chapter twenty-Seven
Daddy Time
Tasha
I haven’t been able to stop smiling. LaSalle and I sat in the bathtub talking for hours after making love. It was the perfect ending to the perfect night. I fell asleep in his arms feeling happy and loved.
When I woke this morning, it was to LaSalle staring down at me as he stroked my face. The smile he gave me melted my heart into a puddle in my chest cavity. I reached up and traced his brows, causing him to take my hand and kiss my palm.
I was disappointed when my brain cleared and I noticed he was already dressed in sweats. He chuckled at my expression. Kissing my nose, he winked.
“Today is a big day. I have a lot to do. I’ll pick up the kids and bring them home. Then I need to do a few things. I’ll see you later,” he said before kissing my lips, then my forehead.
I haven’t seen him since he left out this morning. The children came running in the house without him. We’ve been playing in the living room since their return.
“You know you’re glowing,” Camille sings, when all the kids jump up to run to the playroom to watch a movie. I know it has been killing her not to say anything for the last thirty minutes, since she arrived. It has been written all over her face.
I turn to her and shrug. “Nope, had no idea,” I say nonchalantly.
“Oh please,” Cam says and rolls her eyes. “You know good and damn well you’re glowing. Was it that amazing? I’ve seen what he’s working with before.”
My head snaps in her direction and my eyes narrow. “I happen to like you. Don’t make me cut you,” I sneer.
Cam throws her head back and laughs. I’m not laughing or joking. The idea of anyone else seeing LaSalle’s perfection, but me, pisses me off. It’s bad enough I know I’m far from his first.
“Oh, My God, you’re worse than Pam. You have nothing to worry about. Sam is like a brother to me. I happened to see him by accident,” Cam shrugs.
“Well, that type of accident won’t be happening again,” I mutter.
“Stop avoiding my question. Did you do anything we said?”
“Not really, I tried the music and striptease thing. He sort of took over before I could do the rest,” I bite my lip as I drift off into a memory of last night.
“Oh, it was good, alright. The look on your face tells it all. You look different, and I don’t mean that just lost my virginity different. Something else has changed.”
I shrug again. “Not sure what that could be.”
“Um,” Cam pulls a face.
She goes to open her mouth again, but Czar walks in. I smile at my brother and get up to hug him. I wrinkle my brows at the boxes he has to put down before he opens his arms to receive my hug.
“You staying out of trouble?” Cee murmurs into my hair.
“Maybe,” I giggle.
“That means no,” Czar laughs. “Where are the kids?”
“In the playroom. What’s up?”
“I came to pick up Sammy and drop this stuff off,” Czar says.
Again, I look at the boxes he just brought in. They are large white boxes, each box with a bow in a different shade of pink. There are four boxes in all.
“What are they?” I ask.
“There’s one for each of the girls. I was told to drop them off and ask you to help the girls,” Czar says and lifts his shoulder.
I reach for the card on top the first box and it has Milanie’s name on it. Curious, I call out for the girls. The three come running followed by Shauna, Logan’s little girl. She came over with Cam today.
“It looks like you girls just received some gifts,” I say handing Milanie the first box.
She squeals and goes to sit and open it. The next box is for Jessica. I hand her hers and she beams up at me. My curiosity heightens as I read the next card. It’s for Shauna.
“Well, look at that Shauna, Baby, there’s one for you too,” she smiles shyly and take the box.
“Phanx, ma’am,” she says. I just love her little Irish accent. She’s the cutest little thing.
I hand Megan the last box and turn to see what the other girls have pulled from their boxes as they ‘ooh’ and ‘ah’. I think my heart almost bursts from my chest. My eyes fill with tears and I have to stumble to my seat. If I didn’t love LaSalle before, I just fell in love with him a million times over.
The looks on their faces says a million words. I look to see Czar recording with his phone. I look back at the girls and their little faces.
“Wow,” I breathe. “He is such a good father.”
“Can you help me read this,” Shauna says to Cam holding out the letter that was in her box.
Camille makes a dramatic show of taking the letter and reading it, as if she’s announcing the royals or something. All of the girls start to giggle.
“Dear Princess Shauna. Please proceed to get ready for the Royal Daddy and Princess Ball. Your chariot awaits you. Love your Da, Logan O’Brien.”
“Oh, my God, that is so sweet,” I gush.
“What does mine say,” Milanie asks anxiously rushing over to me.
I laugh when she hands me her letter. That fucking Misha. It is written in Russian. Czar and I are probably the only ones able to read it to her.
“My little treasure, Milanie. This gown could never be as beautiful as you. Hurry and dress for our Papa, Daughter date. There is magic waiting. Love you, little princess.” I read for her.
Jessica has read her letter and her sister’s. They are already trying to wiggle into the little dresses that were clearly tailor made for them. LaSalle didn’t buy the dresses from the site, the ones he thought were too cheap for his little girls.
The little gowns are so intricately designed and made. I can tell he modeled them after the ones I showed him, but these are so much better. They’re simply gorgeous. They have to be made of real silk as fine as they look. I’m in awe. They even have little satin slippers.
“Did you know about this?” I ask Cam, as she wipes the corners of her eyes.
“Not a clue,” she shakes her head. “The man is wearing me down. I think my ovaries are weeping.”
I throw my head back and laugh so hard my belly aches. I know what she means, though. With a smile on my face, I help the girls gather their boxes and everything in them. I shake my head when I see the matching silk bags inside the boxes.
We go to the girls’ room and get all four of them changed into their little outfits. There are tiny little tiaras for each of them. Nothing was forgotten. We work on their hair and fix their little crowns.
Camille and I are both choked up by the girls lit up eyes and contagious excitement. When everyone’s dressed up, we head out expecting to find Czar ready to take them to their fathers.
What we find instead, has my mouth on the floor. LaSalle, Logan, and Misha are standing in the foyer looking like three mouthwatering kings, awaiting their little princesses. Each in black tuxedos, tailored to perfection. Each handsome in his own right. The girls squeal and run into their fathers’ arms.
My tears finally slip as I watch how tightly each man holds his little precious girl or girls in LaSalle’s case. The look of love on their faces as they hold onto their little girls, like they could just keep them this way forever. It is an amazing sight, especially knowing who these men are to the rest of the world.
LaSalle opens his eyes and looks up at me. He winks at me and I can’t help but swoon. His smile grows wider and he stands to his full height. He opens his arms for me to come to him.
I move closer, not wanting to take away from the girls’ moment. They look up at me beaming. LaSalle reaches for me tugging me closer.
He pecks my lips and plants his lips to my forehead. “Thank you for your help,” he says against my skin.
“I didn’t do anything,” I say.
“You did more than you know,” he says, looking down into my eyes.
I cup his cheek. “I love you,” I whisper.
He takes my hand and kisses my fingertips. He wraps an arm around my waist and leans into my ear. “I love you too. I’ll see you tonight.”
I shiver and step out of his hold. The promise in the rasp in his voice is enough for my panties to turn into liquid. I turn to see Misha watching us with a smirk on his face.
The guys scoop the girls up into their arms and they’re off. Those four lucky little girls. I know they’re about to be spoiled out of their minds.
Cam leans onto my shoulder. “I need sex. I need it bad and that man is going to be the one that gives it to me if I don’t get him out of my house. God, I know he gives it rough. I like rough. He looks like he gives it rough, right,” Cam says as she undresses Logan with her eyes, while he walks away.
I cover my mouth and try not to laugh. She bumps me with her hip. I can’t hold my laughter any longer.
“What are you waiting for? I see the way he watches you,” I tease.
Cam shakes her head. “I want to fuck. He wants something else. I’m not ready for something else. I just got out of a shit marriage,” she sighs.
“Cam, seriously. I heard about your ex and your marriage. I know that fine ass man that just walked out of here is nothing like the asshole I heard you were married to.”
“Mom,” we hear whined from down the hall.
Camille looks at me pointedly. “Yup, staying in my corner.”
I shake my head at her as she walks away. I know her days are numbered. I see the way Logan looks at her.
~B~
Sam
“Daddy, this is so much fun,” Megan giggles with chocolate frosting smeared on her little face.
Jessica licks her own face and nods her head. “I love my dress. Can I wear it to school?”
I laugh and smile at my little girl. “I don’t know about that one. We’ll see,” I reply, not wanting to erase the beautiful smiles from their faces.
“Time for our dance, Wee Loves,” Logan says and winks at Shauna.
Logan, Misha, Nate, Bobby, Marcus, Uri, Wyatt, Toby, and I stand, lifting our little girls in our arms to carry them out to the dance floor. My father rented an old Long Island Mansion for us to use tonight. When Logan, Misha, and I shared that we wanted to throw the girls a ball, the rest of the guys decided they wanted to join in.
I wasn’t surprised when Wyatt said he was flying in. He adores his little Nora. Lulu has Toby wrapped around her tiny finger as well.
All of our daughters range in different ages, Jessica being the oldest, but they’re all smiling tonight. My girls needed this. I will never be able to replace their mother, but I’m trying my best with them.
Sam may be gone, but their papa will always be here. My children mean the world to me. My chest tightens as I think of their heartache. Tonight, seeing them happy is the most important thing to me.
So far, so good. The girls have been on a rented tea cup ride, pony rides, seen a puppet show, taken pictures with hired princesses, you name it. We pulled out all the stops.
As we reach the dance floor, Michael Bolton’s, Fathers and Daughters, starts to play through the sound system. Every father starts to dance with his little girl or girls around the floor. There are more Alphas than I can count in this room, but if you looked in their faces at this moment, you wouldn’t know that every single one is ready and able to kill for those little girls.
“You know Daddy loves you,” I say as I spin my two around, one cradled in each arm.
“We love you too, Daddy,” Jessica says and rests her head on my shoulder.
Megan nods. “We have the best Daddy in the world,” Megan sings as her eyes light up at me.
I kiss the tops of my girls’ heads. Looking around at my friends dressed in tuxedos, holding their hearts in their arms does something to me. I didn’t think I could go on, a few months ago. Now, I know I have to, I know I can.
“I have the best girls in the world,” I smile back.
“The best is yet to come,” Jessica whispers.
It’s the way she says it. I turn to focus on her. She’s looking up at me, but not. She has that look Ellen used to get. I blink back tears when I realize what’s happening.
I squeeze Jessica closer to my chest and press my lips to her forehead. I wish Ellen were here for this, but I will do whatever I can to help my daughter understand that part of herself. Even talk to a family I planned to write off.
~B~
Tasha
“We shouldn’t be here,” I whisper from our hiding place.
“Oh, my God, there is no way I’m missing this,” Val says with emotion in her voice. “I love my husband even more.”
“Nate is so getting some pussy tonight,” Pam sniffles.
“You snatched the words out of my mouth,” Paige giggles.
“I can’t believe they did this. If I’m pregnant in a month, it wasn’t my fault,” Kamara breathes.
“You, don’t blame me if you hear too much on the flight back home. Wyatt is so getting the best sex of his life. Look at the smile on Nora’s face,” Nellie cries.
I look out at the one Nellie pointed out as Wyatt. I remember seeing Nellie and Wyatt at the repass for Ellen’s funeral, but this is my first time meeting Nellie and Kamara. Wyatt is holding his little girl in his arms. Her face is lit up with her tiny teeth showing. Wyatt presses his forehead to hers and she cups her father’s face.
“This song is perfect too,” I smile. “I hope they remember this when they get older.”
“I need to go,” Camille rushes out and runs back the way we snuck in.
I look out to see Logan holding Shauna tightly to his chest. His big shoulders are shaking as his daughter’s arms are wrapped around his neck. His face is buried into her tiny neck.
Knowing what I know of Logan’s story, I feel a lump form in my throat. I feel like we are trespassing. I start to back away, but stop as something catches my eyes.
LaSalle has placed both girls on their feet. He kneels before them and reaches inside his tux jacket. He pulls out a box and reveals it to Jessica.
I watch as her little hand goes to her mouth. LaSalle says something to her we can’t hear, and she nods. LaSalle then places a necklace around her neck. He reaches in his jacket again and reveals a second box to Megan.
Again, he says something and Megan replies, as she nods her dark head. LaSalle fastens a necklace around her little neck and pulls both girls into a hug. Yup, we shouldn’t be here. This is too intimate.
I turn to leave, as the other ladies spy on their men. I take my hat off to each man out there, they have shown just how much they love the little women in their lives. Those girls are as precious as gold to them.
It’s time I talk to my father.