“I just need a second to calm down before I go upstairs,” I grind out as I take a seat in front of her desk.
I watch her as she places her bag on the table. She opens the blinds and looks out the window. A smile forms around her lips as she takes in the view.
“I can ask Charlotte to come see you about anything else you might need for your office,” I offer. I just want to make her comfortable now that the mess has been dealt with.
She shakes her head. “Thank you, but I want to decorate it. I’ve never had an office before. It will be fun.”
Feeling a little more in control of my emotions, I get up. Della walks over to me and standing on her toes, she presses a soft kiss to my mouth.
“Thank you, Carter,” she whispers.
“I made you a promise -”
“Not about him,” she says. She drops her eyes to my chest and starts to straighten my tie. “Thank you for everything. You’re going to be an amazing dad and … and friend.”
I lean down so I can catch her eyes again. “Just a friend?”
A shy smile forms around her mouth and it makes me want to kiss her until her lips are swollen.
“Fine, I’ll promote you to boyfriend status for now,” she says, but quickly adds, “Just remember, I won’t hesitate to demote you.”
I press a kiss to her lips and smile. “I’ll see you at five, babe.”
CHAPTER 17
DELLA
I wake up with a smile. Today is Danny’s birthday. It’s also the first birthday where I don’t have to work seeing as it’s on a Saturday and I’m off on weekends.
I throw the blankets back and quickly get dressed in a pair of shorts and t-shirt. I run to Danny’s room, excited to wake her up.
Carter is only accepting fifty dollars a month from me for the clothes we bought. I’ll pay him fifty dollars for the rest of my life. At least it left me with plenty to buy Danny a pink princess outfit for today, and to save so I can take Jamie shopping before she goes back to school.
When I get to Danny’s room, I find Carter leaning against the door where he’s watching our sleeping daughter.
He’s wearing a pair of jeans with a black t-shirt, but he’s still as handsome as when he’s dressed in one of his suits. I know I asked him to take it slow, but I didn’t think he would take it this slow. It’s been five weeks since we moved in and all he’s done is hold my hand and kiss me.
“You wake her,” I whisper.
He gives me a kiss on the forehead before he walks over to her bed.
“It’s time for Daddy’s princess to wake up,” he whispers as he presses a kiss to her forehead.
Her tiny body stretches and her sleepy eyes open. She smiles at him. “It’s my birthday.”
He picks her up and kisses one of her chubby cheeks. “Yeah, you’re a big girl now. Happy birthday, my princess.”
“I’m four,” Danny says, holding up three fingers.
He helps her hold up four, then presses a kiss to her tiny palm. “Daddy got you a present.”
“Yay!” She bounces up and down in his arms.
I can already feel the prick of tears, but when he places her on the bed and kneels on the floor before her, emotion overwhelms me.
He takes something from his pocket and when he holds it up, I see that it’s a chain with a heart locket. He opens it up. “It says Daddy’s Princess.”
“I’m your princess,” she yells excitedly.