“Dad?” I said, walking into the kitchen and taking the seat next to him.
He cleared his throat and sat back in his chair, attempting to look nonchalant. “What’s on your mind, baby girl?”
“You know I’m going to be okay, right?”
“Let me tell you what I know,” he said, crossing his arms defensively over his chest. “Nothing, that’s what I know. You go off to college, money shows up out of nowhere in our account, your mother gets the best heart surgeon in the state—hell, in the country, for that matter—you show up with this bohunk who has more money than he knows what to do with, and all of a sudden my baby girl is running off to marry him. Hell, he didn’t even ask me for your hand in marriage. Now you tell me, Lanie, what’s there for me to be worried about?”
“You have to trust me. I’m not a little girl anymore. I know what I’m doing.”
He turned his head to look out the window and then sighed again. “Do you love him?”
I laid my hand on his shoulder, and he turned to look back at me. “More than I ever thought possible. And he loves me, too, so much.”
Silence stretched between us before he finally said, “You know, when I first held your tiny body in my arms, I swore to protect and keep you safe from everything this cruel world has to offer. But I also promised myself that I wouldn’t be so over-protective that I keep you from being happy.”
“Noah makes me happy, Daddy,” I told him, trying to convey my sincerity through my eyes. “I’m miserable without him. I want to spend the rest of my life loving him and letting him love me. But I can’t be truly happy without your blessing. I want you to walk me down the aisle and give me away to Noah, knowing I’ll be safe with him. So do we have your blessing?”
Mack looked down at the table as he picked up a potato chip and shrugged. “I guess. But if he steps even a millimeter out of line, I’m going to be up his ass like a pogo stick,” he said, and then popped the chip into his mouth.
I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. “Thank you, Dad! I’ll always love you best.”
“Holy torpedo in a Speedo!” Dez gasped as we walked through the front doors of Scarlet Lotus.
“Wow, this is … impressive,” I said, looking around at the ornate fixtures of the lobby. “The man I’m about to marry is doing very well, indeed.”
“I really hate you right now,” Dez said, her eyes narrowed at me in jealousy. “Just remember that what’s yours is mine.”
“This won’t be mine, Dez.” I spotted Polly and she waved us over. “I don’t want anything from Noah other than his love. And maybe—no, definitely—his body.”
“Congratulations!” Polly squealed when we reached her, and then she threw her arms around me for one heck of a bear hug. She sure was strong for such a tiny little thing. I guess it was true what they said about ants being able to carry fifty times their own weight.
I thought Dez was going to pull a knife on Polly when she did the same to her, but luckily Polly was too quick. When she pulled back, she got that excited look in her eyes. “Come on. Let’s get you upstairs to your fiancé.”
She led us to an elevator and we stepped inside while she punched the button for the floor with Noah’s office. The entire ride up, she kept asking about the wedding; who was going to plan it, who was going to cater, the date, and the list went on and on. I could see the aggravation on her face when my answer to every question was, “I don’t know.”
“Polly, he just asked me to marry him a few hours ago. When did I have time to plan a wedding?”
“Pfft,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Honey, I had my wedding planned since I was, like, three.”
Somehow I didn’t doubt that.
The elevator dinged, signaling our arrival to our destination, and the doors pulled back so we could step off. We followed Polly down a hallway, and I noticed that everyone stopped and stared after us like we were on display. I recognized some of the faces from the ball, but it still made me feel slightly uncomfortable.
“Hey, wifey! What are you doing here?” Mason asked in surprise when we walked into his office. And then his eyes nearly bugged out when I stepped out from behind Polly. “Holy shit! What are you doing here?”
“Shh,” Polly said, cupping her hand over his mouth. “Is he in?”
Mason only nodded because that was all he could do. “Well? What are you waiting for? Go get him,” Polly directed me with a nod toward Noah’s office.
I walked over and cracked the door open. He was sitting at his desk, his back turned toward the door as he looked out his window like he was a million miles away. His hair was disheveled and his jaw was slightly scruffier than normal. Apparently his little impromptu trip to Hillsboro had left him with no time to shave.
I closed the door behind me. “Having second thoughts?”
Noah swung around in his chair, his brow raised and eyes wide.
“Surprise,” I said, walking toward him.
“Lanie? What are you doing here?”
“I figured two can play the whole surprise-visit game,” I told him as I took a seat in his lap. “Only I’m not leaving. I’m here to stay. My mother swears she’s fine, and my father … well, we have his blessing.”
I felt his whole body relax around me, as if every ounce of tension that our separation had caused him had suddenly melted away with my words. His hold tightened when I leaned in and nuzzled his ear. “Looks like you’re stuck with me,” I whispered.
Noah cupped my face in his hands, his lips brushing against mine when he said, “Welcome home, kitten.” And then he gave me a searing kiss.
I melted against him, into him, as his words permeated my skin and became a part of me. I was back where I belonged, in the arms of the man who’d captured my heart for an eternity. My mother was healing, my father was back to work, and all was right with the world. Nothing could penetrate the happy little bubble I’d found myself in.
“Yo, Crawford!” The door to Noah’s office swung open, disrupting our happily-ever-after moment as a voice I wished I could have forgotten tainted our pure air with obnoxygen.
Noah growled, ire thick in his voice, “What do you want, Stone? And what the fuck are you doing barging into my office unannounced?”
“Oh, wow. Were you two about to get it on in here? Because I’m pretty sure that’s against company policy. We can always ask the board at the meeting on Monday to be sure.”