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“Daddy, do you want to play?”

He blinked down at her, surprised she’d slipped into Little mode like that without any prompting from him. He frowned. Did he want to do this now? Didn’t he want to be on his own? He opened his mouth to tell her that, then shut it. Actually, maybe this was what he needed. And from the look in her eyes, a mix of concern and caring, he thought maybe she knew that.

“Well, you should be going down for a nap.”

Disappointment filled her gaze. “I don’t need a nap, Daddy.”

“Hm, I suppose we could play for a while before you have to nap. But you are still having a nap, little miss.” He tapped her nose playfully.

“Yay! What should we play? I don’t really have any toys.”

Hm. That was an issue. Then something occurred to him. “I might have something. Why don’t you get Bunnykins and Kiki and go potty if you need to? I’ll meet you in the living room soon.”

“What? You mean I can use the bathroom on my own?” she muttered.

He turned back and gave her a sharp smack on her ass. “Don’t be cheeky.”

As he wandered towards the storage room, he was surprised to find he had a smile on his face. Maybe this was exactly what he needed.

When he returned with the old-fashioned suitcase a few minutes later, she stared at him in confusion. She was kneeling on the floor with her two soft toys. It made him sad that she didn’t have a huge collection of stuffies to play with. She deserved to be coddled and spoiled.

Well, he could do that while he was here.

He set the suitcase down on the floor and opened it, inside there was a plaid blanket.

“What is it, Daddy?” She moved closer, curiosity filling her face.

Instead of answering, he unfolded open the blanket, revealing the small crockery tea set inside.

“This was Nan’s when she was a little girl,” he explained, unwrapping the tissue from around the first piece. Which was a small tea cup with roses painted on it.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Here you go.” He held out the cup, “I’ll unwrap them and you can set up the tea party for you and your friends.”

“Oh, no, I can’t, Daddy.”

He stared at her in confusion. “Why not? Don’t you want a tea party?”

“Yes, but don’t you have any plastic cups and plates and things?” Her fingers twisted together, her worry clear.

“Little one, what’s the matter?”

“I might drop them,” she whispered worriedly. “What if I break one? They’re special and you’ll get mad and Penny will be disappointed in me.” Tears welled in her eyes, dripping down her cheeks.

“Hey.” He placed the cup down on the floor and reached for her, pulling her onto his lap. She actually shook in his arms. Jesus. “It doesn’t matter if one of them breaks.”

“Yes, it does. They’re old and precious. And I’m stupid and clumsy.”

God, if he ever met her father. . .well, probably better that he didn’t ever meet him. He didn’t want to end up in jail. He’d pretended he didn’t know that her dad hit her when she’d told him about the asshole the other day. He didn’t want to confess he’d read an old entry in her diary. He wouldn’t normally have done that. It was an invasion of privacy, but he’d been desperate to find her.

He gave her a firm look. “You are not stupid and clumsy. That’s something your dad used to say to you because he wanted you to feel small and it made him feel big to hurt you. But that doesn’t make it true.”

“It feels true.”

“I know it does, sweet pea. But each time you have those thoughts or hear his voice, you need to remember this. You are beautiful, smart and strong. Say it after me. I am beautiful, smart and strong.”

“I am beautiful, smart and strong.” Her voice was so soft he barely heard her.


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