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Nova was so excited she wiggled and her eyes sparkled without the reflection of the lights. “Can we, Daddy? Please?”
Nova asking him permission blew his mind in the best way.
“You bet, little girl. One more time and then you and the horses will be ready to go inside and warm up, okay? I don’t want any fussing.”
“No, Daddy. No fussing, I promise.”
The wide-eyed, pink-cheeked earnestness made his heart contract.
“One more time then. Drive on, Arlo,” he called, and the stable hand got the dapple-gray Clydesdales moving again.
Nova seemed as charmed the second time around as she did the first, and she kept her word to not complain or fuss when they made it back to the starting point—again.
Linc shook Arlo’s hand. “Thanks for helping me out, man. I really appreciate it.”
Arlo shrugged. “Anytime. It’s nice making the Littles happy, and Atlas and Herc get all proud pulling the sleigh, makes them happy too. Nova, you want to give the boys their treats and say goodnight?”
“Ooo, yes please!”
She was so cute the way she gave the horses what looked like giant peppermint candies pulled from Arlo’s pockets and rubbed their velvety noses. He could only imagine the field day the Enclave girls would have at this place. Maybe someday they’d get to find out.
They said one last goodnight to Arlo, Atlas, and Hercules, and then headed back inside.
After he got Nova to her apartment, he stripped off her clothes and got her into a nice hot bath that would hopefully melt the stress of the past couple days away. It had been a lot on him as a grownup, and for a Little, well, that’d be more than a lot.
It was easier to get her into her pajamas afterward than it had been the night before, and it made his chest warm to tuck her and Custard in under the covers. The only thing that would’ve made it better is if he was climbing in beside her. But they hadn’t talked about that, and him asking now wouldn’t be fair. So he’d say goodnight and check on her first thing in the morning.
“Thank you for”—yawn—“doing that. I’m so glad I got to see them.”
“You’re very welcome. I’m glad you got to see them too.”
“Daddy?”
Could he possibly keep Nova sleepy or excited all the damn time so she would keep calling him that?
“Yeah, little girl?”
He pushed her hair back from her forehead and she smiled with her eyes closed, but then the smile melted away.
“You still”—another adorable yawn—“need to find someone to wife up.”
Nova might not want to hear it, but looking at her beautiful face softening into sleep, Linc thought he already had.
Chapter 27
Nova had been looking forward to this sleepover since Sadie and Quinn invited her a month ago. Now that it was here though…
She still wanted to go and she was truly looking forward to having a New Year’s Eve Eve slumber party with her Little friends, but she would be a liar, liar pants on fire if she said she wasn’t going to miss spending time with Linc. Maybe it was for the best that she had plans with her friends because he really hadn’t been spending nearly enough time with other women.
It was a tricky business, having a crush on the man you were trying to set up with his bride-to-be. Especially when he maybe seemed to like you back. A man wouldn’t volunteer to do manual labor on his vacation just to make it possible for you to go on a sleigh ride to see some lights if he didn’t like you, would he?
But there was still that note of doubt in the back of her mind like a song that got stuck in your head and wouldn’t leave. She’d thought he liked her before, and she’d been naive. And then very, very disappointed.
This was no time to be sulking over long ago heartache. She had to finish packing and then make her way up to the Big House. Probably through the tunnel because it had been so chilly this week and she didn’t want Linc to punish her for being careless again.
Or did she?
It’s not that she’d enjoyed it—she hadn’t, and she could swear there were still slight indentations in the skin on her knees from that evil rice—but it had made her feel cared for and cherished, and maybe she wasn’t being sensible, butloved. Linc had come for her, and when she was well enough to be punished, he’d designed consequences that were harsh but didn’t violate any of her boundaries. And given her what she needed for aftercare, and then spoiled her with a sleigh ride.
