Crossing my arms, I slump down in my seat. “I don’t like this Daddy. I want my nice Daddy back.”
Mommy and Daddy share a look, and that nervousness I felt when I first woke up comes rushing back.
But before I can ask what the look means, the doorbell rings and Daddy sighs. “I’ll go get the pizza.”
When he disappears, Mommy wags a finger in my direction. “Mommy is going to grab some plates and cups. You sit right there, Juniper Skye, and don’t move a muscle.”
The second she turns her back, I flex my biceps to prove I can move as many muscles as I want. But I don’t actually get out of the chair because I’m more than a little scared of what she’ll do if I disobey her that openly.
Daddy returns carrying two boxes over his head like he’s just won the World Series, and I can’t help but giggle at him as he sets the boxes down on the table with a flourish. Mommy isn’t too far behind and before long we all have plates laden with giant pizza slices and cups full of soda—well, my sippy cup is only half full because apparently, “Little girls don’t need all that sugar and caffeine”—in front of us.
Just as I’m picking up my pizza, though, Mommy’s voice freezes the blood in my very veins.
“All right, little girl. We need to talk.”
CHAPTER 14
VALENTINA
Sometimes, I wonder if I’m secretly a very bad person.
Other times, like now, I know I am.
Because watching the way Junie’s eyes widen, seeing the trepidation there, and in the way her bottom lip wobbles ever so slightly has my heart tripping in my chest. There is nothing sweeter, in my opinion, than a Little girl trying to figure out if she’s in trouble or not.
Eyes darting between me and her Daddy, Junie swallows hard. “Wh-what do we need to talk about?”
“Well, for starters, we need to talk about today.” Hardening my voice, I fix her with a stern look. “You already know what you did was very naughty, Juniper Skye. It wasn’t very nice to trick us the way you did.”
Tears glimmer on her lashes. “You already spanked me for that!”
“We did,” Bash agrees, his head nodding slowly. “But we need to talk about why you did it. You said you set us up because you were hoping we’d both want you to be our Little girl. Is that something you still want?”
Junie’s head bobs up and down so quickly I worry she might give herself whiplash. “Yes, yes, double yes!”
Glancing to the side, I meet Bash’s gaze and we share a grin before schooling our expressions back into stern masks. “Well in that case, we need to go over your rules, little girl.”
The bobbing stops and Junie stares at us with wide, round eyes. “What kinda rules?”
“Daddy and I made a list while you were napping.” At my nod, Bash pulls a paper from his pocket and unfolds it, smoothing the paper down so she can read.
Leaning forward, Junie scans the list, her nose wrinkling as she reads. “That’s so many!”
“It is.” Not for the first time, worry wriggles its way into my chest. “But your Daddy and I both believe that Little girls need plenty of rules so they always know how to behave.”
And to give them plenty of excuses to be naughty.
A frown tugs at Junie’s lips as she reads the list again. “I can’t follow all of these.”
“Why not?” Bash asks, as if he and I weren’t prepared for this exact conversation.
“Well, like this one!” Heaving a dramatic sigh, Junie points to the paper. “How am I supposed to ask permissioneverytime I leave my house? What if I’m running late to work? Do I have to wait for one of you to tell me I’m allowed to go?”
“Ah, I see your confusion.” My heart picks up speed and I reach for Bash’s hand beneath the table. “These are rules forourLittle girl. AndourLittle girl would live here, with us.”
Across the table, Junie’s mouth drops open. “You–You want me to move in with you?”
“We do.” Bash’s voice is gentle, as if Junie is a forest animal he’s worried about spooking. “We know it would be a big change, especially with all the rules, but?—”
