Page 8 of Her Gentle Daddy
For now. Until I leave, and he finds another Little to move in.
And why did that thought bother her? She wondered how long it had been since the last Little had used his nursery. Gabby forced herself to shake off the thought because she didn’t want to think about it too deeply.
“Thank you.”
Sean smiled and nodded, then he straightened himself and stepped back from the doorframe.
“I’ll let you get settled. If you need anything at all, I’ll be downstairs. Did you eat lunch already?”
She nodded. Gabby wasn’t about to tell him that her lunch had consisted of a handful of crackers. Sean smiled and disappeared from the doorway, leaving her alone in the room that was designed for a princess.
Slowly, she walked around touching as many surfaces and toys as possible, trying to ingrain everything into her mind so she could remember it forever. The bedding was fluffy and soft, and the carpet was just as plush in here as it was in the other bedroom. She loved soft things, and the room had plenty of those. There were several stuffed toys lined up at the head of the bed, and she picked up each one individually and decided on names for each.
She named the monkey, Bananas, Honey for the bear, Spike for the hedgehog, and Melvin for the moose. Smiling to herself as she positioned each one around the pillows, Gabby went into the guest room, grabbed her dog Patches, and added him to the group of stuffed animals. After being in the nursery, she knew there was no other room she wanted to stay in.
Feeling satisfied with the way her new friends were set up, Gabby went to the bookcase and sat down on her knees to look through each title. When she was cleaning at the club, she went into the Littles’ area a lot, and she would wipe down some of the toys and pick up a doll to hold for a minute or two before putting it back. Now, she had a whole nursery to herself to explore and, as Sean said, make herself at home.
Gabby would make sure not to get too comfortable or mess anything up in the nursery. She had learned over the years that breaking things or messing things up would almost always get her in trouble, so she would make sure to keep everything neat.
She had no idea how long she had been exploring the room when Sean knocked on the doorframe and startled her. She hadn’t heard him coming down the hall, which meant she had been entirely unaware of her surroundings.
Not good, Gabby.
“Sorry, sweetheart, I didn’t mean to frighten you. I just brought up some snacks. I hope you like apples with peanut butter and cheese and crackers?”
Her tummy rumbled at the mention of the delicious snacks, and she hoped he hadn’t heard it. She nodded and smiled, which earned her a warm smile from Sean as he walked in and set the pink princess plate down on the small art table.
“I’m going to make dinner in a bit. I’ll come up and get you when it’s ready. Are you doing okay up here?”
Gabby felt terrible that she found it so hard to talk to him. It wasn’t just him. It was all men, really, and even some women. Her anxiety overtook her sometimes when she had to speak and would result in a full-blown panic attack. Luckily, at the moment she wasn’t having that kind of anxiety around Sean, making it a bit easier to speak.
“I’m good. Thank you.”
He nodded and disappeared again. She let out a deep breath and walked over to the plate of snacks. She smiled when she saw the cheese slices were cut into little stars and the apple slices had the skin removed. It was the cutest plate of snacks she’d ever seen. Almost too cute to eat. Almost.
3
SEAN
Having Gabby in his house made everything feel warmer and cozier. Even though she was upstairs in the nursery and he was down in his office, he could still feel her presence in the house. When he had walked up with a plate of snacks and found her sitting on her knees, leaning forward to look at all the picture books, he could barely breathe. She was adorable and had the sweetest innocence about her that made his Daddy side go crazy.
Obviously, she was nervous and easily startled, which concerned him because he wanted her to feel completely safe. He also noticed that she spoke very little and wondered about that. Was she just uncomfortable or was there another reason that it was hard for her to talk? Whichever it was, he didn’t mind that she was quiet. As long as he understood what she needed from him, he could make it work.
His phone vibrated with a text from Zane.
Everything going okay?
Sean sent a thumbs-up back and put his phone down.
He appreciated the fact that Zane had thought of him to take in Gabby. He could see what Zane had been talking about when he’d said she needed a softer Daddy. He didn’t suspect she would have done very well if she had gone home with Zane and Jace. Sean already couldn’t stand the thought of her going home with any other Daddy, for that matter.
Sean had more questions than answers when it came to Gabby and who she was as a woman and a Little. He wondered what had made her move to Seattle and why she didn’t have any family to stay with or help her out. He wanted to know why she was so scared and jumpy. He had a feeling the poor woman had been through a lot in her lifetime, and he might never know the depth of it, but he sure hoped she would trust him enough to tell him one day.
After making a list of supplies he needed to pick up to ensure Gabby had a comfortable stay at his house, Sean went to the kitchen and looked through the cupboards for ingredients to make dinner. He hadn’t asked Gabby if she had any allergies, so he decided to make three separate items instead of a casserole.
While he cooked, Sean wondered what she was doing in the nursery. He hoped she was making herself comfortable and getting into all the toys. The stuffed dog that she’d had with her looked well-loved, and while he knew most Littles always had a favorite stuffy, he’d loved seeing her eyes light up when she’d seen all the stuffed animals on the bed.
Making his way upstairs to get her for dinner, he was shocked when he stepped in the doorway and saw that the room looked barely touched. Gabby was sitting on the floor, gently turning the page of one of the picture books.