Like Father, Like Daughter : The Story of the Prime Minister and His Daughter

Chapter 2

2 Years Later

"To Benedict! Made Top Seller's List in the first forty-eight hours of releasing his book, still more popular than he was when he was Prime Minister!" The crowd around a bashful Carlton laughed. "Congrats, Ben. You deserve this." 

Everyone cheered and patted him on the back, before taking a sip of their champagne. Carlton did the same with a smile on his face. His editor, Steven, came up to him and gave him a big hug. "You did it! How does it feel to be a number one selling author?"

Carlton laughed and said, "Well, it took long enough, didn't it? No, it feels great. Weird, but great. Thank you, I know it was a tough one to pull." Steven waved him off and said, "Nah, it wasn't that bad. Just wish I could have got it published sooner, but with the business and paperwork...eh, what does it matter? You're here now!"

"Daddy?" Carlton and Steven quickly turned around. "Dani, what are you doing up?" Carlton asked. He set down his champagne on the table and picked her up. "It's too loud," she whined. He kissed her head and said, "I'm sorry, Pumpkin, we'll keep it down. Go on back to bed."

He was about to set her down, but she held on to his neck and said, "Come with me." He sighed and looked around at all his guests. Nobody would notice him being gone for a few minutes. "Alright, let's go," he said, as he walked them up the stairs and into her room. 

He gently set her down in bed, then sat next to her after pulling the blanket up. "Why are they here, daddy?" She asked. He brushed his hand down her hair and said, "Because I wrote a book and people think it's really good. They wanted to show me how happy they are for me."

She smiled and said, "I'm happy for you." Chuckling, he leaned down and kissed her head. "I love you, baby girl," he said. "Try and go to sleep and maybe I'll make waffles for breakfast." Her eyes lit up at that, making him laugh. 

"Okay, daddy," she said. "I love you." He kissed her cheek, then went to turn off her bedside lamp, when she said, "Wait! Say goodnight to mommy." She opened her locket that Carlton had gotten her last year. It had a picture of Cassie and Dani after Dani was just born. 

Carlton smiled and kissed the picture in the locket. "Night, Hansen," he said. "I love you." Dani smiled and closed the locket, before tucking it back into her shirt. "Daddy, I want a picture of you, too."

He looked at her oddly and asked, "Why?" She put her hand where the locket was resting and said, "So we can be a family." Carlton sighed and took her hands. "Baby, we are a family. Your mummy, she will always be in our family. She didn't want to leave you or me, but she had no choice."

"Why?" She asked. He didn't want to get into this right now, especially tonight. She's still learning about Cassie, but never asked about why she was gone or how. That was, until now.

She continued, "Everyone else's mommy is here. Why isn't mine?" This was breaking his heart. With a loud sigh, he told her, "Tell you what...let me get everyone to go home, and then I'll come up here and tell you whatever you want about mummy. Okay?"

She nodded and said, "Okay, daddy." He gave her a quick smile, then went downstairs. It was about time this party ended anyways, as it had been going on for hours. Now he had an excuse to make everyone leave. 

"I'm afraid Dani isn't feeling well," he told Steven and everyone else who asked why the party was ending so abruptly. About thirty minutes later, the last person left and he was left with a large, empty, messy house. 

After making sure everything was locked up, he went upstairs and was surprised to find Dani still awake. "Give me one more minute," he told her and smiled when she started counting down from sixty.