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“Well, as sorry as I am over the circumstances, I won’t act like I’m not glad you’re here. It’s been crazy in here tonight. You’d think people had better things to do on Valentine’s Day.”

I shrugged, tugging at my tee, which proudly sported the pub’s logo. “I don’t know, drowning your sorrows at the bottom of a bottle to celebrate hating the idea of love sounds pretty good to me.”

“Oh, stop it,” she waved me off. “It hurts sometimes, but love isn’t a bad thing. Who knows, you just might find it tonight.”

“One could only hope to be so lucky,” I mumbled sarcastically before forcing a smile and greeting a customer.

Chapter Two

JAMES

My stomach clenched as I rolled the small, black velvet box symbolizing the start of a new life through my fingers. Sweat beads pooled around my temples as the significance of what I was about to do set in. I hadn’t even made it to the restaurant yet, and I was already shittin’ bricks at the idea of asking this woman to marry me.

My woman.

The woman who’d been an integral part of my life over the past three years. The closer I got to my thirty-fourth rotation around the sun, the more pressure I felt to structuralize my life. Kinsley was a good woman. She made her own money, had a thriving career, and we fit well together.

There was no reason not to make our life together permanent. So, after a talk with her father, and weeks of ring shopping with my brother, Judah, and best friend, Xi, the night was finally here. I was stepping out on a limb and asking Kinsley Parker to become Mrs. Luck.

Sinking onto the edge of my bed, I fingered the box carefully, thinking about how my life was about to change. As sure as I was about Kinsley, most times, I couldn’t silence the sliver of doubt creeping through me.

We complemented one another well, but there had been a handful of times when I’d been uncertain if she was truly my forever. I loved her, no doubt. But, those minute moments of complacency had been enough to spill over into now.

My buzzing phone brought me back into the present, keeping me from spiraling too deeply into my thoughts. Reaching for it, I could have laughed when I saw my father calling. I wasn’t surprised. It was almost like he could feel whenever I was on the cusp of fucking up.

“What’s up, Pop?” I answered.

“James,” he replied gruffly. “You on your way to dinner?”

“I will be in a minute. Kins had a last-minute consultation with a client so we’re meeting at the restaurant instead of me picking her up.”

He didn’t respond, but I didn’t need words to feel the weight of his disapproval.

“She insisted,” I added, accompanied by a shrug he couldn’t see, knowing a lecture was on the way.

“All that means is that you should have pushed harder. Do you think I would have allowed your mother to drive herself to a date instead of picking her up?”

And your controlling nature is precisely why she left.

Instead of voicing my true thoughts, I shrugged. “Kins isn’t Ma. She does things her own way. I don’t see a problem with that.”

There was a long pause before he spoke again. “It might not have been a problem when you were dating, but after tonight, you’ll be prepping to be a husband, son. It’s on you to set the tone for your future household. It’s great that Kinsley is independent and can hold her own, but she shouldn’t have to. Women were created to be soft. They’re not submissive unless they feel taken care of.”

Pulling the phone away from my ear, I let him ramble on about his beliefs about women and what they needed. His ass always had a lot to say for a man who’d driven one woman away and couldn’t find another to put up with his shit to save his life.

But, for all his shortcomings, he was my father. I loved and respected him. Just not his opinions about my relationship.

“James,” he called harshly, forcing me to resume the conversation.

“Yeah, Pop?”

“I hope you’re listening to me. I’m not just talking for my health. I want you to have a long and happy life with the woman you love.”

Gripping the back of my neck, I squeezed lightly. “About that, I’m not⁠—”

“Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet.”

“I don’t know what I’m getting,” I admitted. “I love Kins, but if she’s the one, I should feel better about this, right? I’m supposed to be looking forward to spending the rest of my life with her. Not wondering if I could be making the wrong decis⁠—”