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“Why not?”

I sigh. I was hoping the simple no would be enough for him, so I didn’t need to keep lying. I’m starting to understand why Grace was so upset about it the morning the post went live. Her brain processed how this would affect our loved ones long before mine did.

“She has a lodge to run, and she can’t just drop everything because we’re engaged now.”

He nods.

“She’s got her hands full with that place now that her father is gone.”

I nod at the disappointment in his tone, but now is a great time to ask something I’ve been curious to know.

“Did you know about her dad?”

His head jerks back as if I slapped him.

“What? God, no, son, I did not. I would have stopped talking to him years ago had I known and been unable to get him to do the right thing.”

I figured, but they have been friends forever, and if Grace has taught me anything in the last few days, it’s that even those closest to you can surprise you.

My dad might have been a man who put work in the same spot as his family, but he would never do anything to hurt us. His love is never something I have to wonder about.

“I started to wonder, though, when that offer came to the board last year. I was about to head the deal myself when you cut in.” He grins. “I know it’s not good for business to give away an opportunity like that, but I’m proud of the way you handled the situation.”

If only more people felt the same.

“Thanks. Grace would have been devastated if he took that place away from her.”

“And had we bought it, you two would have never been able to move forward and be where you are now. Engaged.”

His smile is filled with pride.

In me.

Fuck.

“Right,” is all I can come up with.

“You know,” he says, taking a seat across from me and settling in, as if he’s not planning to leave anytime soon. “I had a feeling about you two back when you were in your late teens. I saw you look at her, and I saw her look at you.”

“There was no looking, Dad,” I say and shake my head. “There really was a point in time when Grace could not stand me.”

There’s a piece of the truth. I feel better now.

“That’s okay, and it probably won’t be the last. Marriage is work, but it’s the best work when you’re in love. Knowing someone for so many years that you get every single version of them is a gift. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the two of you, and I cannot wait to see her again.”

The image of my dad walking up to Grace and hugging her, the way a real father should, hits me in the heart.

My dad has always had a soft spot for the Richford kids. The idea that he gets to welcome one officially into our family probably makes him giddy.

I sigh.

I’m a shit son.

“That makes two of us,” I tell him. “I’m going to be here until after the event, then I can get on a plane tomorrow morning.”

My dad stands, grinning. “Oh, the second level of love that begins once you get engaged is one I won’t forget.”

He shoots me a wink. “More grandkids are preferred, Preston.”