Happy Father's Day to everyone celebrating today! Time to get our little family together and celebrate hihi I probably enjoyed some parts of this chapter more than others...
"Happy Father's Day, Daddy!" Maya yelled in his ear, and Paul groaned. "Wakey wakey, Daddy!"
"I'm awake, don't need to yell," Paul grumbled, before grabbing Maya and hugging her to his chest. "Why are you so happy today? It's my day, not yours, from what I remember."
Maya put her hands on his face, looking at him with those big eyes of hers. "I'm always happy, Daddy. I'm hungry too."
"You're always hungry," Paul mumbled, before kissing Maya's forehead.
Paul loved Father's Day, if only for Maya. She was the reason he celebrated the date, and before her, he didn't ever think he would enjoy celebrating a holiday so much like he enjoyed these Sundays.
"How about we make breakfast together before we decide where we want to have lunch today? Sounds good?" Paul asked Maya, who nodded eagerly.
"And then we can go see Grandpa Charlie? He's a Daddy too," Maya said, and Paul's heart accelerated with the thought.
"Sure, kiddo, we can do that." Paul smiled, and hugged Maya closer. This Father's Day was looking better than ever already.
"Happy Father's Day, Grandpa Charlie!" Maya yelled, as soon as Charlie opened the door. Why his daughter insisted on yelling was a mystery.
"Thank you, princess." Charlie kneeled to hug Maya, before standing up and looking at Paul with an amused smile on his lips. "Happy Father's Day, Paul."
"Same to you, Chief," Paul replied. Charlie had a way to look intimidating without doing much. "Is Bella around?"
"Baking something for dessert. She's in the kitchen with Gio," Charlie said, before Maya ran towards the kitchen, already yelling for her best friend. "That one has lungs of steel, doesn't she?"
"You don't even know it." Paul chuckled before following Charlie inside the house.
After eating burgers with Maya for lunch—a treat he allowed only on special occasions, he called Bella to ask what she was doing, and soon, they were invited to a snack at Charlie's house.
Bella was trying to be there for Maya in any way she could, especially after the whole asking during Mother's Day. Still warmed his heart whenever he saw the two of them together, and now, seeing Bella baking with Giovanna and Maya was just the best scene in the world.
"Grandpa, we have a present for you!" Giovanna came running into the living room, Maya following hotly in her heels. "Look! It's because you're a Daddy too."
Paul had to refrain the laughter threatening to escape. Giovanna was holding the pinkest tiara he had ever seen, completed with feathers and pearls; something a little girl would love to wear.
"Thank you girls, this is amazing," Charlie said, smiling wide under his mustache. "I'm going to wear it proudly."
A glare from Charlie stopped Paul from laughing, but the moment Charlie put the tiara on, Paul decided it was a good time as any to go see Bella in the kitchen.
"I had to leave before your father threatened to shoot me with his gun because of how much I'll be laughing." Paul's arms slide around Bella's waist, before kissing her neck. "Hello, gorgeous."
Bella giggled, before turning towards him. "Hi, handsome. Happy Father's Day."
"It's getting better and better," Paul whispered, before kissing her.
He never gets tired of kissing Bella, and every time, he gets addicted even more. Paul was glad to have met Bella when he did, and even more glad when she accepted to go out with him, and now, they were steady. And the fact that Maya looked at Bella as a mother figure, warmed his heart.
"As much as I love kissing you, I need to finish baking." Bella gave him a last peck, before calling the girls back.
"Hi, Mr Paul, Happy Father's Day!" Giovanna said, hugging his legs with all her might. "Can you be my Daddy today?"
Paul was taken aback, but nodded quickly, kneeling and hugging her, trying not to choke on the emotion swirling on his chest.
"I'll try my best to not disappoint you," Paul whispered in her hair. Giovanna hugged him harder, before stepping back and walking towards her mother.
"Why don't you go sit with my dad before the girl and I finish with the baking," Bella said, kissing him quickly on the lips before pushing him towards the living room.
It was comfortable to sit around with Chief Swan and watch a match on tv. They didn't talk much, just sitting in relative silence, that was broken with the giggles coming from the kitchen. He didn't understand the reason until they sat down to eat.
"The girls decided they wanted to bake a cake for you two, and I was there just to turn the oven up," Bella said, putting a lump cake on the table. "It's chocolate cake, made by Giovanna and Maya and you two are going to enjoy it."
The glare she sent their way was enough to make Paul smile; she was adorable when she was trying to be intimidating.
Except, he understood why she was glaring at him. The "cake" the girls baked—and he was using the word very loosely here—was at the same time, cooked and undercooked, practically melting on the inside, while hard rock on the outside.
"Isn't it amazing, Daddy?" Maya asked, before pushing a plate towards him. "I cut a piece for you."
"And I cut one for you, Grandpa," Giovanna parroted, before pushing a plate towards Charlie. "Enjoy!"
They both looked wary at the pieces, before cutting a tiny piece and eating it together. Paul opened his mouth to say something, but Charlie glared at him, and he just swallowed the horrible cake.
"This is amazing girls, good job," Charlie managed to say, even if he started playing with his food instead of eating.
"Best cake I ever ate," Paul lied through his teeth, sneaking a glance towards Bella.
She was trying very hard not to laugh, but she was failing miserably.
"Happy Father's Day!" Bella said, before a fit of giggles overcame her.
Paul couldn't help but laugh with her. If this was what their future looked like, he was already looking forward to eating wrongly baked cakes or weird things that would give him a stomachache. Anything to put a smile on their face.
