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“Now might be a good time for that present,” he murmured.

“Oh, right.” She tugged the bag off her shoulder and delved inside, then brought out a pink wrapped package.

Lulu pursed her lips but took the parcel, shook it. “Puppy?”

“No, not a puppy,” she said.

“Thank Christ,” Matt muttered.

Lulu tore off the paper, and peered at the offering with narrowed eyes. “Lulu not like dolls,” she said.

“Since when?” he muttered. It was an MMA fighter doll in a white judo suit. Cute. It even had short blond hair like Darcy.

“Oh,” Darcy said, then frowned. “I didn’t like dolls, either.” She reached into her bag again and pulled out a second package. She glanced at him as she handed it to Lulu, and he just shrugged. You never could tell with Lulu.

She tore it open, revealing a little outfit identical to the one the doll was wearing. Lulu was intrigued, he could tell.

“You want to wear it?” he asked.

She stuck out her lower lip then looked at Darcy. “No.”

God, she could be a little bitch.

“Then let’s go.”

…

By the time the car pulled up outside Matt’s house, Darcy was as limp and deflated as an inflatable bouncy castle with a puncture. She couldn’t do this. Couldn’t even contemplate repeating the process next week.

Glancing in the mirror, her gaze fixed on Lulu—asleep at last. Or maybe not. The little girl’s eyes were open, and she stared back unblinking, no doubt contemplating her next evil move. Why did anyone do this to themselves? She’d told Matt the other day that she liked chaos. Just not this much.

“Sorry about your dress,” Matt said as he turned off the engine. “And the bruise—she didn’t mean it.” When Darcy didn’t answer, he gave her a quick sideways glance. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just wondering how quickly I can get my uterus removed.”

He grinned. “Yeah. I know the feeling. When I got her, she was sort of cute. That lasted a couple of months. Then I got back from a short deployment and she’d learned to move on her own. And Christ, she metamorphosed into the creature of chaos you saw today. Each time I come back, she seems to be that bit more hyperactive. Diana—the nanny you met the other day—says she needs more of a routine, but my life doesn’t work like that.”

Darcy suspected she needed less of a routine, not more. She was too like her; she needed to be kept off balance, or boredom kicked in.

“Lulu tired.”

The voice came from behind them.

“Hallelujah,” Matt muttered. “It had to happen. She’s running on empty.” He got out of the car, and Darcy did the same. Should she just go now? It sort of seemed anti-climactic.

“You want to come in while I put her to bed?” He grinned. “She really is sweet when she’s asleep. Then I’ll call you a cab.”

His words surprised her. He’d been pleasant enough during the day, if a little distant. She’d gotten the impression he was trying his best to not interfere. To let her get to know Lulu. It must have been hard, because it was abundantly clear to her that she was going to have to work on her maternal skills. Which right now were non-existent. Hell, she hadn’t even gotten the presents right.

She had no fucking clue.

“I’d like that,” she said.

She waited while he unfastened Lulu from the child seat and pulled her into his arms, then grabbed the enormous bag with her “things.” How could one little girl need so much stuff? A normal person took less on a two-week vacation than Lulu needed for one afternoon trip. But then, Darcy had seen inside the bag, and Matt had just about every possible scenario covered, including an alien invasion and the end of the world.

She followed him up the driveway, with Lulu watching her over his shoulder. She was fighting to keep her eyes open. Darcy sensed there was an element of possession there. Lulu was seeing her as competition for Matt’s attention, and clearly the little girl doted on her uncle. Darcy wanted to tell her she was welcome to him but didn’t think Lulu would believe her.

Lulu tugged on his ear. “Lulu want a wolfy.”