“Ah, right. Edith is a good woman. Are you wondering why I don’t have staff?”
I shake my head. “No. I never thought about it.” I give him an evil grin. “Because you’re not Jameson.”
He laughs. “Touché. I’m not Jameson. I will tell you, however, it’s not because I can’t afford staff. I could. I just don’t like people fussing around me all the time. I have someone come in to clean twice a week, but I gave her this month off so you wouldn’t feel uncomfortable while we’re figuring things out. When she comes, she usually leaves me plenty of meals for the week. Luckily for you, I can cook, or we would have starved by now,” he jokes.
“You gave her the month off?”
“Yes, Baby girl.”
“Doesn’t she need the money?”
He chuckles. “I’m still paying her, Simone. I’m not an ogre.”
“Oh.” No, he’s definitely not an ogre. He’s the bestest man I’ve ever met. It makes me choke up to know that he put his cleaning person on furlough for an entire month because of me and that he is still paying her.
He points toward my food. “Eat, Little one. I think I should call Jameson and invite them over. They could go by your place and pick up some of your things, bring them here, and stay for dinner. How does that sound?”
“I love it. Thank you, Daddy.”
He lifts my chin with a finger. “You’re sure? It’s not too soon? We only entered into this new territory yesterday. If you’d rather wait a while…”
I shake my head. “No, Daddy. I miss Natasha. I don’t care if she sees me being Little. I’m mostly Little when I’m at her house anyway. You just weren’t ever there to witness it.”
He nods. “Yeah. That was painful to me, Little one. I hated it when I knew you were there, laughing and having fun and I wasn’t with you.”
I grab his hand. “I’m sorry, Daddy. I didn’t say that to make you feel bad.”
“I know you didn’t, baby. It’s okay. We’re together now, which is what matters. When we see the two of them, we’ll be double-dating from now on.”
I scrunch up my nose. “Much better than me being a third wheel.”
He laughs. “I’m sure Jameson never minded.”
“He didn’t. But this will be so much better. Do you think they’ll be able to come?”
“I’ll call Jameson right after breakfast.”
Chapter 17
Simone
* * *
I’m watching a movie on Daddy’s lap that afternoon when his phone rings. I sit up as he answers. I hope it’s Natasha calling to ask me about some of the things in my apartment. It’s pretty hard to know what to grab without some direction.
Daddy answers, putting it on speaker. “Hey, Jameson. Did you make it to the apartment?”
“Yes, but there’s something Simone needs to know. Is she with you?”
Daddy glances at me, his brow furrowed. “Yes. She’s right here. She can hear you.”
“When we got here, there was a woman sitting on the floor outside the apartment. She says she’s been waiting for Simone to come home for two days. Says her name is Lillian, and she’s Simone’s sister.”
I gasp. “Lillian is there?” It’s a dumb question, but I can’t help but clarify.
Daddy is staring at me, confused. I’ve never mentioned my sister to him.
“Yes,” Jameson confirms. “I wasn’t going to give her any information without checking in with you first.”
