Page 18 of Daddy's Perfect Ballerina

“Of course,” he confirms immediately.

A mischievous grin takes over her face. “And you want to be my other papa?”

My boyfriend chokes on air. “Um, w-what?”

Miley switches back to a regular volume. “Well… you love me and my papa. So you want to be my papa with him, right?”

“I…”

“And you live in Papa’s room with him?”

Deciding to save him, I come back to the table with a singular strawberry cupcake on a plate. “Leo won’t live in Papa’s room. Not yet Miley, but maybe soon.”

“And be my second papa too?” she asks sweetly, dipping a finger into her pink frosting.

“I bet if you ask him real nicely when the time is right, he won’t be able to tell you no, sweet pea.”

She squints. “When?”

I chuckle. “I’ll let you know when.”

The answer is enough to appease her, and she nods, her pigtails bobbing with the force of it. “Okay, Papa.”

Turning to Leo she offers up her cupcake. “You can take a small bite, Almost-Papa.”

When he finds my eyes, there isn’t fear or confusion on his face. Only hope.

Well done, Miley. Well done.