“That’s good. That means you’ll have plenty of energy for all the fun stuff I have planned.”
Ellie gasped in excitement, nearly falling off my lap. “We have plans? What kind?” Not wanting to risk Ellie getting excited again and falling, I decided it’d be best to go ahead and show them. I took them to the living room and sat them down on the fluffy rug in front of the coffee table. “Wait right here, and I’ll show you.” I didn’t have to go too far to grab the items I had stashed earlier. “Cover your eyes.”
Ellie did as I asked and giggled up a storm as I carefully placed the tea set, the nail polish supplies, and even some new coloring books I had found on the table.
“Okay, you can open your eyes now, princess.”
“Daddy!” Ellery gasped, eyes wide with excitement, as they took in all the goodies.
“The tea set is so pretty! Sparkle polish too. Oh em gee. Can I paint your nails, Daddy?”
When I bought the polish, I assumed my princess would be the one getting their nails painted, but it seemed they had other ideas. It made me chuckle. Nothing was as it seemed with my princess. I didn’t have anything against nail polish, it just wasn’t my thing, but if my princess wanted to paint my nails, then I was damn well going to let them. “Of course, princess, that sounds like fun. Would you like your nails painted as well?”
“Yes, please, Daddy!”
“What would you like to do first, darling?”
Ellie put their hand on their chin and hummed with deep concentration. I bit my lips, stifling a laugh. I didn’t want them to think I was making fun of them. They were just so adorable when they got serious about something.
“Nail salon!”
“You got it, princess.”
Ellery cheered in excitement, and their eyes practically sparkled as I grabbed everything we needed. Once I had the table set up with all our supplies, I bowed in front of Ellery, extending my hand out toward them when I rose.
“My princess, I shall be escorting you to your nail appointment.”
My sweet Ellie giggled and took my hand, and I led them across the incredibly short distance until we were in front of the coffee table. I placed a cushion on the floor and helped Ellery settle.
Ellie picked the purple sparkle polish, obviously. They were a bit wiggly during the process, but I didn’t mind. Their smile was damn near blinding at times, and it filled me with the utmost pride that I was the one who put it there.
“It’s so sparkly, Daddy. I’m gonna be the prettiest princess.”
I couldn’t help myself as I leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on the tip of their nose. “You are always the prettiest princess, but now you’ll just be even more sparkly than before.”
Ellie giggled and tried their best to stay still, but I could tell they were struggling. Thankfully, I’d had practice, so it didn’t take long before I had every adorable finger painted.
“Thank you, Daddy. It looks so good, I love it!”
My heart felt so full, and I was thrilled that something so simple meant so much to my darling princess.
“You’re welcome, darling.”
Ellie jumped up and spun around in a circle. “Daddy turn! Daddy turn.”
When they stopped spinning, they were slightly dizzy, and I managed to catch them and make sure they didn’t bump their hands.
“Whoa, princess. Not quite yet. We have to wait.”
My heart nearly broke when Ellie’s eyes got big and watery, and their lip jutted out into a full-on pout. “But Daddy, you said I could paint your nails.”
“I did, and you’re going to. But I don’t want your pretty nails to get messed up. We need to wait a few minutes for them to dry before you can paint mine.”
Their pouty lip didn’t budge, but they let out a soft sigh that had my heart wanting to crack in half. “Okay, Daddy. I’ll be good and wait.” Ellie’s obvious displeasure bothered me in ways I didn’t understand, but I did have a solution.
“I think I saw some cookies hiding in the cabinet earlier. Since you did so well for me while I painted your nails, I think you deserve a cookie while we wait.”
“Cookie! Cookie! Please, Daddy!”
