Chapter 1

"Mom… No. Not again." Maya rolled her eyes as she reached for the tall stack of plastic cups. They were on a shelf that was almost too high for her to reach.

"He's a nice man. How will you ever find a husband if you don't give anyone a chance, Maya?"

Maya finally managed to get her fingers under the corner of one of the cups and lure the entire stack forward. When it tipped in her direction, the row of cups fell right into her arms. Thank goodness.

She turned to face her mother who was standing in the doorway of the supply closet with her hands on her hips. "Mom, stop it. No. He's like fifty. Why would you want me to go out with a man who's old enough to be my father?"

Her mother narrowed her gaze. "He's not that old. Don't be silly. He's kind and funny."

"He's gray, wrinkly, and balding." She didn't really care if a man was bald or not, but the man her mother was entertaining at table four in the restaurant had a combover, and that was just wrong. Maya shuddered.

Her family owned La Havana, a Cuban restaurant with a coveted location on the main strip. Her brother, Mateo, managed the restaurant. Maya mostly tried to stick to helping in the kitchen and restocking. She was too introverted to work at the hostess stand, and the thought of taking orders or bussing tables made her feel ill inside. What if she got someone's order wrong or dropped a tray of plates? No, thank you.

Her mother blocked her exit. "Okay, fine. Not this man, but you need to be more openminded. If you worked out front more often?—"

"Mom…" She groaned in exasperation. "I need to get these cups to Mateo."

Her mother finally stepped out of the way.

Maya was so rattled from her meddling mother that she wasn't paying close enough attention to where she was going, and as soon as she stepped into the main area of the restaurant, she tripped over her own two feet, lost her grip on the cups, and watched in horror as the stack teetered forward until it finally crashed to the floor.

The noise sounded like fireworks going off in Maya's mind. It seemed like every single cup landed separately and bounced ten times. Meanwhile, every patron in the restaurant turned to look at her.

Maya's face heated to a thousand degrees. This was exactly why she hated working out front. She was clumsy and awkward. Now everyone was staring at her.

Dropping to her knees, she rushed to gather up the cups. Besides the mess, this stack would have to go back to the dishwasher now. They'd touched the floor.

"Let me help you, Little one." The warm, deep voice accompanied a big, burly man who squatted down next to her and began to quickly gather the cups.

"I can do it," she murmured, unable to take her gaze off him.

He lifted his head and smiled at her. "Of course you can, but I'm not the sort of man who can sit and watch a pretty Little girl in distress. My tacos can wait."

Her heart beat faster as she processed his words. He'd called her Little one and Little girl. She might be short, but she was hardly little, and she was certainly not young. Surely this stranger—who happened to look like the Daddy of her dreams—couldn't know she was Little. She'd never even seen him before, and the only people who knew she was Little were her own family members.

Okay, maybe some of the other staff knew, too. Plus Ellie at Little Cakes and a few of her employees. But Maya's age play preferences were mostly a private matter.

"My name's Deke, by the way." He held out a hand after he finished stacking the cups in three shorter towers.

She licked her lips and stared at him, flushing deeper when she realized he was waiting for her to take his hand. It would be rude not to do so. After all, he'd helped her get out of this awkward situation faster than she could have done alone. And then there was his smile…

As soon as she set her hand in his, she shivered. His grip was warm and firm, but not too firm. He was still smiling at her.

Finally, not releasing her hand, he rose to his feet and helped her stand. "I already know your name is Maya."

"Oh, sorry. Yes. How did you know that?"

He was still gripping her fingers as he lifted his other hand to point to the nametag on her La Havana shirt.

She groaned inside. Duh. "Oh, right. Well, thank you for helping me. You didn't have to do that." Why was he still holding her hand? Couldn't he see how shy and awkward she was?

"To be honest, that's not the only reason I know your name, Little one. I've been coming here to eat for about a month. I'm observant. I've gotten to know your brother, Mateo, pretty well. I've also met Mateo's Little girl, Nora, a few times."

Maya licked her dry lips. "So, you, uh…" She drew in a breath. "You know Nora is Little?" she whispered. The volume in the restaurant had resumed as everyone had stopped paying attention to her and resumed eating their meals.

They were in the middle of the lunch rush. La Havana was packed. In fact, Deke set a hand on the small of her back and guided her toward the corner, out of the way of foot traffic.

He's still holding my hand…

"Yes. I've been to her shop, Craftastic, a few times, too. She stocks a lot of craft supplies. Occasionally, she's had something I've needed for my job."

"Oh, what do you do?" Maya cringed inside. She was not usually this conversational. She couldn't believe she'd put herself out there and managed to contribute to normal, polite chitchat.

"I'm the manager of Stuff-It in the mall. Have you ever been there?"

Maya shook her head. "What is it?"

"It's a stuffie store. Patrons pick out a furry new friend, stuff him or her, give him a heart, sew him up, and then find him an outfit."

Maya smiled. "That sounds like fun. I've never heard of such a thing."

"You should come in and get a new stuffie. I'd love to help you choose one."

She swallowed. "Oh, uh, I don't know… I'm usually here during working hours."

"You surely don't work from open to close every single day of the week, Little one." He lifted a brow. He was still smiling, though. She was pretty sure there were dimples under his beard.

"What makes you think I'm Little?" she asked. No one had ever insinuated she was Little before. It was startling.

He shrugged. "It was a hunch. Am I wrong?"

Darn her cheeks for heating again. "Umm…" She leaned to the side to look around him. "I should get back to work. My brother was waiting on those cups. I need to go grab another stack."

"Okay, but you should know something."

"What's that?" She tipped her head back to meet his gaze again.

"I'm going to eat here several times a week and flirt with you until you feel comfortable enough to agree to go out with me."

Maya stopped breathing. She didn't even blink. She simply stared at him. Was he serious?

"I can sense you're shy, Little one. That's okay. I'm a patient man. I bet you'll feel better about saying yes to me after you get to know me." He stroked her knuckles with his thumb.

His hand was so large it nearly swallowed hers, and she really liked the way he was holding it.

He lifted his other hand to her cheek and ran his thumb across her skin. Leaning in conspiratorially, he spoke again. "Do me a favor."

"What?" she asked, her voice breathy.

"I know your mother was trying to hook you up with the man sitting in the booth over by the window. Give me a chance instead."

She gasped. Eyes wide, she leaned back to meet his gaze again. His eyes were dancing with mirth. "How did you know?"

He chuckled. "My table is next to his booth. She wasn't discreet about it. She kept going on and on about her daughter, Maya, and how wonderful you are. I suspect she cornered you in the back room and tried to hook you up."

"Is there anything you don't know?" she asked, heart racing.

He chuckled again. "Lots of things. But what's more important is what I do know. I've known for weeks that I wanted to ask you out. I know now that I was right. You're the perfect Little girl for me. I know you're intrigued. I know you're hesitant, too. That's understandable. Like I said, I'll flirt with you until you aren't scared of me."

"I'm not scared," she blurted out. "I'm just… I don't…" She huffed out a breath. She was botching this. Who cared? He might as well know now that she wasn't outgoing enough to keep him entertained for half an hour. "You shouldn't waste your time on me. I'm too shy to hold a conversation. Plus, I'm awkward. Did you not see me trip over my own feet and drop a stack of cups?"

He cupped her cheek and leaned in closer. "Precious Girl, what I see is the sweetest Little girl in the world. I don't care if you're shy. After you get to know me, you won't be shy with me anymore. And I don't want to hear you putting yourself down. After you agree to let me be your Daddy, it will be one of my first rules." He gave her a stern look.

Stunned, she found it difficult to breathe. He was so close to her that she could smell his aftershave, the soap he used, and his personal scent. He was intoxicating, and she nearly swayed into him.

Had he really just insinuated he would be her Daddy? And that he would have rules?

She found herself squirming. Rarely did a man capture her attention, and never had one caused her to squeeze her thighs together. The only times she'd been this aroused were late at night when she was alone in her room, reading one of her favorite Daddy romances.

He gave her a slow smile that lit up his face and made her nervous. He could read her. She knew it. She had to get away from him before she started rambling nonsense. Plus, she needed oxygen.

"I'll let you get back to work, Precious Girl, but I'll be back tomorrow to flirt with you." He winked before he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

When he finally released her to turn and head back to his table, she found herself unable to move a muscle. She watched his giant body move with ease. She shivered as if chilled, experiencing a loss now that he'd let go of her hand.

Finally, she jerked her gaze down to find that someone had removed the cups.

"Hmmm. That one will do just fine," her mother said from behind her.

Maya spun around to find her mother walking away. She was standing to her full height, smugly rubbing her hands together as though she'd personally arranged this unlikely connection.

Inside, Maya groaned. Part of her wanted to run and hide and not come to work tomorrow. The thought of facing Deke again made her palms sweaty. Eventually he would see how awkward she was and lose interest. If she let herself believe he could actually be interested in her after he got to know her, she would end up with a broken heart.

But, darn, it was hard to deny the attraction. The man had stepped right off the cover of any number of her Daddy books. She couldn't have conjured up a more perfect Daddy if she'd tried.

She doubted she'd be able to sleep tonight, and tomorrow she would pace around nervously until he arrived. It was going to be the only thing she could think about.

You're going to get your heart broken.