Daddy's Perfect Princess (The Shape of Love Book 1)

by Stella Moore

  He was watching her with an amused smirk on his face when she turned around. “I know what a corkscrew looks like, princess.”

  “You sure? I’ve never seen you drink anything but beer, caveman.” She prayed her teasing would distract him as she opened the cabinet door and grabbed the box holding her corkscrew. “Here you go.”

  “What the hell is this thing?”

  Mindy giggled, both at his reaction and with relief that she hadn’t been caught. “It’s a set for opening wine bottles. Jenna got it for me when I bought the house. It has my initials on it and everything. Very fancy.”

  “It figures you wouldn’t just have a normal corkscrew,” he grumbled, shaking his head as he opened the wine.

  Smiling, she turned back to the stove. She’d stash the pills in her purse tomorrow. And if her heart was still racing a little, it was just the lingering effects of nearly being caught.

  Chapter 23

  Standing on the scale a week later, Mindy’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. She’d been taking the pills as suggested, and sticking religiously to Fox’s plan since Tuesday and she’d lost over ten pounds. With an excited squeal, she jumped off the scale and did a happy dance.

  “Why are you dancing in the bathroom at six in the morning on a Sunday?”

  She spun around, slapping a hand over her heart. “You scared the shit out of me!”

  His eyes narrowed, but his crooked smile was full of wicked promise. “Language, princess. And you didn’t answer my question.”

  “Sorry. I just lost another couple pounds, so I was excited.”

  His smile went from wicked to proud in a heartbeat. “Good job, princess. But you remember what I said about the scale.”

  She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “It’s just one tool to measure success and how I feel is more important. Yes, Daddy, I remember.”

  “Good. I’m proud of you for sticking to the plan, but I don’t want you to obsess over the number on the scale.”

  Guilt sat like a rock in her stomach, but she forced a smile. “I’m not obsessing.” Not any more than she usually did. And she had stuck to the plan. Did it really matter that she’d given the plan a little boost?

  He pulled her to him, and she pushed the guilt aside and allowed herself to sink into him. “How about we work up an appetite before breakfast?”

  She grinned up at him, the familiar need rushing through her at his words. “That’s an excellent plan.”

  They spent an hour working up an appetite, starting with her draped over his lap for a long, sexy spanking before he’d taken her. By the time she plopped down at her kitchen table, she was ravenous.

  Since she cooked most weeknights, he’d informed her he would take over on the weekends. She had argued at first that it was her responsibility, but a lengthy discussion with his paddle had convinced her to share the load. Sitting at her table, sipping a cup of coffee and watching him as he moved around the kitchen, she decided sharing wasn’t so bad after all.

  “Anything we need to do before we go to my parents’ this afternoon?”

  Mindy wrinkled her nose. His parents were insisting on having them over to celebrate them moving in together. Which was lovely, really, if it weren’t for the fact that Sidney was going to be there.

  “I saw that, little girl. Do you need a reminder to behave and be nice to Sid before we go?”

  Her bottom tingled at the threat and she sighed. She had to make an effort, for his sake. It wasn’t fair for him to be caught in the middle. “No, Daddy.”

  “Good. I really want you guys to try and get along. I love you both.”

  The truth of it softened her resistance. “I know. I’ll be good.”

  He set an omelet in front of her and pressed a kiss to her hair. “That’s all I ask, princess.”

  A few hours later—despite Fox’s teasing—the house was clean to her specifications and they were nearly ready to leave. Standing in the bathroom, she studied the bottle of pills. Technically she wasn’t supposed to take the second pill for another three hours, but she couldn’t guarantee that she would have the privacy to do so at his parents’ house. A few hours wouldn’t make that big of a difference, so she popped the pill in her mouth and washed it down with the bottle of water she’d brought into the bathroom with her. With one final check of her hair and makeup, she went to find Fox so they could leave.

  “Mindy! It’s lovely to see you again!” Karen greeted her at the front door with a warm hug. “Fox isn’t giving you too much trouble, is he? You know, as a kid, he hated cleaning his room. Got his little bottom spanked for it quite a few times,” she added with a conspiratorial wink.

  The idea of her spanking Fox was almost more than she could handle. Mindy giggled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Karen threw her head back and laughed, then turned back to the kitchen. Mindy elbowed Fox in the side. “Hear that? Your mama gave me permission to spank you if you don’t clean up like a good boy.”

  “That’ll be a cold day in hell. If you even try it, we’ll see how you like a week of bedtime spankings.”

  “Um, no. I’m good.”

  He chuckled. “That’s what I thought, princess.”

  Bobby was pulling some kind of meat out of the fridge when they walked into the kitchen. His eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled, and Mindy relaxed. At least Fox’s parents were happy to have her there. “Nice to see you again, Mindy. Fox behaving himself?”

  She gave an exaggerated sigh and shook her head. “He’s impossible to live with. As I’m sure you know.”

  Fox’s low growl in her ear just made her laugh all over again. She was going to pay for that remark later.

  “Hey, Fox. Mindy.”

  Her good mood vanished in a puff of smoke. Plastering a smile on her face, she turned to Sidney. “Hello.”

  Beside her, Fox sighed quietly. “Hey, sis. What’s up?”

  “Same old. Hey, Mindy? Can I talk to you outside for a minute?”

  Keeping the smile in place despite her desire to punch the other woman in the face, Mindy nodded. “Be nice,” Fox warned in a low voice.

  “Tell her,” Mindy shot back, not caring if he decided to take it out of her hide later.

  “So, I owe you an apology,” Sidney said as soon as they’d closed the door behind them.

  “You do,” Mindy replied, well aware that her voice wasn’t anywhere near what Fox would consider nice.

  “Tough crowd,” Sid muttered. “You have every right to be pissed. What I said was shitty, so, yeah, I’m sorry.”

  Mindy considered just letting it go at that. But she wasn’t feeling particularly magnanimous. “Why would you say it if you knew it was shitty?”

  Sid blinked, as though she hadn’t expected to be questioned. “I honestly don’t know. Other than I think you’re kind of snooty.”

  Mindy’s heart kicked into overdrive at the words. “Snooty? I’m not snooty. I was nervous about meeting you all for the first time.” Her heart continued to race as her temper spiked. “So, hey, thanks for making me feel so welcome!”

  “Okay, I get it, I was a bitch. I’m sorry. Can’t you just let it go?”

  She should. Fox wanted her to make nice, and if they were going to be together, it would be easier with Sid on her side. But she couldn’t turn off the fury racing through her veins. “No. I can’t just let it go. Because…” she trailed off as a strange pressure began to build in her chest, making it hard to breathe.

  “Mindy? Are you okay?”

  Sidney’s voice sounded far away, and her vision had begun to darken at the edge. “Fox. Need Fox.”

  The last thing she heard before the world faded to black was Sidney screaming her brother’s name.

  “Fox! Fox!”

  Sidney’s screams from the deck sent him racing out the back door. She was kneeling on the deck, cradling Mindy’s head in her lap.

  “What happened?” Fear clawed at his chest as he dropped to the ground behind his unconscio
us woman.

  “I don’t know,” Sid’s voice was on the edge of hysteria. “We were talking and she just passed out.”

  Their dad knelt beside him, laying a hand on Fox’s shoulder. “She’s going to be okay, Fox.”

  “How do you know? We don’t even know what happened.” He brushed Mindy’s hair away from her face, which had gone disturbingly pale. “Mindy. Wake up, princess.”

  To his shock, she moaned, and her eyes fluttered open. “Fox?”

  “Oh, God. I’m here, baby. Are you okay?”

  “Don’t feel good.”

  “I know. We’re going to go to the hospital in a minute. Can you sit up?”

  Leaning against the railing, he helped her sit up and pulled her onto his lap. “How do you feel, princess?”

  “Okay. I’m sorry,” she whispered, curling into him.

  “Shh. You don’t have to apologize. We’re going to get you checked out and everything is going to be fine.” He wasn’t sure if he was trying harder to convince her or himself. “I’m taking her to the hospital.”

  “I’ll drive. Don’t argue,” his dad’s tone was firm, and Fox knew there would be no arguing with him.

  “Can you stand, princess?”

  She nodded, and he and his dad helped her to her feet. Not taking any chances, he scooped her into his arms and carried her to his dad’s car. He wanted to hold her, but he settled for buckling them both into the backseat, and pulling her into him on the ride over. The drive to the hospital was filled with a tense silence, which did nothing to help the frantic questions bouncing around his mind. What the hell had happened? She’d eaten that morning, so it shouldn’t be her blood sugar. Maybe she was sick. Fuck, what if she was really sick? He’d just found her. He couldn’t lose her.

  “Fox.” His dad’s voice drew his attention to the front of the car. The silent strength he saw when he met his dad’s eyes in the mirror helped to settle him. Mindy didn’t need him to freak out. She needed his strength. She needed her daddy.

  His dad dropped them off at the emergency room doors, and Fox helped her inside when she refused to be carried. “I can walk, Fox,” she’d insisted. Though it went against all his protective instincts, he’d relented and settled for keeping a protective arm around her waist as they walked through the doors.

  When they checked in, he was surprised to find someone had checked Mindy in online. Probably his mother, if he had to guess. They were thankfully led straight back, but then Fox found himself unceremoniously ushered out since he wasn’t family. He paced the waiting room while they examined her, and it seemed like hours before he was finally allowed back.

  Mindy was sitting up in a bed, and he was thankful to see that the color had returned to her cheeks. “How are you feeling, princess?”

  She smiled, but it was strained at the edges. “Okay. Ready to go home. Doctor said I’m good to go.”

  “Fine? Mindy, you fainted. We need answers.”

  “Fox, I’m fine. Can we please go home?”

  He started to argue, but she looked so little and weak, sitting in the hospital bed, he didn’t want to upset her. He’d get to the bottom of it, eventually, but for now she needed him. “Okay, princess. My dad and Sid brought the Jeep by, so we can go straight home.”

  She was strangely quiet on the ride home, and he nearly turned around more than once. When they got home, he helped her out of the car, and into the house.

  “You should get some sleep. Or something,” he said, wishing he’d gotten better instructions before leaving the hospital.

  “Fox, we need to talk.”

  A chill went through him at her words. “About what? Did they say something at the hospital?”

  She shook her head, and reached into her purse and pulled out what looked like a bottle of vitamins. “I’ve been taking these. For about a week. I took two today, too close to each other. The doctor says that’s why I passed out.”

  Confused, he accepted the bottle. Reading the label, fear slowly morphed to fury. “Diet pills? Where did you get these?”

  “Online.” Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t even going to take them.”

  “But you did. Why?”

  “I was frustrated. I wasn’t losing weight like I thought I should, and I was doing some research and an ad popped up for these pills and I ordered them. When they came, I hid them, and I was going to dump them. But then I went out with Jenna and the next morning I’d gained back like five pounds and I was just so frustrated, so I took one just to get myself back to where I was. And then nothing bad happened, and they actually made me feel good, so I started taking them regularly.”

  It took every ounce of self-control he had not to bend her over the kitchen table and whip her ass until she never even thought of doing something so foolish again. He took several deep breaths to calm the fury boiling inside of him. “Why, Mindy? I don’t get it. Why would you feel like you had to do this? I thought we were past this.”

  “You don’t get it!”

  The burst of anger shocked him.

  The tears that had been swimming in her eyes spilled over. “You don’t get what it’s like to live every day worrying about how you look. Wondering if people are judging you. I just wanted to be thin, and pretty, and to finally show Todd I…” she trailed off as if surprised by her own words.

  He felt numb. Everything he’d given her, as much as he loved her, and it still wasn’t enough. “This is all still for your asshole ex. You’re still hung up on him.”

  She shook her head. “No. Daddy, I’m not, I promise. I love you.”

  Daddy. The word mocked him as it rang in his ears. “I love you, Mindy. But I won’t be second fiddle to a man who never deserved you in the first place.”

  “You’re not. I don’t know why I even said that. I’ll throw the pills out, you can punish me however you want. I know I deserve it.” Her eyes were pleading with him, but he just shook his head at her.

  “No. I can’t stay here.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Back to my place. I need… I just can’t be here right now.”

  The sound of her broken weeping followed him as he walked out the door, leaving behind the woman he loved.

  Chapter 24

  Mindy stared at the front door, the sound of the Jeep roaring to life echoing in her ears. He’d left. She’d fucked up, and now he was gone. And she had no idea if he was coming back.

  Jenna. She needed Jenna. Jenna would know what to do. Frantically searching her purse, she pulled out her phone and dialed her bestie’s number. “I had a fight with Fox,” she blurted out as soon as the call connected.

  “I’m on my way. Just take a deep breath and try to calm down, kid. I’ll be there in ten.”

  It was closer to five, and Mindy vaguely wondered how many traffic laws she’d broken. Jenna came rushing in and threw her arms around Mindy, who was curled up on the couch, sniffling.

  “What happened? What did he do?”

  Mindy shook her head. “It wasn’t him. It was me. I’ve been so obsessed with losing weight, and I haven’t been, so I started taking these pills and I got sick and he got mad and he left.”

  “You did what? Have you lost your mind?”

  Mindy’s breath hitched at the sound of Jenna’s anger, and the tears she’d mostly dried started up again. Beside her, Jenna sighed.

  “I’m sorry, sweetie. I just don’t understand why you’d take pills. You look amazing. You’ve always looked amazing.”

  Mindy let her head fall back against the couch and closed her eyes. “You don’t get it. Fox doesn’t get it, either. You’ve been skinny your entire life, Jenna. You look like a supermodel. All I’ve ever wanted was to look like you.”

  “Well, then, you’re a moron.”

  The harsh words had Mindy’s eyes snapping back open. “What?”

  “You. Are. A. Moron. I wish I had your curves. And you’re gorgeous. It’s infuriating that you can’t see that. Whic
h I’m guessing is why Fox took a walk. But he’ll be back. That man adores you.”

  Mindy shook her head. “He won’t be. When we were arguing, I said something about proving to Todd I could lose the weight, and you should have seen his face. I hurt him, Jenna. I didn’t even know I could hurt him like that.”

  “I’m forced to repeat myself. I love you, but you’re so dense when it comes to this stuff. He loves you, Mindy. Of course you can hurt him. That’s what loving someone means.”

  “What am I going to do?”

  “Give him some space to cool off, then you go to him and talk it out.”

  “I can’t do that. He left, Jenna. He doesn’t want me.”

  “You can do it. Even if it’s over, you owe it to both of you to talk about it.”

  With a groan, Mindy stretched out on the couch with her head in Jenna’s lap. “You make it sound so easy.”

  “Simple. Not easy, but simple. You know what you have to do, kid. You just have to find the guts to do it.”

  Mindy seriously considered calling off work the next day, but decided she needed something to keep her mind off Fox. She’d barely slept, as the bags under her eyes were loudly proclaiming to anyone who would listen.

  She’d considered going to the gym as though nothing had happened. Fox would at least have to talk to her. But in the end, she was too much of a coward to confront him on his turf like that, so she just went straight to work.

  “You look like hell. Are you sick?” Gail asked, leaning against Mindy’s cubicle wall.

  “No. Just didn’t sleep well.”

  Gail narrowed her eyes. “If you’re sick, get out of my office.”

  The stern tone brought a reluctant smile to Mindy’s face. Gail was an absolute germaphobe, and she did not tolerate her employees spreading viruses around if they could help it. “I promise, mama bear. I think Fox dumped me,” she added quietly.

  Gail’s expression shifted from militant to sympathetic in a heartbeat. “Oh, honey. I’m sorry. What happened?”