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“What if I’m not hungry?” As soon as the words left her mouth, her stomach growled so loud they probably heard it in Washington State.

Boone didn’t miss it, either. “Luckily, that doesn’t appear to be the problem. Now, how easy do you want it to be to sit down and eat some breakfast?”

Grr. “Fine. But after I finish, can I go get ready?”

“Yes, bluebell. Once you’ve eaten you can try on clothes to your heart’s content.” When she attempted to wiggle off his lap, he placed his hand on her thigh. “You stay where I put you, little girl. You can eat while you’re sitting on my lap. That way, I can make sure none of the food makes it into your napkin.”

Yeah, she’d gotten her bottom roasted for that. He didn’t need to worry, once was enough. With a sigh, she sat in his lap as he fed her breakfast.

It really was good. The fruit was perfect, and Dutch had a way of getting bacon the crispiest ever without burning it. Before she’d been kidnapped, she’d bought pre-cooked bacon she only had to warm up in the microwave after her landlord threatened to kick her out if she started one more fire in her kitchen.

Four rings of pineapple, three rashers of bacon, two scrambled eggs, and a partridge in a pear tree later, Boone finally decided she’d had enough.

“What do you say to Dutch?” Boone asked as she hopped off his lap.

“Thank you, Dutch,” she yelled as she raced out of the room.

“Matilda Jayne Lewis, what’s the rule about running?”

Geez, her Daddy had a thing about running. “Don’t,” she called back, slowing down to a race-walking pace. “Sorry, Daddy!”

He might have said something about being sorry soon, but she was already headed downstairs. Thank goodness.

After trying on every outfit in the closet Sevin kept stocked, Tildi had narrowed it down to three choices. She had no idea which one would be best. Without a girlfriend to ask, she had no choice but to ask the guys. She wanted to wear the one Boone liked best.

The first outfit was a strapless cranberry red dress with a white lace overlay of tiny flowers. She couldn’t reach the zipper, so she’d have to get her Daddy to do her up. She headed up top, looking everywhere before she found him scanning the horizon with binoculars. She jumped in front of him, blocking his view.

Boone didn’t move. “Now who could be blocking my line of sight?” Then, lowering the binoculars, he ran his gaze over her. “Now that is quite the outfit. Come here and let me help.”

Turning her back to him, she waited for him to do up the zipper before turning back to face him. The look on his face warmed her chest and made her lady bits pulse. “You like it?” She caught her bottom lip in her teeth and waited for his answer.

“What’s not to like, bluebell? Turn around so I can see all of it.”

Pretending she was a ballerina, she spun around. Only her ballerina was on steroids, so her skirt flared out. Boone grabbed her around the waist to steady her, but he gripped too tight at the bottom of her ribs.

““No!” Squealing, she automatically grabbed his hands. “Stop, Daddy. Stop! I’m really, really ticklish, Daddy. And I probably shouldn’t have told you that. But seriously, I’ll knock us both out of the boat. I’ll be good. I promise.”

His fingers relaxed. Thank God.

“I could have hurt you, Daddy. You have to be careful.”

“I didn’t realize how ticklish you are, babygirl. I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. Was he joking? He didn’t sound like it. She was the most ticklish person on the planet. When someone grabbed her, she had no control over how her body reacted.

She’d almost given a boy a concussion once when he jumped out and grabbed her ribs as she walked through a doorway with a solid wooden door. Before she could stop herself, she’d grabbed the door and slammed it into his head, sending him to the ground. It had served him right, but she wouldn’t want to do anything to hurt her new Daddy.

“Seriously, Daddy. I can be lethal. I could have knocked you overboard. Then I would have had to jump in and save you, which would be problematic since I still can’t swim.”

Boone kept a straight face, but she didn’t miss the twinkle in his eye. “I’ll be more careful next time. And as soon as we get to the ranch, I’ll teach you how to swim. I love your dress. Is that for the family Christmas?”

“No. Well, I guess I could wear it there, too. But mainly this dress is for dinner tonight at Sevin’s house.”

The twinkle disappeared from his eye. As a matter of fact, it changed all the way to a scowl. “Absolutely not.” His voice sounded like a gunshot.

Daddies could be very confusing. “But I thought you liked it.”

“I do. When you’re just with me. I was stretching it to say you could wear it around the family, but come to think of it, my brothers don’t need to see those gorgeous legs, either. And you’re damn sure not wearing it around Sev and his men. Find something else.”