Chapter 12

When Deke's phone rang at eleven the next morning, he glared at it from across the room. He and Maya had slept late and lingered in bed even later exploring each other's bodies. The only reason they'd finally showered together and put on clothes had been because they were starving.

Now they were at the table, and Deke was feeding his Little girl breakfast. The ring tone made him cringe.

Maya glanced toward the kitchen counter. "Do you need to get that?"

Deke stiffened. "Yes."

Maya giggled. "Then why are you just sitting there?"

"Because that's the ring tone for my boss."

"Oh." Maya's shoulders dropped. "I guess you better see what she wants. Life gets in the way sometimes. We got to spend fourteen hours in a row together," she teased.

Deke growled. "We were sleeping ten of those."

Maya reached over and cupped his face. "The other four hours were delightful." Her cheeks turned pink.

The phone had stopped ringing, but now it beeped, letting him know there was a message.

Deke dragged himself from the table, snagged the phone from the counter, and dialed his boss without checking the message.

"Hey, Deke," she said cheerfully, answering on the first ring.

"Rose…"

"Oh, crap. I'm sorry. It didn't occur to me you might panic and think I was calling to ask you to work. It's not that at all."

Deke let out a slow breath. Thank God.

"I was actually calling to see if you and Maya wanted to go to Little Cakes today with Adam and me. I know Maya is important to you, and I feel bad that I haven't met her."

Deke smiled as he returned to the table. "I was actually planning to take Maya there today anyway. What time are you going?"

"How does two sound?"

"Perfect."

"Okay. See you soon." Rose ended the call.

Maya was searching Deke's face. "You're smiling, so it must not be too bad."

"Not at all. She and her Daddy are going to Little Cakes this afternoon, and she wanted to see if we could go also so she could meet you. I've been talking about you nonstop for days. Rose is growing curious about the Little girl who's captured my heart."

Maya's eyes went wide. "Your boss is Little?"

"Yep. Her Daddy is Adam. He owns a gumball factory."

"That's so cool. I wonder if he can get me some gumballs."

Deke chuckled. "I'm sure he can one of these days." He lifted his fork to feed Maya another bite of scrambled eggs. "Let's finish breakfast, then we can spend some time playing. We're meeting Rose and Adam at two, and I want to stop by Blooms by Daisy first."

"Okay." She opened her mouth to accept the bite.

Deke was glad she wasn't still in a panic about the flowers today. A good night's rest had calmed her. That and the fact that he'd done his best to distract her nearly every moment they'd been awake so far.

"Maybe we could play a game," she suggested after she swallowed her bite.

"That sounds like fun. What game do you want to play?"

"I don't know yet. I haven't had a chance to explore everything in the nursery yet."

"Are you full, Precious Girl?"

She nodded.

He wiped her mouth with a cloth and pushed the chair back. "How about you go pick out a game while I clean up the kitchen?"

Deke smiled as he watched Maya skip out of the room. She was growing more and more comfortable in his home with every passing day. Even though they hadn't had a chance to spend many waking hours together, their relationship had progressed in leaps and bounds in the bedroom.

Maya was twenty-three. She had tons of energy. No matter how tired she was every night, she always perked up when he got her clothes off.

There was no avoiding the fact that both of them had demanding jobs that would keep them busy for the foreseeable future. All they could do was make the most of their time together, and Deke intended to ensure that always happened.

* * *

"I'm so sorry," Daisy said a few hours later. She was leaning over her computer, and she'd been clicking away for several minutes. "It looks like all of the orders came in through the website. They've been paid for from an untraceable account."

Deke sighed. He'd known that would be a possibility, especially since the secret admirer hadn't ever left a card with the roses. It was even more disturbing knowing that the guy had gone to great lengths to make sure even Daisy had no idea who was placing the orders.

Daisy's brows were furrowed with concern. "If you want, I could decline the next order."

Deke shook his head. "No. Let's not do that yet. We don't want to possibly piss the guy off."

Maya gripped Deke's hand so tightly that even her tiny fingers were making her nervousness obvious. "That sucks," she grumbled.

"It sure does," Deke agreed. It especially sucked because he had no way to track down the sender. This was a dead end. It was causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end, but he didn't want to alarm Maya for no reason, so he kept his thoughts to himself. Hopefully this secret admirer was harmless and simply didn't know Maya was permanently off the market.

The sound of the bell ringing above the door made Deke glance over his shoulder, expecting to see a customer entering. Instead he recognized the newcomer as Tarson, the head baker at Little Cakes. Tarson was Daisy's Daddy.

Tarson smiled as he rounded the counter. "Hey, Deke. Maya." He nodded toward the two of them before wrapping an arm around Daisy and planting a possessive kiss on her lips.

Daisy was breathless when her Daddy released her. "I'm working," she told him with zero umph behind her words.

Tarson shrugged. "I wouldn't have kissed you if your customers had been strangers, Baby girl."

Daisy rolled her eyes. "They aren't exactly customers, Daddy. They have a problem, and I'm only telling you because I know you will freak out if you hear about it from someone other than me."

Tarson pulled his shoulders back and glanced at each of them before focusing on Deke. "What's wrong?"

"Maya has been getting anonymous roses every day for several days. Whoever is sending them orders them from Daisy through the website. She can't find any traceable information."

Tarson frowned. "Shit." He pulled Daisy more protectively against his side. He clearly understood why Deke was unnerved. No Daddy wanted their Little girl receiving anonymous flowers from another man.

"Yeah. Looks like a dead end," Deke muttered.

"Mmm." Tarson tapped his lips. "I know several people at the police department, including the captain, Trace Barnes. Let me make a few calls. Maybe the cops have a way to trace something like this."

Deke nodded. "That'd be great. Thank you. I've met Trace a few times at Blaze. His Little also works for the police department, doesn't she?"

"Yes. Avery. She might be able to help, too."

"Well, thanks for checking," Deke said to Daisy. "We're heading to Little Cakes next. I think we could both use a treat to keep our minds off the unwanted admirer."

Tarson grinned. "There are plenty of Malted Milk cupcakes in the display case today. I just restocked them before I went on my break."

That made Maya stand taller. "Oh, good. I can't believe you remember my favorite order."

Tarson winked at her. "I never forget any Little's favorite cupcake. That's important information."

Maya giggled, and Deke was glad because he didn't want her to spend another minute of their special day together thinking about the mysterious roses.

As soon as they stepped outside, her mood shifted further. She skipped along beside him, reminding him that he needed to slow down. Her legs were short.

Two minutes later, they entered Little Cakes.

Rose and Adam had arrived before them, and Rose stood from a table near the back, waving excitedly. It was also fun to see Rose when she was not at work. She was all business when it came to running Stuff-It, but when she let loose with her Daddy, she was almost a different person.

Clutching Maya's hand, Deke wove them through the packed cupcake shop to reach his boss and her Daddy.

Adam was on his feet by the time they reached the table, and he held out a hand. "Good to see you, Deke." He shifted his attention to Maya. "You must be Maya. I'm Adam, and this is Rose."

Maya's shy side came out as she shook Adam's hand. "Nice to meet you," she said softly. She turned toward Rose next. "And you."

Rose giggled and held up a brown paper bag. "I brought you something."

Maya still had a death grip on Deke's hand. He was starting to recognize that as a sign that she was overwhelmed. He needed to be mindful of the fact that she was shyer than other Littles.

Wrapping an arm around her, he kept her close to his side.

Maya surprised him, though. "Gumballs?"

Rose pushed out her bottom lip in a fake frown. "Poop. You told her," she said to Deke.

Deke chuckled. "I mentioned that Adam owned a gumball factory, yes."

"I didn't know you would bring me some, so that's a surprise," Maya said. "And I'm so excited because I was just asking Da…Deke if we could get some gumballs from you someday."

"Oh, good." Rose looked pleased. She pulled out the chair next to her. "Sit. We can chat while our Daddies go get us cupcakes."

Deke tipped Maya's head back and gave her a quick kiss. "Will that be okay, Precious Girl?"

"Yes, Daddy," she whispered.