“What? What is it?”
“I just realized that…” Wow. It finally clicked, and I realized what it meant for him to take care of me. When he changed me, it wasn’t a game or a necessity. He just took care of me because he wanted to. For the first time since Ava and Miles left, I felt calm. “I just realized that you are taking care of me when you change me.”
“I’m not sure if I can follow your thoughts, Cupcake. I thought that was obvious.”
“Yes, but…the diaper change helped me relax and forget about everything for a moment. It’s just you and me.”
“I’m glad you finally understand, Henry.” Bending down, Caden pressed his lips on mine. It was a slow, tender kiss. Not sexual or arousing. It was just pure love, and I melted into the changing table. When Caden ended the kiss and raised his head, my vision was blurry, and I had to blink to get a good look at his lips. “I love you, Henry. I’ll always be here to take care of you.”
“I love you, too.” My smile turned into a grin. “Always is a damn long time.”
“Smartass.”
Laughing, Caden closed the tapes of my diaper and helped me into my sweatpants before he helped me into one of his t-shirts. It was weird, but I was kind of addicted to his t-shirts. They were way too big for me, but I loved to wear them. It was like Caden was wrapped around me all the time.
The blinking lights of the doorbell pulled me out of the playful mood, and my stomach turned into knots.
“Caden…”
“Whatever it is, I’ll be here with you.”
Nervously biting on my lip, I stared at the elevator doors. My hand gripped Caden’s hand. It was like I needed a reminder that he was here with me—my lifeline. Waiting for Ava and Miles to get upstairs, I realized I wanted that with Caden. I wanted what Ava had with Miles, and I wanted what Caden had just promised me.
“Caden?” Turning my head to look at him, I stared at his lips while I blurted out, “I don’t want a test run anymore. I want you to move in with me. I don’t want you to leave.”
“Wow. Okay. That’s weird timing, but okay. I’ll move in with you.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really, Roo.” Grinning, Caden kissed me before he pulled back and nodded towards the door. Oh, yes, right. Ava and Miles.
“What happened? Is everything okay? What about Robert?” I asked as soon as Ava and Miles stepped out of the elevator. Ava looked tired. Her eyes were even more red and puffy than they’d been last night. And like last night, Miles was at her side, holding her and comforting her.
“It’s over.” I blinked twice to make sure that I saw the right movement of her lips. But Ava repeated it a little slower. “It’s over.”
“What…what does that mean?”
“The FBI will be able to shut down the compound. With what I told them, they have enough to arrest them all.” I could see Ava swallow before she took a deep breath. “There will be no parole hearing. Robert will have to serve his full sentence. Then they are bringing extra charges against him as a member of the Altmann family. They’re all going to prison for a long time.”
“Oh.”
The FBI would arrest them all, and Robert would not be free. I’d be safe. Blinking, I could only stare at Ava until she walked over to me. She stopped right in front of me and took my face into her hands.
“It’s over, Henry. You’re safe now.”
Over. Safe. Robert could never hurt me again. No one from my family would ever come after me. Slowly turning my head, I looked at Caden. He had his eyes closed, but a single tear ran down his cheek. Oh.
“Caden?”
Caden’s eyes snapped open. For a moment, he just looked at me. Then he opened his arms, and I threw myself at him. Caden caught me and whirled me around. A laugh escaped my lips. Free. I was finally free from my family and my past. Ava was right. It was time to look forward and start a new life here. With Caden. My Unicorn Daddy.
Epilogue
Caden
Eight weeks later
“Daddy!” Henry yelled from the bathroom. Both Charlie and I jumped. While I was busy with some last-minute arrangements, Charlie was napping on the sofa.
“You go back to sleep. I’ll go and see what your Little Daddy needs,” I told Charlie and turned to walk into the bathroom. But Henry was already running into the living room. Charlie looked from his Little Daddy to me. It was hilarious, and I swear Charlie would have rolled his eyes if he could. Charlie had the same thought that I did. Henry would never learn not to run in the apartment. But there was no time for a punishment. We’d be late if I had him sit down and write lines now. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t punish him later.
“Daddy, I need help!”
Yup, he needed help. Whatever he did with his tie, he made a mess out of it. I asked him if he wanted help getting dressed, but Henry was so nervous that he threw me out of the bathroom. He looked stunning in his dark suit and white shirt. And, I had to admit that the messy tie looked cute on him.
“I looked up how to tie a Windsor knot on Google. It looked so easy!”
Stepping up to him, I kissed his nose and batted his hands away. When I was sure he looked at me, I spoke. “It is easy when you’ve done it like a hundred times, Cupcake.”
“But your knot is perfect!”
“Because I do it every day. You like to run around in comfy clothes. I get to practice my knot every day.” That had Henry giggling, and
