Chapter 3

Deke was internally fist-pumping as they finished their meal. As much as he loved her family, he really wanted to take her out of this restaurant and go somewhere they could talk without feeling like everyone was staring at them.

He was glad everyone at La Havana liked him and approved of him. It would make his life easier. But he wanted his Little girl to relax, and he knew she couldn't do so with her family watching.

"Ready to go get cupcakes?" he asked as soon as the plates were cleared away.

"Yes." Her smile made his heart soar. He wanted to see that smile every day for the rest of his life. He wanted to be the one to put it there, and he wanted to do so frequently.

After pushing back from the table, he eased her chair back and took her hand.

She looked up at him. "I should get my purse and tell my family I'm leaving."

"I'll walk you toward the back, Little one."

"Oh." Her eyes went wide as she glanced down at her clothes. "I'm not dressed for a date." She grew flustered. She was adorable.

"You're dressed fine, Precious Girl. We're just going to get cupcakes. I don't think Ellie or any of her staff need us to be formal," he teased.

She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before releasing it. "Okay. I guess you're right."

He reluctantly released her to let her go into the kitchen. After an hour dining with her, he was already so attached that he never wanted to let her out of his sight.

That wasn't realistic, of course. He had a full-time job, and so did she. He hoped he could convince her to spend as much time with him as possible when they weren't at work. He was a patient man, and he would take baby steps to ease her into his life, but he also wished he could flash forward to the future.

Already he was picturing her in his home, in her nursery, and in his bed. He hoped she liked the nursery he'd been designing for her. He'd known he wanted to be her Daddy for weeks, and during that time, he'd filled the room with furniture, toys, dolls, and games. The only thing left was adding personal touches since he wasn't sure what colors she liked or what her favorite stuffie might be. He would ask her while they ate cupcakes.

Breathlessly, she returned to his side. "Okay, I'm ready." She had a small backpack on, and when he leaned around to see it better, he realized it was a lion, complete with brown fur and a fierce expression.

"I love this," he said, patting the top of the lion's head.

"Lions are my favorite animal because they're everything I'm not," she said.

He took her hand and led her out of the restaurant, offering a nod to Mateo as they exited. As soon as they were on the sidewalk, he asked, "What characteristics do lions have that you covet?"

"They are powerful, brave, courageous, and so strong. I wish I could be like that."

He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "I bet you have those qualities inside you, Precious Girl."

She shook her head. "I'm not ever brave or strong. I'm awkward and shy."

"You're being courageous right now, aren't you?"

She shrugged. "I guess so."

"Come. Let's get cupcakes. I want you to tell me everything you love while we walk."

"Like what?" she asked, skipping along beside him.

He remembered to slow his gait. "Sorry, Little one. It's been a long time since I've been out with someone with short legs. Daddy needs to slow down. Tell me your favorite color."

"You'll think it's weird."

He glanced down at her. "Never. The things you like will never be weird to me. They make up who you are. I want to get to know you better tonight. Do you know why?"

She shook her head, her long braid flying behind her.

He squeezed her hand. "Because I'm already putting together a nursery for you in my home. I need to know what your favorite colors and toys are so I can finish decorating it."

She gasped. "A nursery?"

"Yep. All Little girls need a special room where they can play and relax in their preferred age range. When you think about your Little, how old do you picture her?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I've never thought that hard about it. I never thought I'd meet a real-life Daddy."

"Well, now you have. Don't you worry. We'll experiment with different ages. Some Little girls like to play in a range of ages. Sometimes you'll want to be old enough to enjoy games and puzzles. Other times, I bet you'll want Daddy to rock you and take care of all your needs."

She didn't respond, but he knew she was thinking hard about his words.

"You didn't tell me your favorite color, Precious Girl."

"Brown. All the shades. Like the colors of a lion." She looked up at him with wide eyes. "I told you it was weird."

"Nope. Not weird. Just perfect."

Deke noticed that Maya focused on her feet as they took the next few steps. As he watched, she reached her arm across her body to pinch her side and gasped softly at the pain.

Moving closer, Deke smoothed his hand over her abused flesh. "No hurting yourself, Little girl," he gently scolded her.

"I was just checking to see if this was a dream."

"If it's a dream, I don't want to wake up, do you?"

"Yes. I don't want this to be something that evaporates. Are you going to disappear?"

"No, Precious. I'm not looking for anything short-term either. I've searched for my Little girl for way too long. Now that I've found you, I'm keeping you."

She stopped in her tracks to study his face. "I'm a pretty good judge of character. Watching everyone from the background, I notice people who are nice to their spouse when others are around and mean when they don't think others will notice."

"Do you also see good people who treat those they love well?"

"Oh, yes. My family members are good examples. Even the ones that work together at the restaurant—they're around each other all day and night and they are still sweet to each other."

"Sounds like they found the right person."

"Maybe that's why someone would get married or stay married to another person that treated them so badly. Because they're not with the perfect person?"

"I don't know that there is a perfect person out there. I do think everyone has their perfect match," Deke assured her. "Does that concern you? That you'll end up with the wrong person?"

"I deserve to be treated well," she stated firmly.

"Of course you do. I guess I'll have to prove to you that I'm the one who's going to make you happy."

That answer brought a smile to her face. She squeezed his hand before starting to walk again. "Little Cakes makes me happy. What kind of cupcake are you going to get?"

"I'm going to try the one you like. Malted Milk. It sounds delicious," Deke answered as they arrived.

He opened the door and ushered her inside. Immediately, a tattooed woman at the counter greeted them. Deke loved the smile that spread Maya's lips widely as she rushed to the counter.

"Hi, Riley! Do you have any Malted Milk cupcakes left?"

"You're in luck. I'm down to the last three. I told Ellie to make more this morning. There are some baking right now but they won't be ready until tomorrow," Riley told her.

"We'll take all three," Deke said from behind Maya. "Two for us to eat here and one to go."

"You're going to take one home?" Maya asked.

"I'm going to send it home with you. We can't leave one cupcake in the display. It will be lonely," Deke pointed out.

"Oh, that's a nice idea."

"It's the sweetest idea I've heard today. Well, other than that woman who ordered the bad cupcake. I had no idea what she was talking about until she pointed to a cupcake that had fallen over and had crushed its frosting. Other customers have ordered damaged, ugly ones as well. Last I heard, Ellie was thinking about having a Bad Cupcake as a monthly feature," Riley shared as Ellie walked toward the display cabinet with a tray of cupcakes.

"What a fun thing to do! Intentionally bop cupcakes over onto the frosting. I think if I was having a really bad day, I'd want a bad cupcake." Maya laughed.

"Exactly. We all feel bopped over some days," Ellie said, joining the conversation as she added the tray to the display. "Can I use that word in my advertising, Maya? Bop? It's genius."

"Of course. If you think it will help," Maya said graciously.

"It's perfect. Thank you, Maya," Ellie said before zipping away with a wave.

Deke found her blush at being the center of attention enchanting. Her face was so expressive. Each change of emotions showed perfectly on her face. There was no subterfuge with Maya. Her feelings were always on display.

Deke paid for the cupcakes and two bottles of water before ushering Maya to a table away from the other customers. "I can't wait to try this."

"I hope you like it," Maya told him as he peeled away the cupcake wrapper from the treat.

Lifting it to his lips, Deke took a big bite. "Mmm!"

He could feel the frosting that decorated his nose as he pulled the cupcake away. Comically, he wiggled his nose as he tried to see how bad the mess was. To his delight, Maya giggled with unbridled enjoyment at his silliness.

"Hold on. Let me help," she said between chuckles as she dabbed a napkin at the frosting. "Your nose wanted a bite, too. I think you're okay now."

"Thank you, Little girl. These are delicious."

He plucked one of the malted milk balls decorating the top of the cupcake and popped it into his mouth. The crunch was amazing. "How does she keep those from getting soggy? I think Ellie stocks magic in the kitchen."

"Everything she makes is so good. These, however, are the absolute best."

"I agree."

There was a lull in the conversation as they each took a bite. This time, Deke didn't attack the frosting but took a bite from the side. He loved how Maya closed her eyes to enjoy the treat. The vision of her in his bed with the same expression made him shift slightly in his chair to be more comfortable as his body immediately responded to that image.

"Tell me, Little girl. What is one thing you need your Daddy to know about you?"

Her eyelids blinked open and she blurted, "I deserve to be spanked."

Before he could react, she slapped her hand over her mouth as if she'd shocked herself. "I didn't mean that. I don't know where that came from."

"I do. You were probably thinking about eating cupcakes and you felt like you needed a spanking? Is that it?"

"No… Well, it could be, but I think I'm hard on myself. I don't do too many things right. I drop glasses or forget to order peppers. I never am perfect."

"No one is perfect, Precious Girl. We all have accidents or oops moments. That's part of being human," Deke assured her.

"Tell me something you did that wasn't right today?" she demanded.

"I scared you when I talked about the nursery at my house. That was too fast for you, and I should have anticipated that."

"It wasn't too fast," she rushed to assure him.

"Really? You're ready to go there now?" he pushed back against her politeness.

"No. I'm sorry I'm not ready."

"I always want you to tell me how you feel, and I never want you to be sorry for feeling one way or another," he said sternly. "You've already been very brave to tell me this wasn't the time for you to see the nursery. I was simply using that as an example. Daddies make mistakes, too. I'm counting on you to help me be your best Daddy."

"Okay," she whispered and took a sip of her water.

Deke figured she was giving herself time to think. A few seconds later, he asked, "Little girl. What's your next day off?"

"The day after tomorrow," she answered. "Why?"

"Would you spend the day with me? We could go on a picnic and have some fun in the park. There's a neat one a few miles away from here with swings and big shady trees."

"That sounds like fun. I'd like that. I can make some food tomorrow after work. Or I could get some stuff to go from La Havana," she offered.

"Daddy will take care of the picnic. Are you allergic to anything? Anything you don't like?"

"I don't have any allergies except to something that blooms in the spring. I'll be honest, I'm not too into Chinese food, but I like everything else."

"Perfect. I'll bring a picnic and you can leave your chopsticks at home."

"I like sushi. Well, the non-raw stuff. You can eat those with chopsticks," she added.

"Why do I suddenly get the impression you have a hundred pairs of chopsticks at home?" he teased.

She shrugged and admitted, "I have two pairs. One gold and one bronze. Colored, not like the real metal."

"Maybe someday you'll teach me how to use them. I always just try to stab things with the ends."

"No way! You're joking," she said with twinkling eyes.

"I don't know how to use them, but I'd love to learn. We can go for sushi for our third date when you're off again."

"Are you going to take all my time off?" she asked.

"Yes."