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“How about you, Zachary?”
“Usually I wouldn’t say no to street tacos, but I just had a roasted turkey leg. I’m good for now.”
Craig reached out and shook my hand. There was unspoken thanks in his expression.
We said our goodbyes so they could get lunch and they walked away with Brielle between them.
More people came to hug Marigold, telling her how happy they were that she was okay. Some had questions about her ordeal. The Tilikum gossip line had been in full swing and, surprisingly, most of the stories going around town were scarily close to the truth. Her clients gushed that they couldn’t live without her.
I knew exactly how that felt.
A pat on my shoulder caught my attention and I turned around. It was my dad. Mom stood next to him, holding a plate of food.
“Hey, Dad.”
He didn’t say anything right away. Just nodded slowly, like he was working out what to say. Finally, he cleared his throat, stepped closer, and wrapped me in a tight hug.
I was stunned. It wasn’t that my dad had never hugged me before. He had. But this was different. He held me tight for a long moment, his big arms almost crushing me.
When he dropped his arms and stepped back, he met my eyes. “I’m proud of you, son.”
My chest tightened with emotion and a lump rose in my throat. For a second, I couldn’t speak. He’d never said those words to me. Not once. And until that moment, I’d never realized just how badly I’d needed to hear them.
“Thanks, Dad,” I finally choked out.
He nodded again, a quick tip of his chin. It wasn’t a lengthy conversation about why he was proud or what it all meant. That wasn’t his style. Paul Haven had always been a man of few words, and somehow, that made the words he did say all the more powerful.
Mom took off her glasses and dabbed beneath her eyes. Annika and Levi had made their way to Marigold and my nieces and nephews were jumping all over her. Except Thomas. He took his big brother job very seriously and made sure Will didn’t get Mari’s dress dirty.
A chorus of “Auntie Mari” rang out around her from the kids.
Just you wait, my dudes. She’s going to be your real auntie soon enough.
Not for the first time, my spontaneous streak kicked in. I had an almost uncontrollable urge to drop to one knee right there and propose.
A guy could have worse timing. Word on the street had it that my brother Josiah had first proposed to Audrey right after rescuing her from the man who’d been stalking her. When I heard that, I thought he was nuts. Who would be thinking about marriage in the immediate aftermath of a life and death crisis?
Now, I got it.
I’d almost done it at the dock in Pasco. All the adrenaline and fear of losing her had come to a head, and in the midst of my relief I’d had this crazy urge to seal the deal. To lock things down so I knew she’d be mine forever.
But I’d resisted the urge to blurt out that I wanted her to marry me as soon as humanly possible. That had been the right call. Marriage meant a lot to Marigold. I knew from my sister she’d been keeping a wedding binder since they were kids, so I was going to do things right. Give her everything she deserved. Including a proposal worthy of my beautiful girl.
So once again, I resisted the urge. I had the beginnings of a plan and it was going to be worth the wait.
CHAPTER 42
Marigold
I hadn’t been this excited for a birthday party in years.
My Regency costume still fit—thank goodness. I turned to the side, smoothing down the pale blue empire waist dress, checking my reflection in the full length mirror. I loved the bit of a bustle effect the drawstring at the high waistline added to the silhouette.
Annika, Audrey, and Isabelle had come to me with the idea for a costume party for my birthday. I wasn’t sure why—it was just an ordinary birthday—but I’d been thrilled with the idea, even if only to have a reason to wear my costume dress again.
It was being held at the Grand Peak hotel, which seemed awfully opulent. But Annika had assured me they’d been given a great deal, since it was the off season.
It was going to be an actual ball, just like in some of my favorite books.
