Page 109 of SEAL Daddies Next Door

Leia rolled her eyes, "Thanks, Uncle Miguel. That's exactly what I needed to hear."

Miguel chuckled. "Oh, come on. You're going to love being thirteen. You get to stay up late, eat junk food, and be extra-angsty about everything."

Reed raised his hands in horror. "Stop giving her ideas!"

That made Juniper smirk. "Hey, if she wants to be angsty, we let her be angsty. No greatness comes from someone who's dripping honey all the time!"

Leia shook her head. "I don't think that's how it works."

Miguel leaned in closer and said, "Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. I was a teenager once."

Leia smirked. "Yeah, in the 90s. Things are a little different now."

Miguel pretended to be offended. "Hey, I'll have you know, the 90s were the best decade ever. We had MTV, Pac-Man, and hairspray that could hold up a small building."

Leia laughed. "I'll take my TikTok and Netflix any day, thank you very much."

Miguel raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, you win. Just promise me you'll never stop being the funny, spunky girl I know and love, no matter how old you get."

I stepped out of the kitchen for a moment. This morning, before Juniper left for work, I'd come by to drop off the gift Miguel and I got for Leia.

I returned with the big box in my hand and set it in front of her wide eyes.

"What's in the box?" she asked, her eyes flitting between me and Miguel, knowing we were in on this together.

"Well, after all our conversations on the things you like, this felt the most responsible gift for a little woman," I said, smiling. "Go on, open it!"

As she unwrapped the box, her eyes widened in excitement.

"A Nintendo Switch! Thank you so much, guys!" she exclaimed, giving the both of us a hug.

Miguel beamed. "We figured it was time for you to upgrade from that old DS and join the modern era of gaming."

I met Reed's gaze for a second—an unspoken question in my eyes—did we do okay?

He jerked his head slightly.You did great.

Leia was jumping around like a happy little monkey.

"Yeah, I think it was definitely time. Now I can finally play all those games I've been missing out on."

I chimed in. "And we got you a bunch of games to go with it. Zelda, Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, and even that new Pokémon game you've been talking about."

Leia couldn't believe it. "Wow, you guys really went all out. Thank you so much!"

Miguel ruffled her hair. "Anything for my favorite niece. And besides, what's a birthday without some awesome gifts?"

Leia grinned. "True that. I can't wait to try all these games out. You guys are the best."

I wagged my finger at her. "But we can only let you have this on one condition."

Her face fell. "What? Guys, don't do this! Tell me right now!"

"Just promise us you'll still have time for us, even with your new fancy console."

Leia put her hand over her heart. "I promise I'll always have time for you two doofs, no matter how many games come my way."

I chuckled as Juniper pulled her to the side and whispered something in her ear.

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