Page 26 of Daddy Dreadful (Forbidden Pleasures Island #5)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Donovan

The doorbell chimes, and Maxwell sets his drink aside. “That must be Cat. I can’t wait to hear about whatever it is that’s kept her. She’s never late, especially for our family dinners.”

He leaves to retrieve Catharina and Jasper looks over, pinning me with a rather unnerving stare. “I assume Maxwell has told you all about our… traditions.”

My stomach twists with a combination of excitement and worry as I incline my head. “He has. I was a bit hesitant at first, I’ll admit, but I want Camilla to have a place here. She’s such a social little thing, I know it’s been hard on her, living on the island without any real friends here.”

“You and she would have a place with us even if you didn’t go through our little initiation,” Gideon assures me in that quiet way he has.

“I appreciate that. But she already feels a bit on the outside looking in. If this will help the other girls truly see her as part of the family then, well, I’m happy to do that for her.”

Jasper raises a brow. “And I’m sure you won’t get anything out of fucking your pretty nurse in front of an audience.”

My cock jerks at the imagery his words conjure. “It’s a heavy burden, but someone needs to bear it, I suppose.”

Laughter ripples through my companions just as Maxwell returns to the parlor, a rather harried-looking Catharina a step behind him. Which is a feat in and of itself, considering I’ve never even seen Catharina look perturbed, nonetheless harried.

“Gentlemen.” Without waiting for Maxwell, she heads straight for the liquor cart to pour herself a very generous glass of whiskey. She downs the first in one swallow, then pours herself another before turning to face us with a tight-lipped smile. “How is everyone this evening?”

“Curious,” Evander says with a wide grin. “Sit, and tell us what has the infamously cool Catharina Montgomery so rattled.”

“I am not rattled , Evander.” Scowling at him, she swirls her drink and paces in front of the cart, looking very rattled indeed despite her claims to the contrary.

“I’m simply annoyed. Apparently, someone has been using my likeness to scam men out of money and vacations and various other prizes.

Which I am not opposed to, in theory, because if anyone is stupid enough to fall for such an obvious scam they deserve what they get.

But one of her targets is apparently under the impression that I am actually the one swindling him and he is making a rather noisy legal fuss over it. ”

“That shouldn’t be difficult to take care of.” Crossing the room, Maxwell lays a hand on her arm, halting her movements. “A minor inconvenience, at best.”

“You would think. But whoever is doing this is very clever, and rather good at covering their tracks. I’d feel better if I could get my hands on them, either physically or legally, and put a stop to this nonsense.”

“Would you like me to have my men look into it?” Evander asks. “No matter how well someone thinks they’ve hidden their trail, there’s always something.”

Relief flickers across Cat’s face. “Would you? That would be such a weight off my shoulders.”

“Then consider it done.”

Looking much more like her normal, unflappable self, Catharina smiles. “Enough of that, then. Where are my little nieces?”

“Upstairs in Victoria’s nursery.” Maxwell picks up the monitor we’ve all been keeping an eye on and hands it to her. “There was a bit of a tense moment when we thought Isabella was going to storm out for some reason, but it seems to have smoothed over.”

“Good.” Cat’s smile widens to an excited grin. “The waterpark is ready to open any day now, and I was thinking we should all take a family trip over there. It will certainly be a much more enjoyable experience if they aren’t all at each other’s throats the entire time.”

Chuckling, Maxwell taps his glass to hers. “Cheers to that.”

We all raise our drinks in toast to our Little ones, and once we’ve drained our glasses, Maxwell rubs his hands together. “Shall we go bring our Little girls downstairs and get dinner started?”

Five sets of eyes swing my direction. The ball is firmly in my court as to whether or not I’m going to actually go through with this.

But there’s no hesitation on my part. I want a family for my sweet Camilla, so a family she will have.

“I believe we shall.”

Millie

We’re so deep in our game, we don’t even hear our Daddies footsteps before the door to Victoria’s nursery opens.

No. Not Victoria. Tori. She asked me to call her Tori, like all her friends do. Tori, and Juju, and Izzy, and Nelly.

My friends.

My family .

“Look at my sweet little nieces, all playing together so nicely.”

Tori’s head jerks up, and with an excited squeal she jumps to her feet and races for the door. “Auntie Cat, Auntie Cat!”

The other girls follow suit, but I hang back, watching the scene unfold with fascination. Auntie Cat’s laughter rings out, bright and happy as she scoops them each up one by one, showering them with kisses before moving onto the next.

When she’s done, she looks over at me, one dark brow quirking upward. “What’s wrong, sweet girl? Don’t you want a hug?”

“Oh, um, yes. I just didn’t know if…”

“Don’t be silly. You’re family. Come here.”

Pushing up to my feet, I slowly make my way over to her, aware of all the eyes tracking my movements. Including my Daddy, who is hovering just behind Auntie Cat, an encouraging smile on his lips.

As soon as I reach her, Auntie Cat wraps me in her arms, hauling me up against her. Like my Daddy, she’s a lot stronger than she looks if she can pick me up so effortlessly. A giggle slips free as she covers my face with noisy kisses before giving me a hard squeeze and setting me down on my feet.

“Much better,” Auntie cat says with a dramatic sigh. “And now, I think it’s time for presents!”

Cheers erupt around me and my friends all race for the stairs, their Daddies calling after them not to run. Judging by the loud cries that follow, at least two of them weren’t quick enough to escape their Daddies’ punishing hands.

I look up at my own Daddy as he holds a hand out to me. “Let’s go, sunshine.”

Although part of me longs to do nothing but follow my friends down the stairs to see what kind of presents await, something in me holds back. “Daddy?”

“Yes, baby?”

“Are we really part of their family now?”

Bending down, he picks me up with that same shocking ease as always and settles me on his hip.

“We really are. The dinner we’re having tonight is part of their tradition to welcome new members.

But I can tell you with absolute certainty, all of those people downstairs consider you one of theirs already. Especially Auntie Cat and your uncles.”

“I always wanted a big family,” I whisper, my voice thick with the feelings welling up inside me.

“Me too,” he admits, and though he’s trying to hide it, I can tell he’s feeling just as emotional as I am about our new family. “And now we both have one. Are you ready to go open your presents now?”

Now that my fears have been somewhat assuaged, excitement rushes in to fill the void. “Yes!”

Laughing, he carries me down the stairs to a pretty room Uncle Max called the parlor when we first arrived.

All of my friends are there, bouncing excitedly on their toes as they wait.

Well, except for Juliet who’s pouting and rubbing her bottom, making me wonder what kind of naughtiness we missed out on.

She spots me first, her face lighting up even as she rolls her eyes. “ Finally . I didn’t think you were ever gonna get down here.”

“I am really starting to think your Daddy doesn't spank you enough,” Auntie Cat says with a shake of her head, but she’s not quite able to hide her smile. “What she means to say is, we’re all very excited to have you, Millie, and we have some presents for you.”

All eyes are on me again as Uncle Gideon steps forward holding a small box. “This is from me and your Uncle Evan, little one.”

“Go on,” Daddy encourages me quietly as he sets me on my feet in the middle of the room. “Open it.”

Despite my nerves over being the center of attention, excitement bubbles in my stomach as I rip off the wrapping paper and open the pretty velvet box inside.

“Oh! It’s lovely!” Nestled on the white satin inside is a locket engraved with a swirling “M”.

Lifting the necklace from the box, Uncle Evan drapes it around my neck. “All of our Little ones wear a locket just like this one. It’s very important that you don’t take it off without your Daddy’s permission, though. Do you understand me, Millie?”

I’m not really sure why it’s important, but I nod anyway, unwilling to mar this perfect moment by arguing with him. “Yes, Sir. I understand.”

“Good girl.”

Next up is Uncle Jasper, who hands me a much larger white box with Little Treasures Boutique stamped on the side. My hands tremble as I slowly lift the lid. I’ve been by that store dozens of times since I moved to the island, longingly staring in the window at treasures I know I could never afford.

Inside is the most beautiful tiara I’ve ever seen. Gems in every shade of yellow possible are wrapped in shimmering gold. It looks like a sunburst, and I’m reminded of my Daddy’s nickname for me as I stare down at it.

“This is too much.” Shaking my head, I hold it out to him. “I can’t accept this.”

“Of course you can, sweetheart. It’s a gift.”

“Yes. A very, very expensive gift.”

Uncle Jasper simply smiles and lifts the tiara from the box. “Nothing is too much for my pretty little niece. Besides, it’s tradition and you’re part of the family now.”

Well… I suppose if it’s tradition, then it would be rude to refuse, right?

Standing perfectly still, I let him fix the tiara in my curls. Uncle Max produces a large mirror from somewhere and a loud gasp escapes me before I’m able to smother it.

“I look like a princess,” I whisper. “Thank you, Uncle Jasper!”

He catches me when I throw myself at him, laughing as he swings me up in the air. “And what a pretty princess you are.”

When he puts me down again, I spin around, looking for my Daddy. “Look, Daddy! I’m a princess!”

“You certainly are. My beautiful princess of the sun.”

Taking my hand, he twirls me around, and I give myself over to the moment, giggling wildly as I twirl, my dress fanning out around me with every turn. It’s the best night of my life, and we haven’t even finished dinner yet.

“Thank you all so much. This is just… it’s all too much. But I love them. Thank you.”

Auntie Cat dabs at pretend tears. “Seriously, she is just the sweetest thing, Donovan.”

Daddy looks down at me, his expression brighter than I've ever seen it. “She is. She makes me very proud to be her Daddy.”

Love swells in my chest, and for a moment I’m tempted to give voice to it. To tell him, in front of all our family, how much I love him.

But then a man steps into the room and clears his throat, and the moment is lost.

“Ladies and gentlemen. Dinner is served.”