Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 51525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
At my question, my dad stops us abruptly, turning me so we are facing each other.
“You deserve this.” He rests his hand against my cheek, and I hear people start to whisper in the crowd. “You deserve all the happiness in the world.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“You’re going to be happy for the rest of your life. I know in my gut that Denver will see to that. He will work himself to the bone to give my baby everything she deserves, and in return, I know you’re going to give that all back to him tenfold.”
“You’re going to make me cry.” I feel my bottom lip wobble, but instead of crying, I gasp in surprise when I’m suddenly not on my feet but up in the air, and Denver is walking down the aisle, holding me against his chest. “What are you doing?” I breathe, catching a few surprised looks from the people lined up in the pews.
“We’re getting married,” he states, setting me on my feet in front of him, and I blink.
“I was having a moment with my dad,” I tell him—something I’m sure he saw for himself.
He captures my face between his hands then leans in so he’s all I can see. “You can have your moment after you say ‘I do’ to me.”
I’m not surprised by his declaration or even his caveman move. He’s been pushing for this moment since the night I shared that Ly wanted to call him Dad. Our relationship has been moving at light speed for months. First, it was him moving in, and then it was him putting a ring on my finger. Then after that, it was mostly him, not me, planning our wedding with our moms who were both scarily happy that Denver and I were going to say “I do.”
“I love you,” I murmur, seeing the look of determination in his gaze. “I always have and I always wil—” My words are cut off when his mouth crashes down on mine, and he kisses me so hard and so deep I forget where we are and what we are supposed to be doing.
“Um.” A throat clears. “You two might wanna wait until the pastor says you can kiss the bride,” Lincoln cuts into the moment, and I smile against Denver’s mouth then giggle when he growls into mine, holding me closer against his large strong frame.
“You ready?” he asks, not taking his eyes off mine, and I wrap my arms around his shoulders.
“I’ve been ready,” I answer, and I am, because I know my dad’s right. Denver will spend his life working at making me happy, something he does just by existing. And I will do everything to give him the same.
_______________
Two years after that
“You’re going to spoiling him,” I tell Denver, walking into the nursery, where I catch him picking up our sleeping two-month-old son, Leo. I didn’t choose his name; Denver did. He said he wanted our kids and us to be connected through the stars. I loved that he wanted that, so I didn’t fight him on naming our son.
“He’s already spoiled.” He holds him against his chest, kissing the top of his dark head.
He’s not wrong. Between his big sister, his dad, my parents, his aunts, his uncles, and me, the kid has never been put down for more than a few minutes.
“Are you happy?” I ask, wrapping my arms around the back of Denver’s waist while placing my face close to Leo’s to study him like I’ve done a million times. He looks like his dad, almost exactly, right down to his beautiful eyes.
“Baby, you know I’m happy.” He kisses my forehead then encircles me with his arm, now holding our slowly waking son. He leads us to the kitchen then lets me go so he can greet Ly with a kiss to her forehead. I take a moment to study my family then pull myself together so I don’t cry. I have it all. I have everything I could have ever wished for. I’m living a dream, and I’m so grateful for every moment.
_______________
Twelve years later
“Mom, Dad, Scott’s here. We’re going to head out!” Ly shouts through the house, and Denver’s eyes meet mine and darken. Pissed. Great, he’s pissed. Then again, since around the time Ly started taking an interest in boys, he’s been pissed a lot.
“Honey, come say goodbye properly!” I shout back, and Denver’s jaw clenches while his fingers that are wrapped around my hip dig in.
“I’m sorry.” Ly rushes into the living room, where Denver and I are sprawled out on the couch, me mostly on top of him, watching a movie. “We have to go. Dinner is going to start soon, and we can’t be late.” She rushes over, kissing Denver’s cheek then mine. Dinner, dinner with Gabe’s parents who took their time coming around but eventually realized that they didn’t want to miss out on their granddaughter’s life. Unlike my own mother who I haven’t spoken to since the night I told her to get out of my house, they have been a steady fixture in Ly’s life since she was around six years old. I’m happy they are involved. Happy that Ly has grown up with so much love around her. The best is Ly has had a chance to know the people who raised her father and gotten a chance to know him through them.