Sweet Tooth (Little Cakes, #11)(31)

“That’s the name of these.” Elizabeth laughed, obviously tickled by the coincidence.

Tom breathed an inward sigh of relief. Everything was going to be okay. He whispered, “Thank you,” to Margaret when he passed her on the way to the kitchen.

“We love her already, Tom. She’s a keeper.”

She definitely is.





Chapter Fourteen





Feeling so much better as they headed for Tom’s home, Elizabeth relaxed against the seat. His family had devoured the cupcakes, and no one had treated her differently. They obviously didn’t care about her slipup and were delighted to see her again.

“I like your family.”

“Good. I like them, too. We’ll see a lot of them with me working for the family business,” he admitted. “Our house will be our private space. They’ll respect our need to spend time together.”

When she nodded that she understood, Tom said, “You’ve never told me about your family. Are you close to them?”

Pursing her lips for a second as she thought, Elizabeth admitted, “My family is completely different from yours. My parents are divorced and remarried with other children. They’re nice to me when I visit, but I really don’t fit with either family. I’m the outsider.”

“I’m sorry, Bunny.”

“I didn’t feel that way with your family.”

“You fit in perfectly,” he agreed as he parked in the garage. “Let’s go in and talk.”

“Am I in trouble?”

“You ran from Daddy last night. Do you think that qualifies as being in trouble?”

“Probably. I was just scared.”

“So we talk and figure out what to do if you get scared because running from me just about tore my heart out,” he told her as he led her into the house.

“Mine, too.”

“Do you want to talk in the nursery or on the couch?”

“Hortense is in the nursery,” Elizabeth pointed out, needing to hold her stuffie for the tough conversation.

“Let’s go there.”

Tom led her down the hallway, not protesting as she took small baby steps. She was sure she was going to be punished for running away. Once inside the door, Elizabeth ran for the crib where she’d left Hortense. Hugging the sweet hippo to her chest, she turned and watched Tom sit down in the oversized chair.

“Come sit on Daddy’s lap, Little girl.”

She shuffled her feet to reach him. When she stood in front of him, Elizabeth whispered, “I’m sorry.”

“I know, Bunny. Hop up on Daddy’s lap.”

Once she was settled on his lap, Elizabeth cuddled against his warmth. She loved the feel of his arms around her. Closing her eyes, she waited to find out what would happen. To her delight, Tom simply rocked her. His hand stroked over her back, sending comforting feelings through her.

“I like this,” she whispered.

“I want you to remember this feeling.”

Elizabeth nodded her head against his chest.

“Years ago, I left the farm and went to school. Dad wanted me to be the expert in agribusiness, so he sent me to study at the university. The school required that I take a variety of other classes as well. I ended up in a psychology class. One of the first things we learned was about people’s fight-or-flight responses.”

“I’ve heard of that before,” she whispered.

“Most people have an automatic way they react in a stressful situation. When you called me Daddy, you got frightened, and you ran away. Neither one of us want that to happen again, so let’s think of other things you could have done.”

“I thought of this later. Why didn’t I just say, ‘Oops! My dad used to tease me by pinching me’?”

“I always think of something perfect to say later, too. Did he actually do that?” Tom probed.

“No. He didn’t really play or tease me. I didn’t see him a lot. It’s just a good excuse.”

“It’s never a good idea to lie. Then you have to remember everything you said.”

“So what should I have done?”

“First, wait to see what happens.”

“But I was so embarrassed to share our intimate stuff with your folks.” When he didn’t answer, she added, “What else could I have done?”

“Second, trust your Daddy to help.”

She hadn’t thought of that. “What would you have done?”

“Apologized to you for teasing you and changed the subject.”

Elizabeth pushed away from his chest to look at his face. “Do you think that would have worked?”

“With my family, yes.”

“I didn’t know.”

“Of course you didn’t. That’s why we’re talking now. I need you to let me take care of you.”

She stared at his handsome face. “That’s so easy.”

“That’s a good reason why you have a Daddy, so you don’t have to choose between fight or flight.”

“That would have saved so much heartbreak.”

“I won’t have a magic wand to solve every difficult situation we end up in, but I will be there for you, Little girl—every step of the way.”