Chapter One

“Yes, Daddy.”

Ella was trembling as she spoke the words. She’d craved this moment for so long that, now that it had finally arrived, she was a bundle of nerves. She struggled to compose herself. This was going to be amazing. It was time to let go of her inhibitions and seize this opportunity.

“Good girl,” he said.

She closed her eyes and savored his words. A smile turned her lips upward. She’d waited so long to be called that.

Good girl .

And she’d waited so long for him to say it. It was worth the wait. The words fell sweetly on her ears, warming her heart and strengthening her soul.

Now she knew she could do this. She could actually toss aside her doubts and low self-esteem and live in this magical moment.

“What’s your favorite stuffie?” he asked.

“Hmm. Maybe…this one,” she said, pointing to a plush dog. The doll’s pink overalls matched the pink bows in her floppy ears.

“That’s a cute one,” he said. “Cute like you. What’s the doggy’s name, honey?”

Ella giggled. A few seconds later, she answered. “Miss Bow Wow.”

He smiled, chuckling slightly. “Miss Bow Wow is the perfect name. Do you want her to sit on your lap while you sit on my lap?” He held up the book Ella had selected moments earlier. “It’s story time, cutie.”

Ella’s heart rate increased as excitement gripped her. She eagerly picked up Miss Bow Wow and held her tightly as she waddled toward Daddy. Her diaper crinkled with each step she took. Her plastic panties rustled, too. Her gait was altered by the bulky attire, but she managed to make it to him.

He kissed her forehead, lips, and then picked her up as if she weighed nothing.

That was her absolute favorite part!

She’d always seen herself as too big for a man to handle like that. But he didn’t seem to have any trouble.

He rubbed her bottom soothingly, causing her to moan as she clung to him.

Daddy padded her bottom and smiled deeply into her eyes. “Are you ready for your story, princess?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“Good girl.” A devilish look passed across his face, like a cloud drifting in front of the sun. “First, honey, I think Daddy just needs to feel his sweet princess. We’ll get to the book soon enough. Just hold still and let Daddy…”

His words trailed off as he slid his hand down the waistband of her panties and diaper and toward her pubic mound. He hovered there for a moment, applying just a bit of pressure, before smiling even wider as he slid his finger down further.

Oh my goodness! This is going to be heavenly!

Or it would have been.

Right before his fingertip found her aching feminine pearl, she woke up.

She groaned, reaching haphazardly for her phone on the nightstand so she could turn off that damned alarm. In the process, she accidentally knocked over the cup of water she had up there, but thankfully it was one of those that had a locking lid. She’d seen a lot of online influencers peddling them. So, finally, she broke down and bought one. At the time she didn’t understand why she’d paid thirty bucks for a cup. Now, she was glad she had.

Knowing the water wouldn’t leak, she left it on the carpet while she grappled to take hold of her phone. She finally got the buzzing stopped and checked the time, an unnecessary gesture since she knew she’d set the alarm to go off at seven.

She also checked her notifications and saw she had a few new Facebook comments.

She opened the app and saw they were left on the pic she’d posted yesterday.

There, on the screen, was her baby boy and baby girl. Only they were far from babies now.

Eighteen and twenty, respectively.

And both at the same university.

She’d dropped them off yesterday for the fall semester—meaning she’d also left a little piece of her heart on that campus. She already missed them so badly that it felt as if her heart was going to break in two.

Chill out. They’ll be home on Thanksgiving. And you’ll see them next month when you drive down there for that weekend visit.

The internal reassurance did little to soothe her aching heart.

She read the new comments—some old co-workers and distant relatives sending their well-wishes—and then put her phone down. She stumbled out of bed and winced at the stiffness in her joints.

Forty-five was no picnic.

She knew she wasn’t old. But she wasn’t exactly young anymore, either. She was—dare she say the dreaded description—middle aged.

She made her way to the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror.

Yikes!

She was quite a sight with no makeup on.

“You’re quite a sight even with makeup on,” she said aloud, shaking her head in frustration at her own image.

This morning, she had the same thoughts she had every morning.

You’re twenty-five pounds overweight. Really more than that. You have crow’s feet. You need Botox. And oh my gosh, how saggy can your boobs get? They look like deflating balloons slowly losing their air a week after a birthday party!

She tried to shove those thoughts from her mind. She didn’t have time to dwell on them. She needed to get to that doctor’s appointment.

She smiled for the first time that morning.

Dr. Bryan Kirk. The man she’d dreamed about. Her fantasy Daddy.

She knew it was more than likely only her imagination, but that guy gave off major Daddy vibes!

Not that he really was one, she reminded herself.

And not that he’d want you on the slim chance he was.

Keep dreaming, Ella.

Because dreams are all you have in the romance department.