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“Geez Todd, really?” I shake my head and look down at Carina.
She's looking up at me with horror and pleading stripping away her happiness.
“I remember that game, that girl now. I was signed to NFL that day.”
Mellie appears at the top of the stairs, her face stressed from the shouting I guess. She moves quietly toward us, treading carefully as though she's nervous. When she arrives by her husband's side she places a calming hand on his forearm.
“We don't need to talk about this here,” Todd announces with a glance at his wife. Like he doesn't want her in on this. But I'm done with hiding.
“Yeah, we do. I'm not having Carina upset by this any more. And it's a simple explanation. That girl, Katie – your mom, baby - she wanted to do something cute for her guy. She begged me to let her take one photo with the cup. A pro was shooting portraits of us that day and she fluttered at him to take her picture. To cheer you up. She said she had something huge to tell you.”
“That she was pregnant,” Todd mutters, lost in memories.
“That was why you dropped out of the team and college,” Mellie whispers.
“Oh Daddy,” Carina throws her arms around her father.
“It's okay. No regrets at all,” he tells her, stroking her hair. “I've got a beautiful family and he's just a lonely bastard.”
“Not any more,” I tell him, keeping all the smugness out of my voice.
I can't disguise the delight that this is out in the open. I don't have to hide my feelings for Carina one second longer.
“What are your intentions toward my daughter?” Todd demands.
“Daddy,” Carina gasps.
“It's okay, Darlin',” I tell her, reeling her back in to my side after the hug with her father.
Back where she belongs. She's mine now and I want her parents to come to terms with that.
“It's gonna get weird on the day I have to come to you and ask you to give her to me, but I'm willing to do it.”
Carina gasps and her hand flies to her mouth.
“We all need some time to get to know each other first,” I add. “So I'm taking her home to live with me.”
“She has a job in Boston, an apartment, a life,” Todd objects.
“Hardly a life, Daddy.”
“You're building one.”
“Then I'll go to Boston,” I inform them.
“You'd do that?” she murmurs, her eyes huge and round as she gazes up at me with adoration.
I can understand it's hard for Todd to let that look go. And I'm grateful as fuck I won't ever have to. I could never part with her, so I'm cutting the old dude a ton of slack and giving him the respect he's due at raising such a princess of perfection.
“For me?” she adds.
“I'd do anything for you, Darlin'. Anything in the world. A little move across country is the least of everything I'm gonna do for you.”
Her eyes snap to her father, pleading. I see how much she needs him to give his blessing to her new relationship so for her sake, I'm reining back my customary dominance.
“I guess I've been harboring an opinion of Jared Helmsley based on false assumptions,” Todd has the balls to admit.
“Please give him a chance, Dad,” Carina begs. “You're really gonna love him when you get to know him.”
