* * *
Her hair was a mess. She burst into giggles as she finally took a look in the bathroom mirror. She was glad she hadn’t gone outside looking like this. Not that she’d ever tell him that. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings when he’d tried so hard.
She rolled her eyes at the idea of hurting Duke’s feelings. The guy was hard as rocks.
On the outside. On the inside though. . .yeah, there was definitely a softer side to him. She’d already gotten dressed, now she redid her hair so it hung down her back in a braid. Maybe she could do something different with her hair. And maybe she should get some new clothes. Everything she wore was a few sizes too big. She’d long ago lost interest in shopping.
He said he doesn’t want you to change yourself for him.
Yeah. But this would be for her. Because she wasn’t entirely sure she was happy with the Sunny staring back at her. A knock on the front door startled her out of her thoughts and she gathered up her stuff, putting some cash and her ID in her back pocket in case they stopped.
Then she opened her door.
Oh shit. He looked fine. He wore the same jeans, but he now had his leather jacket on. It was black with patches down the arms.
“All ready? Where are your gloves and scarf?”
She eyed him suspiciously. “Are you sure I’ll need them?” It was a nice day out. He seemed to have an obsession with keeping her warm. Not that she was complaining too much. She liked that he cared.
“Yes, you will. Now go grab them, baby girl.”
She loved the way he called her that. It made her feel special. She picked up a pink scarf and matching gloves then locked up and placed the keys in the zip-up pocket of her jacket. He gently patted her bottom.
“Good girl.”
For someone who said they’d never been a Daddy before, he sure did come by it naturally. She walked with him down the driveway to where he’d parked his bike.
It was gorgeous. It shone in the sunlight, chrome and black.
“What sort of bike is it?”
“This is a Harley-Davidson VRSC.”
Right.
“Does it have a name?” She bounced on her toes excitedly.
He gave her an incredulous look. “Hell, no. Here, I have a helmet for you to wear.”
Hmm, she thought she might call it Princess Moonbeam. Yeah, that sounded like a great name. She wouldn’t tell Duke that, though.
“You’ll sit on the back here.” He patted the seat. “Your feet go here.” He showed her the two small lips on either side that her feet could rest on. “When you’re on, hold me nice and tight around the waist and just lean with me, all right?”
“All right. There’s nothing else I need to do?”
He grinned. “Just hold on and enjoy the ride, babe.”
She rolled her eyes. “I bet you say that to all the girls.” She could feel herself blushing as he laughed. She couldn’t quite believe she’d said that.
“Only the special ones.” He winked at her.
He placed the helmet over her head and did it up.
“All right?”
She nodded. It was a little weird. Heavy, bulky and it dulled her hearing. But better safe than sorry. He took the scarf from her hands, putting it around her neck and tying it then tucking it under her jacket. Then he helped her with her gloves.
She couldn’t remember the last time someone had helped dress her. When she was a baby, she guessed.