Sheriff Daddy’s Dreamy Little by Jess Winters

CHAPTER TEN

 

 

 

 

 

EVA

The next few weeks were spent planning the wedding. Eva didn’t want a traditional wedding, and neither did I. Not that I didn’t adore the churches in town, but we both thought it might be more fun to have a wedding in our own backyard, from the comfort of home.

She had her dress all picked out and ready, and I had my suit. All that was left was our rehearsal dinner that evening, and then the wedding day a few days after.

Practically the entire town was going to come and see us. I was ecstatic that it was finally my turn to get to marry such a beautiful bride.

Eva was a ball of nerves all day, in the kitchen with the other Littles, who were helping her cook desserts.

We had catering coming, but she also wanted to hang out in the kitchen and bake sweets for a few hours to get out some of her chaotic energy.

“Try this Daddy,” she said when I came over.

I opened my mouth and received the sweetest bite of buttercream frosting I’d ever tasted. I was practically crying, it tasted so good.

“That is incredible, baby girl. What are you going to put it on?”

“Brownies, of course,” one of her friends chimed in.

She laughed. “We’re going to coat the brownies in frosting and rainbow sprinkles.”

“Brownies are my favorite,” I said, picking her up off the stool and twirling her around.

Eva giggled and pretended to be flailing, as if an enormous monster had scooped her up.

I could tell the other Littles were jealous of us. Not a lot, but they were certainly a little bit jealous of our love, and I frequently caught some of them side-eyeing us as we interacted with each other.

Well, good, let them be jealous. Our love was the strongest force in the universe.

“Come upstairs with me for a quick second, I have a gift for you,” I whispered in her ear.

Ever the excited one, Eva squealed and ran happily ahead of me towards the marble staircase.

“Excuse us, ladies,” I said to her friends.

They smiled at me before going back to their baking. It was quite nice to be the center of attention, if I were completely honest with myself. I’d never had all this focus on me before, except maybe from Eva.

I was loving being the man in charge, too.

When I got upstairs, I saw Eva was spread out on the bed, probably crashing from her sugar high.

“Baby girl, come over here a moment and sit in front of the vanity.”

“Kay,” she said, skipping over.

“Are you sleepy?” I asked.

“Getting here,” she told me. “I think I had too much sugar. When is dinner?”

“Soon. I think the caterers are almost here.”

“Mm, I’m so excited to eat more delicious food.”

She sat in front of the vanity and put her hair up in a ponytail.

Around her neck I placed my grandmother’s other treasure—her opal necklace.

Her birthday was in October, and she always had opals in her jewelry to symbolize that she was a Libra.

I secured the necklace and stood back, admiring Eva as she let her fingers slide all over the opals and diamonds.

“Oh Daddy, it’s so beautiful. I can’t believe I get to wear this. Should I just borrow it for the wedding?”

“That necklace is officially yours to keep, forever. I’m giving it to you as a gift. It’s what my grandmother would have wanted.”

Eva nodded, her eyes distracted still by all the sparkling rainbow lines coursing through the opals.

“I hope she’s happy watching us from Heaven,” she said quietly.

I nodded. “‘I am confident she is ecstatic I met the love of my life,” I reassured her.

I leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Eva’s cheek.

She turned around and kissed me on the lips, softly at first, then hungry.

“Right now, baby girl? Don’t we have guests downstairs?”

“Oh, since when do you care about public displays of affection?” she joked.

“True. We can let them wait a few minutes, can’t we?”

It turned out we were needed downstairs. Someone was calling up to us that we were needed for the caterers, who weren’t sure where to set up.

I responded by biting Eva on the neck, softly enough that it wouldn’t leave a mark, but hard enough that it would bring her pleasure.

“Well now that is all I’m going to think about during dinner,” she told me.

“Good, I want you to be hungry and waiting for me when all this over.”

I kissed her again on the lips, our tongues teasing each other, and exploring one another’s mouths.

Everything tasted and smelled like sugar.

“Josh?” came a voice from downstairs.

“Coming!” I called back. “Ready?” I said too Eva.

“Of course, Daddy.”

She took my hand in hers and together we walked back downstairs to greet the caterers.