Page 19 of Willa’s Weddings

Her breath hitched as she sobbed. Not the sharp, painful cry of hurt, but the slow, melting sob of relief and gratitude. She curled into me with her entire body trembling.

I wrapped her in the softest blanket I could grab from the edge of the bed and just held her.

“Shh.” I rocked her in my arms. “It’s all right, baby. You did so well.”

She clung to me, her cheek hot and wet against my sternum.

I stroked her hair and back until she calmed.

Eventually she looked up at me with eyes red but clear. Her lips parted as if she was about to apologize.

I beat her to it. “I’m so proud of you, Willa. You could have stopped us at any time, but you trusted me to give you what you needed.”

She smiled, and the pride was visible in her eyes. “Thank you, Daddy.”

I let her rest in my lap, humming until her tears had dried. When she finally sat up, I caught her chin and pulled her in for a kiss.

She melted into it, and giggled when I nipped her lip.

Her face broke into a radiant smile, and for a second, I almost said it. I almost blurted out the thing that had been building in my chest all week.

But I held back, letting the moment stretch.

Willa didn’t.

She ducked her head and let her hair fall into her eyes. “I love you, Troy.”

Those words hit me like a freight train. I swallowed hard and nodded. “I love you, too, Willa Rose.”

We curled up together and tangled in her bed. After hearing a summary of every minute of the time she missed me, she fell asleep in my arms. Naked and safe and gorgeous and mine.

And I was there for it. Right where I’d always wanted to be.

EPILOGUE

WILLA

The days leading up to our playdate made me both excited and nervous.

My friends all knew and loved Troy and they were supportive of our relationship, but I wasn’t 100% ready for our alone time to be over. We’d been basking in a love-cocoon for weeks but I missed my friends and Troy probably wanted some guy time too.

He would never admit it and I didn’t want to either, but we both missed the Little Lovelies and it was time to face reality again.

So when Poppy invited us to meet them at the playroom, Daddy said yes before I could pout. I think he wanted to show me off as his girl. And truthfully, I wanted to show him off too. I’d never had a real Daddy like Troy and playing with my friends while having a Daddy around was something I’d fantasized about for years.

Poppy’s Place wasn’t fancy on the outside, but the inside was a playground of stuffies, dolls, dressup clothes, and all the art supplies we didn’t want to keep at home. There were even clouds painted on the ceiling and well-labeled bins of toys.

We were barely through the door when Poppy and Carter ambushed us. Carter lifted me off my feet in a surprise bear hug. “Hey, girl. Long time, no see.”

“Whoa, careful, big guy.” Troy chuckled even as he put an arm out to steady me. “She’s still breakable.”

“Nah, she’s a tough cookie!” Poppy pulled me to her chest the second I was out of Carter’s grasp. “I’ve seen her rollerblade down mountains and chase wedding crashers away with a cake knife. She can handle our big hugs.”

“Um, I’m standing right here.” I kicked off my Converse and pretended to be annoyed. I used to pull off annoyance so easily but now it was hard to pull up. I was just so happy. “Yes, I’m a tough cookie, but more importantly…what’s happening over there?” I pointed to the table of unfrosted cupcakes and jaws of decorations.

“It’s for our craft!” Poppy grabbed my hand and pulled me toward Kylie. “Kylie wanted us to celebrate.” Poppy picked up a mini marshmallow and popped it into her mouth. “I’m the taste tester and these are yummy.”

“Save the marshmallows for the cakes, baby girl!” Carter was standing by the wall with Troy but he kept a close eye on his girl. “You’ve done plenty of testing already.”