Page 19 of Daddy Dreadful (Forbidden Pleasures Island #5)

Chapter Eighteen

Donovan

An hour after taking my Little girl for the first time, we’re both forced from my bed by a text from Maxwell letting us know he’s on his way over with Victoria so she can apologize.

“I don’t wanna see her.” Pouting something fierce, Camilla sits on the bench in the middle of her closet, her arms crossed as I gather fresh clothes for her.

Gone is the siren I had in my bed just a few minutes ago, and despite her clear upset, I’m amused by how quickly she shifts back into her Little space. “She was mean.”

We've been having the same argument for the past fifteen minutes, and my patience is wearing thin.

But I know my Little girl is hurting, so I force my own annoyance back as I scan the row of neatly folded onesies in front of me.

“I know, baby. But Victoria is coming to apologize, and you need to at least give her that opportunity.”

“Why? She didn’t give me a chance.”

It’s a fair point. And honestly, if we didn’t live in such a closed community I might be willing to let her snub Victoria and the rest of the Littles.

But the fact of the matter is, we do live in a very small community, and we can’t afford to alienate anyone.

Not when my Little girl is such a social creature at heart.

She might be hurting now, but in a week, two weeks, a month, she’ll be sad that she’s missing out on all the fun things her friends are doing.

So for her own good, I’ll force her to meet with Victoria and at least hear out her apology. But perhaps I can make things a little easier.

Turning away from the dresser, I pluck Camilla up from the bench and settle her on my hip. “Maybe wearing something pretty will help you feel better. Would you prefer a onesie or a dress?”

Suspicion fills her eyes. “I can pick?”

“This once, yes.”

“Dress,” she says decisively, pointing at the row of custom satin and tulle. “The yellow one with the pink roses.”

“Yellow and pink it is, then.”

Grabbing the requested dress from the hanger, I help her into it and run a brush through her tangled hair before pulling it up into matching pigtails on either side of her head.

“Beautiful,” I tell her, my heart tripping in my chest when the blue of her eyes lights up at my praise.

“Really?”

“Of course.” Picking her up to settle her on my hip once more, I fix my expression into serious lines. “Daddies aren’t allowed to tell lies. It’s against the law.”

Her laugh rings out in the room, a delighted giggle that seems to reach right down into my chest and squeeze my heart as we detour past her crib to grab Cobalt. “That’s silly, Daddy.”

“Tell that to your Uncle Max.”

“Oh, well, that’s different. Uncle Max would definitely make it a law that nobody is allowed to lie.”

Our banter distracts her from the upcoming confrontation, at least until the doorbell rings. As soon as the chime echoes through the house, her expression closes off, and my bubbly Little girl disappears into a shell of herself.

Biting back a sigh, I lower her into the playpen in my office and press her dragon into her hands. “Daddy will be right back. Cobalt will be right here with you so you don’t get lonely.”

Cradling the dragon, she looks down at him and then back up at me.

A frown tugs at her lips as she holds the stuffie up to her ear and even though I need to go answer the door, I’m too fascinated by the scene playing out in front of me to move.

“Are you sure?” she asks, her expression so serious I am almost convinced the dragon is actually speaking to her.

“What’s Cobalt saying, little one?”

Her eyes are wide and solemn as she stares up at me. “He says… He says you can call him Cobie, if you want to.”

My heart twists in my chest as the doorbell rings yet again. Goddammit. This is an important moment, and one I don’t want to rush, but I can’t keep our guests waiting either.

But my Little one is more important than etiquette at the moment, so I bend down and grip the tiny, furry paw between my fingers. “Nice to meet you, Cobie. Will you watch over my Little girl while I go answer the door?”

“He says he will. We’ll stay right here until you get back.”

“Thank you, Cobie. You’re a good friend.”

Trusting she’ll stay where I put her, I make my way out to the main entryway and to the front door. Maxwell is on the other side, a teary-eyed Victoria in his arms.

“Thank you for having us, Doctor D. Victoria has something she’d like to say to your Little girl.”

“I appreciate that. But just so you know, Camilla’s feelings were very hurt this morning. I’m not sure she’s ready to accept any apologies.”

“That’s perfectly fine. She can accept when she’s ready, but my Little Victoria knows she acted cruelly, and she’d like a chance to make it right. Isn’t that so, little thief?”

Sniffling, Victoria nods. “Yes, Daddy. I feel really bad about how we acted.”

Satisfied that Victoria’s remorse is genuine, I step aside and allow them in. I lead the way to my office, where Camilla is still playing in her playpen.

“Victoria is here, sunshine, and she has something to say to you.” Bending down, I lower my voice so only she can hear. “You will listen to her apology, and you will be polite, or Victoria and your Uncle Max will get to see what happens when my Little girl is rude.”

Eyes wide, Camilla looks up and nods slowly. “Yes, Daddy.”

Straightening, I look over at Maxwell and gesture toward the playpen. Maxwell places Victoria on her feet in front of the enclosure, and for a long moment, our Little girls simply stare at each other.

Victoria shifts uncomfortably from one foot to another, reaching behind her to rub at her bottom through her diaper.

“Um, I just wanted to say, I’m really, really sorry we were mean to you and we didn’t make you any bracelets.

It wasn’t nice at all, and I know we really hurt your feelings and I’m sorry.

And, um, if it’s not too late…” She cranes her neck to look back at Maxwell, who pulls a small beaded bracelet from his pocket to pass to her.

“I made you a friendship bracelet, because I really do wanna be friends.”

Silence once again stretches between them as the girls watch each other warily. But then Camilla smiles, not the bright happy grin I’m used to, but it’s a smile all the same and holds her hand out for the bracelet. “Thanks. It’s really pretty. Do you… Do you wanna play with me?”

Whipping around, Victoria looks up at Maxwell, her face twisted into a plea so dramatic I have to cough to hide my laughter. “Can I, Daddy, please ?”

“If it’s all right with Doctor D then we can stay for a little bit.”

“I don’t mind at all. And I suppose under the circumstances you should call me Uncle Donovan.”

“Donovan!” Victoria slaps a palm against her forehead. “Is that what the D stands for?”

Amused by her odd reaction, I smile. “Yes.”

“Huh. We totally thought it stood for—” She stops herself, her cheeks turning pink. “Never mind.”

Before I can question her, Victoria climbs into the playpen with Camilla and grabs a doll. The two immediately launch into some kind of game, and my Little girl looks so happy, I don’t have the heart to interrupt.

When I turn back to Maxwell, I find him frowning down at his phone.

He glances up and forces a smile, but it’s tight at the edges in a way that has my heart dropping to my knees.

“Jasper and the others are on their way over,” he murmurs, tucking the phone back in his pocket.

“Apparently Jasper is feeling rather guilty over how he allowed Juliet to mistreat Natalie, and he’s determined not to repeat those mistakes with your Millie.

And once he said he was bringing Juliet ever to apologize, Gideon and Evander hopped on board. ”

“Evander? You said Natalie didn’t do anything wrong.”

“She didn’t,” he says with a shrug. “Evander just enjoys the drama.”

Sighing, I scrub a hand over my face. “I’ll go have Madison put on a pot of coffee and see if she has any of those lemon bars left. Sounds like we’re going to be having a party.”

Millie

“I really am super sorry we were so mean to you at school.”

Looking up from my doll, my heart does a funny little twist at how sad Victoria looks.

And even though my feelings are still kinda hurt, I set that aside and force a smile for her.

After all, she did bring me a bracelet as an apology gift, which she didn’t have to do.

“It’s okay, really. But, um… can I ask why you were so mean? ”

A pink blush appears on her cheeks as she lowers her gaze, her shoulders jerking in a shrug. “I dunno. It was kinda hard to think about being your friend after, um, you know. All the exams and stuff.”

Just like I thought. “But I was just doing my job.”

If I think about it though, I can clearly remember how much she and the other Littles clearly hated those exams. Should I have done something differently? Should I have helped them somehow?

Guilt settles like a rock in my stomach as those questions tumble around in my mind.

“I know.” Victoria smiles, but it looks just as forced as mine feels. “And I know it wasn’t fair for us to take our feelings out on you. But…”

She trails off, glancing worriedly over at her Daddy, who is sitting in an armchair beside my Daddy, sipping a cup of coffee.

“I don’t think they can hear us,” I whisper. “And I promise I won’t tell.”

“Well, just… think about how you would feel. If you were brought to this island and forced to live like a Little girl and taken to a doctor who gives the most humiliating and painful exams ever and the woman who helped him suddenly wanted to be your friend.”

I think I might be sick from the heaviness in my tummy. “You’re right. You guys shouldn’t have to be my friend after all that. I’ll tell Daddy I don’t wanna go to school anymore.”

“No, I wanna be friends. I guess I just needed some time to get used to the idea. But you were always really nice, even when you were teaching Daddy how to take my temperature the baby way.”