Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

“How was New Zealand?” Dom asked as Grant popped open a round of beers and passed them out.

“Beautiful. But I think we’re all glad to be home.” Lifting his bottle in toast, Grant took a long pull before continuing. “We should have been home two weeks ago but there were so many filming delays we ended up being stuck. Jesse was a real trooper, but those extra weeks were brutal for all of us.”

“Surprised you managed to keep Edie there an extra two weeks,” Matt said with a raised brow. “If I’m being honest, I’m surprised you managed to get her away from this place at all.”

“I don’t think she would have gone if I’d asked. But once Jesse put on her ‘Please, Mommy’ face, Edie couldn’t say no.”

“I know the feeling,” Ian said with a chuckle. “Taylor has that face down pat.”

Beside him, Rex snorted. “They must take lessons or something. Or practice on each other. I swear I can’t deny Ginny anything when she pouts. Well.” Lifting his beer to his lips, he smirked. “Except maybe an orgasm. But that’s just fun.”

“Here, here.” Leaning over, Dom clinked his bottle with Rex’s, and it took all Ian’s willpower not to audibly gag.

He liked Dom. He really did. But he also really didn’t need the nitty-gritty details of his baby sister’s love life, thank you very much.

Unfortunately for him, it was difficult to escape with Dom and Noelle being such an integral part of their friend group.

“So, catch me up.” Leaning back against the counter behind him, Grant took another sip of his beer, saving Ian from more of Dom and Rex’s joking. “What’s new in Lost River? Dom, how are wedding plans going?”

Everything about Dom seemed to light up at the mention of his pending nuptials to Noelle. “Amazing. She’s having a blast planning everything. I gotta say, I wouldn’t have pegged her for the big, fancy wedding type, but between her and her mom, I have a feeling this is going to be the best damn wedding Lost River has ever seen.”

Grief and pride twisted around Ian’s heart. Grief, because there was something about watching his little sister take such a big step in her life that felt like he was losing her. And pride because he’d seen for himself the way she’d blossomed over the past year since Dom had come into her life. Even if it did give Ian the ick to think about them like that , he couldn’t deny that Dom had been good for her.

“Mom’s having a blast, too,” Ian supplied, swallowing the lump in his throat and forcing a smile for the man who was going to be his brother in just a few short months. “I’m glad Noelle wanted a big wedding because I think it would have broken Mom’s heart if y’all had eloped or something.”

“Trust me, the thought has crossed my mind a few times. Big weddings come with big feelings, apparently, and I’ve had to roast Noelle’s ass more often than usual the past couple months.”

Now that was surprising. Of all of them, Dom was easily the most laid-back. Despite his reservations about prying into their personal lives, Ian found himself leaning forward. “Really? You? But you’re always so… chill.”

Dom lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. “Yeah, but sometimes Noelle needs me to be not so chill. It seems to help with the stress if I’m extra strict, especially when she’s Little. And she’s been asking for Little time more and more.”

It seemed backward to him, to be harder on a Little girl than a Big girl. But there was no denying their dynamic seemed to work for Noelle.

Not for the first time, he wondered if he was denying Taylor something she needed by being more lenient with her than he had been in the past. She’d thrived under his strict rules, but she hadn’t really lapsed back into her old ways when he’d backed off. So just like Dom and Noelle, the dynamic he had with Taylor seemed to be working for them.

Besides, if she needed him to be strict again, she would tell him.

Wouldn’t she?

“Hey, Taylor. Did you ever figure out what was going on with Ian?”

For nearly an hour they’d been talking about Jesse’s new movie and her trip to New Zealand. Which also meant listening to several hilarious anecdotes about Edie’s first trip out of the country. A few of which earned Jesse a warning glare from her Mommy that had Taylor’s tummy fluttering nervously, and she wasn’t even on the receiving end of those looks.

And then they’d spent some time oohing and ahhing over Noelle’s wedding, which had Taylor’s tummy fluttering for entirely different reasons. As excited as she was for her friend, she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like when she and Ian finally tied the knot.

But now, Carly’s question had all eyes on her, and her tummy was doing something that resembled somersaults more than butterflies. “Ah… I’m not sure, really.”

“Something’s wrong with Ian?” Worry knitted Noelle’s brow as she turned to face Taylor. “Why didn’t you say something? What’s wrong? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. He’s not like, sick or anything.” It wasn’t the first time she’d had a conversation of this nature with Noelle, but somehow it never seemed to get easier. Not only was she Ian’s sister, she’d been super judgmental about the ‘Little stuff’ before she’d gotten her own Daddy. “He’s just… different.”

“Different how?” Ginny asked, sitting up straighter in the armchair she often claimed as her own. “Bad different?”

“Yes and no? I don’t really know how to explain it.”

Hopping back up onto the couch, Carly wrapped an arm around Taylor’s shoulders and squeezed. “Just tell us what’s going on. Safe space, remember?”

The latter was said with a pointed look toward Noelle, who rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, safe space. I promise to keep my snarky remarks about my annoying brother to a minimum.”

“Okay, well, he’s been a lot less strict lately, I guess is the best way to put it. You remember when we went to the Christmas parade and we met up for hot chocolate after?”

Noelle nodded. “Yeah, you guys were talking about something when Dom and I walked in but he wouldn’t let me ask you about it. Meanie-head,” she added under her breath.

“I was saying it wasn’t fair because he threatened to spank me for getting whipped cream and marshmallows on my hot chocolate.”

“That bastard.” Surprisingly, that comment came from Ginny, though it was delivered with a grin instead of Noelle’s usual scowl.

“Yeah, well, he sort of told me very specifically that I was only allowed one topping. But then I ordered two anyway, so…”

From her chair, Edie raised an eyebrow. “I hope he showed you the error of your ways when you got home.”

“That’s the thing. He didn’t.” Frustrated all over again, Taylor huffed out a breath. “We got home and he basically said it was his fault for not letting me enjoy myself or something like that. No lecture, no spanking, no lines, no anything .”

“Maybe he just decided it wasn’t that big of a deal.” Jesse rolled her eyes at the look Edie gave her. “ Some Mommies and Daddies are willing to let things slide, you know.”

“If we let you slide, you’d slide right over every single rule we have and you know it, little girl.”

Tossing her head back, Jesse let out a long, loud laugh. “You’re not wrong. But this isn’t about me. Back to you, Taylor.”

“Okay, well, that wasn’t the only thing he let slide. That was over a week ago and he’s been letting all sorts of things go. He didn’t even spank me for the ladder incident at Carly’s house.”

“What?” Carly’s question came out as an indignant shriek. “He was so pissed about that! And rightfully so!”

“Ladder incident?” Noelle asked.

“We were sneaking treats during a playdate, as we do, and someone thought it was a good idea to get up on that very top part of the ladder. You know, the part that specifically says it’s not a step .”

“And your Daddy didn’t whoop your ass for that?” The fierce frown on Edie’s face had Taylor shrinking back against the couch. “I’m tempted to take you both out back to cut a switch. I’ll be right back.”

“No, Edie, don’t!” Hopping up from the couch, Taylor grabbed Edie’s arm as she tried to storm past. “I don’t want to upset him. Or embarrass him.”

“Your Daddies have one job and that’s to keep my girls safe.” Now that they were closer, Taylor could see the fear under Edie’s anger and it only made her feel worse than before. “If he’s not going to do that then he can damn well answer to me.”

“I promised him I wouldn’t do it again.”

She watched the struggle play out on Edie’s face before the other woman sighed. “All right. But I want you to promise me you’ll have a serious talk with him about your feelings.”

“That’s just the problem.” Frustrated all over again, Taylor threw her hands in the air as she turned to pace the large room. “I don’t know how I feel. Part of me wants my strict Daddy back, but part of me just wants to keep being his Baby.”

“His Baby?” Jesse’s eyes went wide with curiosity. “Like, figuratively or literally?”

Embarrassment rushed in, smothering frustration with a heavy heat that flooded her entire body. “Um, literally, I guess? After the ladder thing, we were making dinner and I said something about how I’m not actually a Baby and he was like, ‘But what if you were?’ and… I don’t know how to explain it, really. There hasn’t been a huge difference in how he treats me, honestly, but it feels really different to me, if that makes sense.”

“It does.” Looking thoughtful now, Jesse nodded. “I had a Daddy for a while who wanted me to be a Baby. Bottles, diapers, the whole thing. It was a very different headspace from my usual Little space which I’d say is closer to six or seven. I like being old enough to get into some mischief,” she added with a giggle.

“Diapers?” Noelle wrinkled her nose. “Ian wants you to wear diapers?”

More of that embarrassed heat rushed to Taylor’s face. “No. At least, he hasn’t mentioned it yet.”

“And even if he does, we don’t judge here, Noelle Joy.” Stepping up beside Taylor, Edie slipped an arm around her waist while she pinned Noelle with a stern look. “You know better, little girl.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Pink blossomed on Noelle’s cheeks as she ducked her head. “Sorry, Tay.”

“It’s okay. It’s kinda weird to me, too. Weird, but nice. You know how sometimes when you’re in Little space, you just feel kinda… I don’t know how to explain it. Like you don’t have any worries at all and nothing can bother you there?”

“Definitely,” Carly said. “I love that feeling. And I miss it. I don’t get nearly as much Little time since Emma came along. Not that I’d trade her for anything, but I miss just being able to log off work and go straight into Little space while Daddy takes care of everything else.”

“Exactly! It’s like that, but even more, somehow.”

“That’s great, but how do you feel about him not punishing you?” Tilting her head to the side, Jesse frowned. “That was always a really important part of your dynamic. Are you okay with that just going away?”

“No.” Just thinking about it made her tummy ache. “No, I’m not. But isn’t that his decision? He’s the Daddy.”

“Uh-huh. And what do you think is going to happen if you let him continue to make those decisions without consulting you, first?”

She opened her mouth to say she’d be fine with it, then snapped her lips closed again.

Would she be okay with it, in the long run? Right now everything was new and exciting again. But she’d already been feeling restless about the fact they hadn’t done more ‘butt stuff’. How much more restless and resentful would she feel if he took away the discipline she’d come to rely on so heavily?

“Crap,” she muttered, her shoulders slumping with a sigh.

Edie’s arm tightened around her, pulling her in for a sideways hug. “I already said I wouldn’t talk to your Daddy, Taylor. But if you want me to keep that promise, then you’re going to have to talk to him yourself. Soon.”