Daddy in Disguise (Crescent Cove 7)

“No.”

“Aww, come on.”

“No torture por—movies.”

“I’ve seen worse.”

“I doubt it, but good try.”

She squinted at me.

“Don’t make me try and figure out the parental lock. I’m very good at passwords. You’ll never figure it out.”

She sighed. “All right.”

“Try The Princess Bride. I promise you’ll like it.”

She made a face, but scrolled down to the movie and pressed play.

Making a pit stop in the kitchen, I found a bag of fruit snacks and peanut butter crackers. My fridge pretty much held coffee drinks in various forms, but I found a bottle of chocolate milk that was still within a good date.

I brought them back out to Dani, who was already engrossed in the movie. She was twisted around in the chair on her belly with her feet swaying as Trick slowly crept over to check her out.

I trusted my cat. She was the sweet one of the duo. Isis was still missing, but she probably wouldn’t make an appearance. She didn’t like strangers. Very much like her mama.

“This should keep you out of trouble. I’ll be back in fifteen.”

She accepted the chocolate milk with excited eyes. She Gumby-ed her way into a cross-legged stance and gave a delighted laugh when Trick hopped into her lap.

“She likes you.”

“What’s her name?” She coasted her hand down my onyx-colored cat.

“Trick.”

The cat instantly began a motorboat purr. Her bright green eyes were mere slits as she accepted the small human’s endless strokes.

“She’ll let you do that for hours.”

“That’s okay. I can keep doing it.”

“I bet.” I set the snacks onto the table between the couch and the beanbag chair. “None for the cat. She has treats on the kitchen island though. She can have a handful.”

“Cool.” Not that they seemed inclined to move. Dani’s attention was already back on the movie, and Trick had curled into a ball in the bowl of her legs.

I padded down the hall, my stocking feet quiet on the cheetah print runner. More antique mirrors lined the walls with stained glass accents. Some had little shelves that held tiny cat statuaries, as well as other animals like elephants and giraffes.

Whenever I went out to find things for the café, I always ended up finding something ridiculously miniature that ended up in my collection.

Isis wrapped herself around my ankles as soon as I entered my bedroom. I bent and lifted her, then absently tucked her onto my shoulder where she liked it best.

I took my huge purple robe off the back of the door and headed into the bathroom. She jumped neatly onto the black marble countertop and licked her paw.

“How was your day?”

She gave me her usual eerie yellow-eyed stare and continued her personal grooming.

“Mine was the same. Well, save for the little human I brought home. Be nice to her. I’m fairly sure her dad would be displeased with Dani going home with the same map of scratches that I own.”