Page 388 of The Daddy P.I. Casefiles: The Second Collection

His eyes are red-rimmed, which could just be the broken night’s sleep. I cup his face in my hands and kiss his cheeks before snuggling in. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’swrong. Other than the fact I can’t seem to catch the Joker’s B. That’s majorly annoying. That aside, I’m just wondering how you’re feeling after seeing Max’s video of Livvy?”

He’s worried about me? Of course he is. Because my wonderful daddy puts me first. I wrap my arms around his neck.

“I’m feeling infatuated.”

“Infatuated?” Logan barks a small laugh. “That’s actually a good word for it. I feel lightheaded and excited and terrified. What if I make the same mistakes Myles and Max made but there’s no nurse there to correct me?”

“Master Mac and I are here and we’re both really good with babies, Daddy. I took care of my friend Gracie’s baby for months when he had colic. I won’t let you hold Livvy wrong.”

He rubs his warm hand up and down my back. “You’re turning the tables on me, aren’t you, baby doll? I keep expecting you to have doubts about this. I gear up to reassure you but you’re the one reassuring me.”

“I’ve been around babies plenty, Daddy. They don’t scare me.”

“This terrifies me, little love.”

“Promise I’ll be here for you every step of the way, Daddy. You’re not doing it alone. We’ll make the best daddy-little babysitting team there’s ever been. You’ll see.”

“You really don’t have any worries about her coming?”

I shake my head against his shoulder. I have little worries. Do I have enough booties? Will she like the sensory toys I’ve gotten for her or should I have bought different ones? Will she get along with Sable or will I have to keep him out of her nursery?

But big worries? No, I don’t have any of those. I’m confident in my ability to take care of a baby and I’m confident that Daddy will douse Livvy in all the love that’s in his big heart.

I might have had a niggle or two wondering how Daddy would balance our dynamic with taking care of Livvy. But havingseen the fearsome schedule he and Master Mac have worked out, I think it’s going to be more a case of trying to snatch some baby-time back from all her enthusiastic carers than it is getting Daddy-little time.

“I really, really don’t. I’m so excited to have her here. I can’t wait to show her the Rexes and take her to baby swim and read to her and give her all the cuddles. But if you have worries about anything, you can tell me. I want to be the best little babysitter in the world and the best little babysitter helps her Daddy.”

“Emmy.” He chuckles softly and cuddles me even closer. “I just don’t want to overload you.”

“Promise I’ll tell you if I’m feeling overloaded. Do you promise to tell me? Because I can help. Something I learned from helping Gracie with her son, if it’s just you and the baby, you’re outnumbered. Always better to be two-on-one. Whenever I can help you, just tell me.”

“I will, baby doll.” He strokes my head and we sit in silence for several minutes while I enjoy being held by my daddy. Finally, he says quietly, “Emmy, I know you want to be the world’s best little babysitter for Livvy. I’m very happy with that. I was just wondering if you might want to be more?”

“More like what?” I ask.

“I never want you to feel that you have less rights than her biological mother. Not in any way. You asked me for permission to create the book about Livvy and I was very happy to give it but I don’t want you feeling like you need my permission to make decisions about Livvy’s care. I trust you completely, baby doll. I know you’ll always do the right thing for our daughter. I just wonder if—maybe—you might want her to be your daughter legally?”

I tip my head back until I can look into Logan’s dark eyes. I’ve noticed he’s stopped using Miranda’s name. Miranda can’t have anticipated how thoroughly dead to Daddy she’d become. It’sher own fault but I can’t help feeling a smidge of sympathy. She’s lost everything: her marriage, her home, her baby. And now her name.

“Is that something we could talk about after the wedding?” I ask.

“Of course.”

“If I wanted to adopt her, would it give Miranda another chance to get custody of Livvy?”

Logan shakes his head. “That’s something I’ve had both the solicitor in England and Franco at the club look at. You adopting Livvy is a formality once we’re married. Franco doesn’t even think there will be a hearing.”

“Okay, Daddy, I’ll think about it.”

“Something else I’d like you to think about, sweetheart. You don’t need to give me an answer right now. I want you to start thinking about it and then we can talk about it again during Knee Time. Maybe it’s because Lizbeth and I are close in age but I’d like Livvy to have close siblings, too. You said you wanted to have a couple of children. What do you think about coming off birth control next year and getting started?”

I don’t even need to think about that one. Where the idea of usurping whatever last connection Miranda has to her daughter—even though I totally understand that Daddy doesn’t want her to have any connection at all—makes me feel a little funny, I’m already on board with getting pregnant. So much so that I already made an appointment with my gynecologist for January.

“Yes, Daddy.”

“You’ll think about it?”