Page 48 of Just A Little Joy

“Easy-peasy, bub. All of them.”

ELEVEN

TRAVIS

I was the luckiest man in this city, maybe this whole section of the world.

“Oh my gosh, thank you so much. Spot’s going to love them, and I love them and I just…just…” Casey gave up trying to speak and threw one of his arms around my neck instead. His new babies were squished between us, but they would be all right.

“You’re very welcome, bub.”

Casey squeezed a little tighter, rose onto his tiptoes, and pressed his mouth fully against mine. I pulled him in again, wrapped my arm around his waist, and held him close. We weren’t being inappropriate, but I wanted a real kiss. Casey smiled against my mouth, and that pulled another one out of me. The children behind us giggled, but that was fine too. It wasn’t going to hurt them to see two people happy and affectionate.

Holding him like that made the rest of the world fall away until it was just us.

“I really do appreciate you getting them.”

“You’re very welcome, but I am itching to get home and go all Daddy on my boy,” I answered.

Casey gave me a look of complete understanding, grabbed my hand, and guided me toward the escalators. We weaved andbobbed through the hordes of holiday shoppers. Every once in a while, he’d look back to make sure I was following, even though he still gripped my hand. His chocolate eyes were full of light and laughter. The winged fringe of his eyelashes was so thick it looked like he was wearing eyeliner. I thought they were beautiful the first time I saw them, but now they were breathtaking.

Seeing him like that hit me low in the gut, a reminder of how easy it was to want more of him.

I let him lead me to the checkout counters. When he tried to pull out his wallet, one look had him sliding his hand right back into his pocket. I gave an approving nod and turned back to the register to pay. Casey rocked back and forth as he waited next to me. Infectious excitement radiated through him and seemed to lift the mood of everyone around him, including the harried checkout person.

“These yours?” she asked him. Her sincere smile was focused entirely on Casey’s enthusiastic nod.

Once outside, we hurried to my car and climbed in. Winter in the Pacific Northwest was no place to linger outside more than needed. The constant drizzle since October was chilly, and we both sighed with relief when we reached cover. I pushed the seat warmer button, and Casey’s bone-deep sigh gave me a secret thrill.

It felt ridiculous to say aloud, but I was giddy with happiness. I felt like a real Daddy with a real boy who was ready for me to care for him. I always thought that when this moment came, I’d be more nervous. But it felt natural and right. Every instinct had pushed me here, and the world felt settled around me.

When I’d first stumbled on the Daddy/little dynamic, I was freshly divorced and having a pity party in a bar in Toronto during a run of road games from hell. We couldn’t have hit the goal to save our lives, and I wasn’t helping make anythinghappen. Sitting at the booth behind me was a Daddy and his boy. They weren’t talking about anything earth-shattering, but the joy and happiness were so obvious that they couldn’t be ignored. The more I eavesdropped, the more jealous I became that the Daddy was able to pour all his attention and love into his boy. I’d wanted what they had.

My trip down memory lane left me driving on autopilot. Before I realized it, I’d pulled into my driveway. We waited for the garage door to open, and I pulled inside. In the seat beside me, Casey was quietly playing with his new stuffies. They were playing some kind of tag game that seemed overly complicated. Whatever it was, Casey was intent upon it. When I didn’t move out of the car, he glanced up and cleared his throat.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I was just thinking about how long I’ve been waiting for this, and now you’re here, and it’s pretty effing amazing.”

Casey quietly contemplated me from the passenger seat. His face was more serious than I was used to seeing from him.

“Here I am. And I’ve been waiting a while for a Daddy too. It’s kinda cool.”

“I’m probably going to screw something up,” I offered with a rueful snort.

“Me too.”

“Impossible. You’re perfect.” Casey looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “What? You are.”

“I’m scattered. I never remember to switch my laundry. My bills are paid late on occasion because my bank makes it a difficult as possible, and I never take the time to get it straightened out. My mom texts me passive-aggressive messages because I go too long without calling them. Not in the running for perfect.” Casey looked at me as if he really thought those things would lessen his standing with me. Bonkers.

“First of all, scattered doesn’t make you less than perfect. I’m happy to try and help figure out the app, put an alarm on your phone for your mom, and who remembers to switch the laundry? Just run it again like the rest of the world. Still perfect.” Casey’s head lolled back on the headrest, but I saw his smirk. “I said what I said, and I’m pulling the Daddy card.”

“Is that so?” Casey asked with an arched brow.

“Sure is.” I ignored his snort and continued, “And now we are going inside to get this playdate started.”

When Casey hopped out of the car, arms full of babies, I grabbed the bag and headed to the door leading inside. I dumped his LEGO and bracelet kit on the kitchen table and turned to face him.