Series: Paige Michaels
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 224(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 224(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
“You’re right on time. I’m going to delay you for a few minutes if that’s okay?” Mateo asked before pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“Sure. What’s up?” Immediately, her mind went to the worst conclusion. Was he tired of her? Violet was at his house. She’d have to get her. Her clothes were there. All her uniforms.
“I don’t like whatever thought is going through your mind this time. I have the hinges for your electrical panel. It will take me fifteen minutes. Is that okay or do you need to get home?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her.
“Oh. Sorry. I was jumping to conclusions.”
“That I was leaving you?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Do you really think I could do that? You’re my Little girl. I care very much about you. I would tear my own heart out before I would leave you,” he assured her.
“I would be so sad,” she admitted.
“So we stay together. Should I put these hinges in now or try them another day?” Mateo asked.
“Today is fine if you have the time. I appreciate it.”
“Let me show you my repairman side. It might just seduce you into sleeping with me tonight,” he teased.
“I don’t want to be anywhere else,” she whispered and moved forward to press her lips to his.
“Mmm. Keep that up and I may leave the food biz to become your handyman.” Mateo took ahold of his collar and literally dragged himself away as she snickered. Within seconds, he was hard at work.
She shook her head at the thought of him not working in his family’s business. He’d been at the restaurant since he was a small child. Cuban food was literally in his blood as well as his stomach. Just the thought of the yummy cuisine with all the spices that transformed staples like beans and rice into delicious dishes made her stomach growl. Nora slapped a hand over her tummy.
“Did you eat lunch?” Mateo asked.
“I forgot.”
“Spanking you every day isn’t going to be effective after a couple of months,” he mused, and Nora panicked at the thought. “Perhaps I need to reward you with something to help you remember. While I’m doing this, would you pick out a reward chart and some stickers?”
“Yes!”
Eager to choose something that she would love to see her Daddy use, Nora sped toward the empty store and dropped to a fast walk when Mateo called, “No running, Angel!”
She had so much fun picking out things for her chart. When she couldn’t choose between the mermaid, the candy, and kitten stickers, Nora grabbed all three. Picking a reward chart with fun graphics scattered around, she returned to the back to find her Daddy gathering his tools.
“You were fast,” she complimented.
“It was fairly easy. Warn your employees no swinging like monkeys from the door. Or was it you?”
“I didn’t do it!” Nora denied, shaking her head.
“I know, Angel. Just teasing. Show me what you picked out.”
When she held them out proudly, he cheered, “Perfect choices. We’re going to have fun with those. Now, how much do I owe you?”
“Oh, you don’t have to pay,” she protested. “They’re for me.”
“And I’m buying them.” He reached into his wallet and handed her a twenty-dollar bill.
“I’m not taking that.”
“Okay, Little girl. Got everything you need to leave?” he asked.
She looked at her Daddy suspiciously. Was he going to give up so easily? That didn’t seem like him at all. “I need to grab my coat from the office.”
“Let me hold your choices for you,” he offered.
After handing them over, she zipped into her office to grab her things and met him at the back door. “I’m ready.”
“Let’s go home, Angel,” he said, opening the back door to usher her outside. “I can’t wait to get you home.”
As they drove home, Nora worried. She hadn’t meant to lie to her Daddy about not having time to eat. She just didn’t want him to worry.
“You’re thinking very hard over there, Little girl.”
“Am I going to get a spanking?”
“For not telling me the truth about lunch?”
“Yes. I should have told you I ran out of time because we had a big shipment come in and I had to get it organized.”
“That would have been better, but you still need the nutrition of having something to eat. Perhaps I need to get you a box of healthy bars. That way you could grab one on the go,” he suggested.
“That would be much easier. Some days, I just don’t have time to sit down. I could stick that in my pocket and eat it,” she agreed.
“Sounds like we have a solution.”
Nora peeked sideways. Did that mean she wasn’t getting a spanking? He didn’t really answer her question. Deciding to pretend that it was all settled so maybe he’d forget, she forced herself to relax and distracted herself by looking at the stickers she had chosen.