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“I think so,” she said softly, dropping her eyes to their hands. “If you want me there.”
“Of course I do,” he breathed. “I’ve wanted that since…” He trailed off, and her gaze lifted to him. “Since the first day I met you.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
She couldn’t help the cheesy grin that spread across her face, warmth settling deep in her chest. It was one thing knowing he wanted her, that he loved her—which she still couldn’t freaking believe—but it was different knowing he wanted her around all the time. That he wanted to live with her.
Bringing her hand to the back of his mouth, he pressed a lingering kiss to it. Their gaze’s held as he kept his lips on her skin, and that warmth in her chest traveled lower, pooling in her belly. The promise of what was to come when they got home shone in his eyes, making her press her thighs together.
But then someone behind them honked, and the spell was broken.
Chuckling, he lowered their hands to her lap as he rolled forward. She looked out the window, still shifting in her seat, excited and nervous about tonight. As they drove along the quiet street, her brows began to bunch.
“Where are we going?” she asked again, but unsurprisingly, he stayed quiet. “Daddy?”
“Patience, pretty girl.”
She didn’t have any patience, though. None. There wasn’t a patient bone in her freaking body. She wanted to know what was happening, and she wanted to know now.
Instead of throwing a tantrum she knew would only end with her over his lap, she took a deep breath, forcing her curiosity and suspicions down. But it was hard, especially when she recognized the area.
In the back of her mind, she had an idea but didn’t want to get her hopes up by being wrong. So instead of letting herself get excited about the possibility, she tried to sit still.
It was impossible.
She bounced as they got closer to their destination, the faint lights used to line the park already illuminated. “The park?” she asked, and his smile broadened. “We’re going to the park?”
He chuckled as he pulled into the same parking space his truck had been in the first day they met. “I should’ve brought you here instead of that stuffy restaurant,” he said as he turned to face her.
“It’s okay.” She shrugged. “I thought it was where you wanted to go.”
“I thought you’d want princess treatment tonight,” he said.
“I get princess treatment every night.”
Reaching out, he cupped the side of her face, letting her melt into his touch. “And you’ll get it every night until I die.”
“Die?” Her eyes widened in panic. “I don’t want you to die, Daddy.”
“Not anytime soon,” he reassured her, his big thumb stroking her soft cheek. “Ready?”
She blinked at him. “For what?”
“For our picnic.”
* * *
With his handwrapped around hers, and the bag of snacks weighing down his other one, he felt a sense of rightness settle over him as he led his girl from his truck to the bench she’d been pacing in front of the first day they met.
It was only weeks ago, but it felt like a lifetime between now and then. So much had happened, they’d gotten so close, and he’d fallen face-first head over heels for her.
She was buzzing with excitement beside him, her big eyes wide as she took everything in. He knew she wanted to bounce around like she always did when she couldn’t contain her emotions, but she couldn’t while they were walking. So when they got to the bench and she stared at it, then up at him, bouncing on the balls of her feet, he wasn’t all that surprised.
“This is where we’re eating?” she asked, and he dipped his chin in a slight nod. She glanced at the empty playground, and his lips twitched.
“You can play afterward, if you’re a good girl.” Her eyes darted back to him as she shook her head.
