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She stood by her bed with a proud smile on her face, her little overnight bag—a wheeled suitcase in the shape of an anime-style dog—at her side. As she stood there, I looked around her room. As crazy as it was, Maddie’s room was the most put-together out of the whole house.

However, while her clothes were put away and her bed actually was a bed, I couldn’t help but notice how plain the room was. The walls were white, the floor covered with a simple red rug. It was hardly a place for a little girl to feel happy and safe.

“Alright, why don’t you go head down with Mick and stay with Dr. V. while Mom gets ready, OK?”

“OK!”

Her wheely bag dragged behind her as she left, Mick right at her heels.

When she was gone, I rushed into my room and quickly put a bag together. As I did, I realized how little thought I'd given the matter of

spending the night over at Valentino’s. Namely, where the hell would I be sleeping? Was he planning on making up a guest bedroom for me? Or did he have other arrangements in mind?

I was nervous as hell about it all. Despite that, the idea of getting under the covers with Valentino was enough to make my pussy clench as I threw a few things into my overnight bag. Once that was done, I stepped over to the mirror and locked eyes with my reflection, taking one deep breath after another as I made sure I looked halfway presentable.

Relax. You’re going over there for Maddie, and no other reason. Just be cool and let it play out.

Once I'd talked myself down a bit, I grabbed my bag and left the room. I could hear the happy laughter and barking of Maddie and Mick playing together, which put me at ease right away. Sure, I was a little uncertain about the evening and what might unfold. But anything that made Maddie that happy couldn’t have been bad.

“You girls ready?” Valentino asked. “Because I don’t know if I can wait another minute to show you your surprise, Maddie.”

“Yeah!" Maddie cried out. “Let’s go!”

She ran over to the front door with her bag and pulled it open, Mick panting at her side as they made their way down the steps.

“I have to admit,” I said as Valentino and I followed the pair. “I’m curious about this surprise.”

“You’ll like it,” he said. “At least, I hope so. Come on, I can’t wait to show you.” As we crossed the lawn, he called out to Maddie once more. “Hey, you’re into ice cream, right?”

“Yeah!” Maddie shot back.

“Good. Because I just stocked up on some of the good stuff. How about I show you your surprise, then we have a little dessert?”

“Yes please!”

Valentino glanced over at me, a mischievous glimmer in his eye. “Probably should’ve cleared dessert with you first. But I’m the dad. I can spoil my little girl every now and again, right?”

Hearing him refer to Maddie as “his little girl” for the first time was like nothing else.

“You’re allowed to give her ice cream, of course. It’s more this surprise that I'm curious about.”

“Then you’re going to have to wait and see. Not a chance I’m going to

spoil it for you.”

We headed across the sidewalk, arriving at his front door moments later. “One more thing,” he said, turning around. “There’s a spare key

underneath this pot here.” He placed his hand on the stone rim of one of the big, fern-filled pots on either side of the front door. “Just reach under it and you’ll find it in a little metal box. You hear that, Mads? If you ever get locked out of your house or anything, just come on over.”

She gave a thumbs up in the middle of petting Mick.

It felt good to hear him say that. The offer of a spare key was like our households were merging in a way, and it felt right and natural.

He opened the front door, Mick blasting past us and running into the kitchen. Across the span of the house we could still hear him chomping eagerly on his dog food.

“What’s the surprise?” Maddie asked. “Come here, I'll show you.”

She reached up and offered her hand to him, Valentino taking it with a big smile on his face as he led her up the stairs to the second floor. Mick joined us when he heard us heading upstairs, his paws plodding up the steps behind the group.

We arrived at one of the doors on the second floor. It was closed, and before entering, Valentino dropped into a squat in front of Maddie.

“Now, I know you already have a room. But I figured that if you and your mom ever wanted to stay the night, like tonight, it’d be nice for you to have your own space, right?”

“Right!”

He nodded toward the door. “Go ahead and open it—it's all yours.” Maddie turned back to me with an expression of total excitement. “Go for it,” I said, fighting back happy tears.

She reached up on her little feet and turned the knob. Behind the door revealed something so amazing I couldn’t help but gasp.

It was a room for Maddie, alright—a room unlike anything I’d seen before.

The space was huge, as big as my master bedroom, with a twin set of bay windows that looked out over the backyard and garden, little pillows on the bottom for seating. There was a four-post bed shrouded in translucent white. A set of matching pink and white furniture furnished the space.

That was all nice, of course. But it was the décor that really caught the

eye.

It was all dogs—like, everywhere you looked dogs. The painting theme was that of a dog park, with a bright blue sky, white, fluffy clouds, and tons and tons of dogs all playing in the grass and near the trees. There were dogs of every kind. There was even one that looked like Mick.

“Oh my gosh!” she shouted, running around the room and taking it all in with eager eyes. “This is so cute!” Maddie rushed over to the bed and climbed onto it, grabbing one of the stuffed dogs on the pillow and hugging it tight.

“You like it?” Valentino asked.

“I love it more than anything! Except for Mick! Oh, and you guys too!”

We both laughed. “We’re bringing up the rear,” Valentino said. “But I’ll take it.”

“Mads, why don’t you say thank you to Dr. V.?”

Maddie rolled off the bed and came over, throwing her arms around Valentino’s legs.

“Thank you so much, Dr. V. I love it.”

“You’re more than welcome, kid. Now, how about that ice cream?” “Yeah!”

Maddie took Valentino’s hand and together, they hurried out of the room and back downstairs.

I couldn’t help but smile, warmth in my heart as I watched them leave.

Valentino might’ve been new to this whole “dad” thing. But he was doing a hell of a job in my book.