He took her hand. “Okay, good.”
“Is that okay?” Ariana asked as he led her from the room. “Are you mad at me, Daddy? I swear I was super good this morning. I ate all my breakfast, and I even let Mae share my crayons.”
Daddy squeezed her hand slightly. “I’m not mad at you at all, Ariana.” His tone lightened, but his frown stayed put. Something must have happened at work. That’s what Shelby told her happened when her daddy was grumpy; it was because of work.
“Was work hard this morning?” she asked once they were alone in her room and he’d shut the door. She grabbed hold of the hem of her dress and began to pull it up over her head, but he grabbed hold of her and stopped her.
“You don’t need to do that,” he said, smoothing her dress back down.
“But it’s our special naptime.” Ariana tilted her head a bit and the swirl and ringing in her ears came back.
“Ariana, are you okay?” He touched her forehead, his frown deepening.
“My head’s a little fuzzy,” she admitted and sat on the edge of her bed. “I’m okay though. Do you want me to give you kisses? Is that why you don’t want my dress off?”
He scowled.
“No. Ariana, listen to me.” He pulled the chair up to the bed and held on to her knees. “Did you take your medicine this morning?”
“Of course, I did. I drank it all up just like I’m supposed to.”
His jaw ticked. “Did it seem different? Taste different than before?” he asked, his eyes locked with hers.
She sighed and thought it over. “Well, a little. Usually it just tastes like grape juice, but lately it’s been really strong grape juice.” She stretched out her words for emphasis. “It tasted more like medicine than before. Does that make sense, Daddy?”
Daddy leaned back in his chair with a heavy breath. “They’ve increased your dose. Not they—fucking Nancy.”
“Shelby said the adoption party is really soon. Is she right? Am I going to be adopted soon?” Already she could feel her chest tightening at the idea of leaving Daddy behind. Much like Shelby, she didn’t want any other Daddy. She wanted hers.
“What? No. I mean, yes, the party is a lot sooner than I was told. Tomorrow night, in fact.” Daddy scrubbed his face with his hands. “Frank doesn’t have more Daddies coming to help with the extra girls in the House, so we need to shift…fuck, it doesn’t matter.”
“You look tired, Daddy. Maybe you should take a nap too.” She climbed into his lap, straddling him. With both hands, she held his face. “I can make you feel good, Daddy. You taught me, remember?”
Sadness touched his gaze, and he wrapped his hands around her wrists. Pulling her hands down, he shook his head.
“No more of that, Ariana. Not until we get the medicine out of your system. When they bring your sippy cup tonight, I want you to leave it alone. Don’t drink from it.”
“But Nanny Nancy always stays with me until I finish it,” she pointed out, confused. Not taking her medicine would get her in trouble, and she didn’t want any more spankings from Daddy.
“Okay, then I’ll be sure to be here when she brings it. Don’t touch it until I’m here, all right?” He brought her hands to his mouth and kissed them. “Do that for Daddy?”
She nodded. She’d do anything to make Daddy happy with her. It was her job as his good little girl.
“If the party is tomorrow, we should pick out my dress.” She wiggled off his lap and went to her closet. The nannies had brought in several new dresses for her to pick from for the party. She pulled them out and laid the four dresses on the bed. “I don’t like this one.” She picked up the pink one with all the lace and frills and put it back in the closet.
“Are you excited for the party?” he asked.
She looked at him. “Truth?”
A shadow of a smile touched his lips. “Always.”
“Not really.” She quickly went on to elaborate. “I know I’m supposed to be. Finding my forever Daddy is supposed to be really exciting. But…” She bit the inside of her cheek then went for it. “But, I’d rather have you forever than anyone else.” Her cheeks heated with her declaration. She wasn’t supposed to think that way. The girls were never to get attached to their daddies, but she was.
Daddy reached out to her and pulled her back into his lap. He brushed the loose strands of hair from her face. The light touch of his fingers on her skin warmed her entire body. For a brief moment, she thought he was going to kiss her. She wanted him to. He hadn’t in two days.
“I want that too, sweet girl.” He pulled her close to his chest and rested his chin on her head. “And I’m working on it. Just keep being the good girl you are. Don’t take that medicine tonight until I’m here. All right?”