“Since you’re not eating, Daddy is going to help you.” He spooned up some food. “Open wide like a tyrannosaurus rex.”
“Daddy!” She laughed. “I’m not a dinosaur.” But she opened her mouth obediently.
“That’s it. Good girl.”
“You’re meant to say open up for the choo-choo train.”
“I am? That doesn’t seem nearly as exciting. What about here comes the princess’s unicorn flying through the air, ready to land?”
She opened her mouth and he gave her another mouthful. “That’s better, Daddy.”
“You’re a good girl to open your mouth so obediently for Daddy.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “I’ll have to remember that for later.”
She blushed as he’d thought she would. “Daddy!”
“What?” he said with mock-innocence. “I was talking about for dinner. Dirty-minded girl. Here comes another unicorn!”
After she’d eaten enough to satisfy him, he sent her into the living room to read while he tidied up. He looked down at the whiteboard of rules he’d started creating. Picking it up, he walked into his office to grab another whiteboard as well as a spare notebook.
When he walked into the living room, she looked up, her gaze narrowing in on the whiteboards.
“It was a two-pack,” he explained with a grin.
She rolled her eyes.
“Right, time to talk about rules. Put down your eReader, please.”
“But I’m reading, Daddy.”
“You can have ten minutes of reading time before your nap, but you need to put the eReader down and listen to Daddy.”
“Don’t wanna.”
He had to bite back a smile at her show of rebellion. He took it as a sign that she was now more relaxed around him. Although he didn’t intend to let her see how amused he was.
“Marisol. You have until the count of three to put the eReader down and listen to Daddy.”
She didn’t appear to even hear what he said.
“One.”
She didn’t look up.
“Two.”
Nothing.
“Three.”
He plucked the eReader out of her hands and turned it off. She sat up straight. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”
“No more reading until after your nap.”
“What? Noooo. That’s not fair!”
“Daddy needs to talk to you about your rules. And you need to pay attention. Which you can’t do with your eReader in your hands.”
“Daddy. That’s just mean.”