When I woke up, my bed was empty. Rolling over, I searched the room for any sign of Troye but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Troye? Babe? Where are you?" As I spoke, I climbed out of bed, reaching for a sweater to pull over my pyjamas. There was no answer so I went out into the hallway, crossing over to Riley's bedroom. But Riley wasn't in her room either. I was about to panic when I noticed the calendar we'd hung on the wall. February fourteenth. Valentine's day. Clearly Troye had some plan for me and Riley was involved.
I made my way downstairs, now noticing small sounds coming from the kitchen. I smiled, loving the fact that even though Troye and I both had extremely busy schedules and a daughter to raise, he still managed to make time to make me feel special.
"Good morning." I said, peering into the kitchen to spot Riley sat on the counter, swinging her legs happily as she licked a spoon that looked suspiciously chocolate-y.
"Papa!" She giggled when she saw me, waving the spoon at me.
"Hi baby girl. What have you got there?" I crossed the room towards her, noting that Troye wasn't there.
"Choc-wate!" She announced, offering me the spoon. Smiling, I took a lick as I picked her up for a cuddle.
"Where's daddy? Did he say you could have that?" She nodded eagerly, giggling again.
"Daddy said 'shh' to me."
"Did he now? Where did he go?" But she shook her head. Troye had obviously told her not to tell me, if the grin on her face was anything to go by.
"Here." She shoved the spoon in my face again but I turned away slightly.
"Not this time, princess. You finish that." She nodded and stuck it back in her mouth.
"Oh. You're up." I turned at the sound of Troye's voice to find him standing in the doorway that lead to the dining room.
"Yeah. Only just. What have you been up to this morning?" He came over to join me, hugging me tightly and giving me a soft kiss.
"Not much. I made breakfast for you. And Riley helped."
"Helped as in licked the spoon?" I asked and he laughed.
"Something like that." Riley giggled again, dropping the spoon to the floor and throwing her arms around my neck.
"Papa!"
"What?" I asked, laughing at her actions.
"Down." She instructed, pointing at the floor. I set her down and she immediately hurried off to somewhere, her giggle floating behind her.
"Where's she going?" I asked, looking back up at Troye. He shrugged.
"She's three. Probably off to the land of princesses or something."
"The land of princesses?"
"Yeah, her bedroom."
"You've read one too many picture books to her." I teased, kissing him again. "Happy Valentine's day."
"Happy Valentine's day, Connor. I hope you're ready for a day of surprises." I laughed and hugged him tightly.
"I thought you were supposed to spoil me on our anniversary."
"I can spoil you every day if I want to. You're my husband, it's my legal right to spoil you."
"If you say so." Grinning, he pulled me by the hand into the dining room where he'd set the table for two people and stacked a pile of choc-chip pancakes on each plate. I froze.
