Daddy smiled and pulled me a little closer. “I need you to promise to keep a secret. Can you do that for me, baby boy?”
A secret about Lilly? I needed to know. I crossed my heart to show Daddy I was sincere. “I can! Tell me, please.”
“Okay, so Lilly’s Mommy is taking her on a secret trip tonight.”
I brought my hands up to my mouth, trying to keep my gasp quiet, “Really? Where?”
“Liz is taking them to Paris to visit Liz’s family, but also so she can pop the question to Lilly,” Daddy whispered
I clapped my hand to my mouth to try and stop the excited scream that wanted to burst out of me. “Oh my god, that’s so exciting! I can’t believe Liz managed to arrange it without Lilly springing her.”
“Well I helped arrange the tickets, and I can tell you, it was very hard to keep it a secret from you, sweetheart. But I think you understand why I did,” Daddy said.
I looped my arms over Daddy’s neck and pulled him close. “I do, and I’m so happy you helped Liz do this. I can’t wait till Lilly finds out.”
“As far as I know, Liz plans to propose to Lilly on Christmas Eve.”
I clasped my hands to my chest, sighing that it was so romantic. I’d never imagined myself finding a special someone, but somehow I had found two. And though thoughts of marriage and all that stuff were not even on the cards, I could at least be excited that I was going to have a romantic Christmas with the two men I was pretty sure I was already falling in love with.
Glancing behind Daddy, I saw Papa smiling at us and I waved him over to join the cuddle. I kissed Papa, then Daddy, then pulled away, looking at them both and letting their image soak into my brain. I knew nothing was forever, but at least if things didn’t pan out between the three of us, I would have this one perfect image in my brain.
“If the two of you aren’t careful I’m gonna fall so hard for the both of you,” I whispered, not expecting them to hear over the din of the dinner table conversations.
Daddy glanced at Papa and they both shared a secret smile before they turned to me.
“Oh darling boy, that ship has already set sail and gone round the world twice. We’ve fallen hard for you too.” Daddy kissed me softly, followed by Papa.
I was drowning in their smell and touch, and it was wonderful. I may have pouted when we pulled apart, but I knew they had to host the event. I would get plenty of time with them later. They had both promised to join me in the playroom later, once everyone had moved through to the club.
I was going to have so much fun tonight
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
SEBASTIAN
The main floor of the club room was full of people, all excited and ready to play. The excitement in the room was palpable. Rhys had gone with his daddy to get changed. He had somehow worn most of his tomato sauce and then his Eton mess. I had tried unsuccessfully not to laugh at the shocked face on Rhys when his Daddy had pointed out just how much food he had worn. It seemed Rhys was like me. He got excited about things and swung his hands about, even when he happened to be holding food when it happened.
Before I headed to the playroom, I was going to have to head back to Daddy’s office. I’d forgotten Mama Cass and I wanted to take her with me.
The hallway leading to Daddy’s office was empty, everyone having moved inside the club proper. I was surprised to see the door to the office slightly ajar. I swore Daddy had pulled it closed when we had left. But then, I knew Rhys was coming to get his teddy bear before his Daddy took him to get changed. Maybe they had forgotten to pull the door to.
I wasn’t expecting to find the chair empty, or for Devon to be standing there smirking.
“What did you do with Mama Cass?”
Devon smiled at me coldly before looking down at his nails, pretending to study the gaudy pink polish. “Do you mean that horrible looking bird thing?”
“She’s not horrible. She is a majestic cassowary.”
“She’s fucking ugly, and a child’s toy. I did you a favour and got rid of it.” He looked over his shoulder, and I saw one of the glass doors that led out onto the back yard from Daddies office was open. Fine flakes of snow dusted the rug, as well as wet footprints. Had Devon left Mama Cass outside in the snow?
I balled my fist and the urge to punch him in the face rose. I hated violence, but right now nothing would make me feel as good as popping him on the nose.
But as good as it would feel, the first thing I had to do was find Mama Cass.
“Tell me where she is and I won’t tell my Daddies.” I tried to keep my voice firm and not let the anger I was feeling take over. I couldn’t believe he would do something so mean. I didn’t even know him that well, and he was being such a dick.
“See, that’s not going to work for me. I’ll tell you what. You leave now and don’t come back, forget about Marco and Roman, and I’ll tell you where your stupid toy is.”
