waits while I watch the women disappear before he claps a hand on my shoulder. “Coffee?”
“That’d be great.” I follow him into the kitchen, where I find a platter of sandwiches sitting on the island.
“I made girly lunch,” he says, laughing. “Some days you just have to eat silly sandwiches in bite-sized triangles with the crusts cut off. It’s in the Daddy handbook.”
I smirk. “I’m learning.” I take a seat at the island and accept the mug he slides in front of me before giving him the rundown on what happened.
Camden groans when I finish. “Fuck. To answer your question, yes, I did have a PI following the girls’ parents for a few weeks. I wanted to know their every movement. I can tell you their father, Richard, mostly goes to his office and back home. He plays golf with a group of men twice a week. My PI saw no evidence of him deviating from his regular life over the disappearance of his second daughter.”
“And their mom? What’s her name? I didn’t even ask.”
“Carolyn.” Camden glances toward the entrance to the kitchen before turning back and lowering his voice. “Truly snobby bitch. I don’t think she even communicates with her husband. She looked angry and frustrated in the pictures my guy took, but she immediately shuts that down as soon as she’s at the club. Fakest shit I’ve ever seen. I’m not surprised she lied to everyone and made up a story about Lillian visiting Simone, even though she had no idea where Lillian was.”
“What about Herman Westheimer?”
