Page 8 of Daddy’s Little Charmer (Daddy #36)

Mondays started early for Harmony because she had a class. It lasted all morning before she had a break and then another course in the afternoon. The summer sessions were long every day, but they were only half as long as the classes in the fall.

She walked out of the bedroom the next morning, wiping her eyes and yawning.

She noticed the men were awake and lounging on the sofa and chair, playing on their phones.

She spotted the pillows and blankets she’d given them the night before, which were folded neatly and stacked on one side of the sofa.

“How’d you guys sleep?” she asked.

“The floors were hard, but we’ve slept in much worse places,” Nico commented as his eyes roamed up and down her body.

“I’m sorry.”

Connor shrugged. “We were fine.”

“How about some coffee?” she asked as she turned toward the kitchen.

“Sure,” they both replied before glancing at each other.

“Do you think she realizes she was just wearing a shirt?” Connor whispered.

“Probably not.” Nico ran a hand down his face. “Christian isn’t going to be happy about this.”

“I know he won’t like her parading in front of us like that.”

Nico grunted. “Besides that, it was a larger man’s dress shirt she was wearing.”

“Oh, fuck,” Connor blurted.

“Yeah.” Nico rubbed the back of his neck as he listened to her hum in the kitchen.

“Everything about her is beautiful. Even with her hair messy from sleeping, she’s pretty. She’s just an awesome woman. I’m so freakin’ jealous that Christian found her first.”

Connor nodded. “Yeah, I would have grabbed her up the second I saw her,” he whispered.

They made it through the morning without too many arguments with Harmony and got to her class on time. The room was huge and could seat one hundred students at a time. Now that it was summer, the classes were a fourth of the size.

Harmony closed her book and stuffed it in her backpack before following the other students out of the lecture hall. She rolled her eyes when she noticed both men standing at the door, their legs wide apart, arms crossed and watching her like a hawk. She stopped when she got to them.

“Guys, you don’t have to be here. This is embarrassing,” she whispered, and then blushed as a group of girls passed them and practically drooled as they stared at the two men.

She noticed with a grimace that both men never took their eyes off her and didn’t seem to notice the other women. If they didn’t cut it out, she’d be the most hated female on campus for taking two hunky men off the market.

Harmony waited until the room was empty. “Are you going to be with me all day?”

Nico nodded and sighed. “We told you that. We’ll be with you until Christian can be with you. Are you sick of us?”

Harmony’s mouth fell open. Nico looked almost hurt. “What, no. I just think it’s a waste of your time, and you guys have to be bored out of your minds.”

“Well, we don’t think it’s a waste of our time, and we’re used to being bored. Now, do you have another class?”

Harmony sighed and shook her head. “No, I need to make a stop, and then we can grab lunch. My next class isn’t until one.”

Connor opened the door. “Okay, where to?”

“I’ll show you the way,” she said.

The three walked a few blocks from the college campus.

Connor cleared his throat as they walked into a thrift shop.

He remembered coming to these places with his mother because they couldn’t afford new things.

He had hoped he’d never have to see the inside of one again, and for some reason, he more than hated the fact that Harmony had to go there because of a lack of money.

The place was just like all the others he’d been in. The same sights and smells.

Harmony smiled as the men looked around, uncomfortable, as she rummaged through the racks of dresses.

She grabbed several she liked and walked into the changing room.

She knew the third one she tried on was the one because it fit her shape.

It was a classic black dress that never went out of date.

It stopped a few inches above her knee and had a scooped neck and no sleeves.

She already had high-heeled black shoes and a beautiful shawl she could wear over the dress to add a touch of color and class.

She caught the looks the men were giving her as she made her purchase.

Nico waited until they had their sandwiches and sat to eat. “So, what did you get at the thrift shop?”

“A dress,” she said and took a bite.

“For what?” Connor asked.

“Christian is taking me out to a nice place, and I don’t have anything appropriate to wear.”

Connor choked. When he got his breath back, he looked at Nico and saw the same uncomfortable look on his face. They both knew their boss well. They’d worked for him for several years. Christian was not going to like the fact that she bought a dress from a secondhand store.

Nico wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I wish you had told us you needed something to wear.”

Harmony wiped her mouth and frowned in confusion. “Good heavens, why would I do that?”

“We could have taken you to a shop we know Christian uses,” Nico stated.

Harmony held up her hand. “I would never have gone.”

“Why the hell not?” Connor barked.

“Because I know you guys would try to buy it for me.”

“You’re damn right. We would,” Nico growled.

She leaned toward them and gritted her teeth.

The men tried not to smile because she looked like a hissing kitten.

“Well, let me tell you, you would have had to carry me in there kicking and screaming because there is no way I would have let that happen.” She sat back in her chair, ignored their frustrated looks, and wiped her fingers.

“I’m actually thrilled with the dress I found.

It’s very classy, and it doesn’t look like it has ever been worn. ”

“Boss isn’t going to like it.”

Harmony frowned at Connor. “You haven’t even seen it, so how do you know he won’t like it?”

Connor caught the look Nico threw at him with a shake of his head and shut up.

Harmony looked between the two suspiciously before she finished her sandwich.

They tossed their wrappers and cups into the garbage on their way out of the sandwich shop.

Harmony turned toward them on the sidewalk. “I have time before my other class. Can we sit in the square so I can study a bit?”

Connor could tell she wasn’t happy. “Sure. It’s a warm day,” Connor agreed as they started walking. “The summer has been nice. Last year, it was hotter than Hell,” Connor said as he followed her across the campus. He discussed other topics to lighten the mood among the three.

Harmony sat on the ground in the shade with her back against a large tree and pulled a book out of her backpack. She rolled her eyes when the men took standing positions on either side of her.

Harmony was engrossed in her book and jerked when a very masculine cough sounded close to her ear. She was surprised to see Christian sitting beside her. She looked around and noticed the other men stood several yards away with their backs to them.

“You’re back,” she said, surprised.

Christian chuckled. “Yes, I’m back.”

Harmony stared at her reflection in his dark eyes. She tore her eyes from his when he cleared his throat. She felt the heat of a blush stain her cheeks.

Christian noticed her awkwardness, the red tinge on her complexion, and cupped her face with one hand.

“Don’t be embarrassed. I like it when you look at me, and I can tell you in all honesty right now that I love looking at you.

” He used a finger to smooth the hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. He’d never get sick of looking at her.

He looked down at the book she was reading and grimaced. “Statistics. Yuck”

Harmony giggled. “I like it. I’m actually good at this type of stuff.”

Christian couldn’t pull his eyes from her. “So, what is your goal?” he asked.

“Accountant,” Harmony said, and then tried to smile.

Accounting had never been her dream. Growing up, it had always been to have a family of her own.

However, to escape the slums, she needed a college degree.

Since she’d always been good with numbers, accounting seemed to be the right choice for her.

Christian caught the flash of sadness in her eyes and cupped her cheek with his hand. “What’s wrong, Baby?”

Harmony looked down at her lap and shook her head. “Nothing.”

Christian frowned at her. He didn’t like her holding anything back from him.

He had to remind himself they had just met.

He knew he’d get the answer eventually. He leaned toward her slowly and pressed his lips to hers.

He didn’t deepen the kiss or prolong it, but he had to have a little taste of her.

He almost groaned when he pulled back, and she mindlessly followed him for more.

He stroked the pad of his thumb against her cheek. “Baby, I have to go. I need to get back to the office, but I will be at your place around seven.”

Harmony cleared her throat, smiled, and nodded. “All right. Bye.”

She watched him walk to the other men.

Nico and Connor were in the same outfits they had been wearing with the jackets, which she guessed had to be uncomfortably warm, but they didn’t seem to mind.

Christian wore a dark suit that fit him perfectly.

She noticed that with the three together, he was just as large as the other two, particularly through his shoulders and height, while Nico and Connor were heavier with more muscle.

But Christian carried himself with arrogance and self-assuredness that she hadn’t ever seen in anyone she’d known, and for some strange reason, it drew her to him.

They looked at her and talked for a brief moment before Christian walked off. She shook her head when Nico and Connor came back and stood to guard her again, then turned her attention back to the book in her lap.