Page 2 of Margo

“And what, babygirl? Tell Daddy what’s wrong.”

“And that… that… is what’s wrong. The Daddy thing. Oh god. Please don’t take this the wrong way.” Tears fell in earnest now, fast and furious before she could stop them. “It’s just… I… oh god. You’re exactly my type. You’re literally everything I’ve always wanted. And I know I’ve been pushing for this for weeks. I wasn’t trying to lead you on. This is what I want. I want it so badly. I want it too much. I haven’t been letting myself think about it, about the reality of our agreement, and then suddenly it was here and it was real. My dream was coming true. And I just got this rush of panic because I just knew… I just know I’m going to do something stupid or come on too strong or play too hard to get and push you away, or I don’t know… something… just anything to mess it all up really, because that’s what I do.”

Knox’s eyes had widened in his face with every sentence she spoke and now they were bulging as he stared back at her with a bewildered expression.

“Margo, little one…” He paused, seeming to be at a loss for words.

Margo hung her head, feeling sick to her stomach, angry with herself for spewing panic vomit and mad at him for not leaving well enough alone. She shoved off his lap ready to find a bathroom and continue her meltdown alone, but he caught her around the waist and held her.

“Margo, I want to be your Daddy. I’ve been looking forward to this moment of it being official all week. That being said, if you’re not ready, I can hold off. We can step back and reassess. I don’t want to do something that’s going to cause you this much hurt.”

Margo opened her mouth to protest, but she wasn’t sure what to say, and Knox cut her off before she could say anything.

“But before you decide, let me assure you that I’ve thought long and hard about this and I’m confident that I’m ready to be your Daddy and to face whatever challenges that may bring. You aren’t going to push too hard and run me off. I don’t scare easily, and I’m sure we’re both going to mess up at times. Nobody is perfect. I promise to forgive you if you promise to forgive me.”

Margo sniffled. It was such a perfect Daddy-type response. She could feel her heart swelling up with happiness and hope bubbling in her chest. Could it really be that simple?

Just as she tried to allow herself to believe it, the long list of men throughout her life who had made her promises only to let her down reared its ugly head. Bile rose in her throat. Not all men were like that. She knew that. Baze was proof. And Knox was more like Baze than any of the men in her past.

Tears welling again in the corner of her eyes, she shook her head and laid it on Knox’s chest. “I want it so bad,” she sniffled. “But I don’t know if I’m ready. I don’t know if you’re ready. I know you think you are… but… I need you to know.”

“Little one.” He spoke in a tone that was sharp and conveyed confidence. “I do know. I am ready.”

Margo pulled her head away from his chest and blinked up at him. “Daddddyyy,” she said with a woeful moan, “I don’t think I am.”

And before he could reassure her, she rose off his lap, bunching her long, swishy skirt in her hands and ran off toward the reception hall.

With a groan, Knox pulled himself to his feet and followed at a distance. This complicated things. More than she knew.

Knox

Margo needed space. He was new to the Daddy game, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. He’d listened, and reassured, and done everything he could but he was certain that the demons she was fighting had very little to do with him.

He had no problem giving her the space she needed. While he was excited to finally be her Daddy and already feeling the loss from her outburst, there was a much bigger problem looming. He’d just agreed, just, as in, Margo didn’t even know yet, to step in as House Daddy for Baze to Margo and the other Littles while Baze and Luna were on their honeymoon.

Baze planned on telling them all tonight after the reception, or maybe during if he could manage to get them all in one place for long enough to do so. Knox was supposed to stay the night in the penthouse with all of them so Luna and Baze could leave at the crack of dawn without waking anyone up.

There was no way to go back on the plan, and no other possible substitute for Baze, but he was pretty sure Margo would go nuclear when she found out. He had to try to get a minute to talk to Baze about what had just happened and where to go from here.

Entering the reception hall, he spotted Margo in the corner with the other Littles in Baze’s care and several of the staff from Rawhide Ranch who’d flown in tonight just for the wedding and would fly out again in the morning to attend another wedding on New Year’s Eve at Rawhide. Apparently holiday weddings were a big thing with Littles.

He saw Baze and Luna surrounded by friends, deep in conversation. Baze looked at peace and Luna was glowing. He didn’t want to interrupt them, so he scanned the room until his eyes landed on the next best thing. Derek Hawkins, his ex-boss and the owner of Rawhide Ranch. Derek had become somewhat of a mentor to him since he’d first realized he had an interest in the DDLG lifestyle and a certain Little redhead.

Decision made, he beelined for the older man who was sitting at a table in the corner by himself, sipping champagne and keeping a close, watchful eye on his own Little, his wife, Sadie.

Knox reached the table and pulled out a chair across from Derek, sitting down hard. He grabbed a glass of champagne from a nearby server and chugged it down, wrinkling his nose when the bubbles tickled his throat. He really was more of a beer guy, but sometimes a drink was a drink. This was one of those times. He finished the glass and set it down on the table with a clink.

Derek looked at him with a bemused expression and raised brows. “Everything okay, Knox?”

“No, boss. It’s not. It’s really not. Truth be told, I could use some advice.”

Derek nodded, listening intently as Knox poured out the whole story starting a few days before when he’d laid out his terms, continuing to when Margo had accepted his terms this morning with the caveat that nothing became official until after Baze and Luna said I do, and ending with her panic attack meltdown and the predicament he was now in.

“Wow.” Derek huffed out a breath when he finished. “That certainly is a dilemma, but it’s not an insurmountable one, and the answer isn’t that complicated.”

“It’s not?”

“No, it’s not. You made a commitment to Baze and there is no one to take your place. He can’t cancel his honeymoon at such late notice and neither of you could have foreseen this hiccup in the plans.”