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I couldn’t believe my ears. The Crow Barsetti I knew would never say anything like that. The only time I ever heard him say anything heartfelt was when he spoke to Vanessa. I stared at him blankly, unsure if I should be annoyed or disappointed. “Is this a joke?”
“No.” He looked me in the eye, his voice not shaking. “Conway married Sapphire, and now she’s a daughter to me. Instead of losing a son, I’ve gained another Barsetti. I know you’ll never be a Barsetti, but you will be my son-in-law. But I want you to be more than that…I want you to be my son.”
I still couldn’t believe any of this. “When I called you to tell you about Conway being captured, you threatened to kill me.” That was just a few weeks ago, not ancient history like he was pretending it was.
He winced slightly.
“And you told me I was trash and I always would be trash. Why the fuck would you want trash to be part of your family?”
He winced again, soaking in the words I threw back at him.
“Your insults don’t wound me. Bullets don’t even wound me. But let’s not pretend—”
“I’m not pretending I never said those things, Griffin. I said them, and I meant them—at the time. But I realize I was wrong. You’ve proven me wrong, Griffin. You’re not trash. You’re a very powerful and admirable man. When you ask my permission to marry my daughter, I will gladly give it to you.”
“Ask your permission?” I asked with a snort. “No, asshole. I will not ask for your permission. I earned that shit when I took that bullet for you. I never have to ask you for anything else.”
He dropped his gaze again, but this time, his breathing was different. He rubbed his temple then looked out the window, his hard appearance softening right before my eyes. Minutes passed, and he didn’t say anything.
I looked away, hoping this ridiculous conversation was over.
He turned back to me a short while later. “Griffin.”
I met his gaze, swallowing my annoyance.
“Please don’t take that away from me.” He placed his hand over his heart. “Please let me give my daughter away. Please let me be involved. Please show me the ring and tell me when you’re going to ask my daughter to be your wife. I understand if you don’t care or think it’s important…but it means the world to me.”
It was my turn to look away, uncomfortable with the emotion on his face. He never showed vulnerability in front of me, and the reason it bothered me so much was because I could feel his pain. I could feel his emotion…and it made me care. Unable to form a response verbally, I only gave a nod.
He dropped his hand and breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Griffin.”
I drank from my glass then waved down the bartender for another. I hated myself for caring about his feelings, for caving to his plea so easily. In my heart, I knew I didn’t do that for Vanessa. I did it out of respect…because he was a good father. I never doubted how much he loved Vanessa and Conway. I never doubted how much he loved his wife. It was one of the reasons I hated him so much…that he had something I never did.
The bartender brought new glasses then walked away.
I continued to stare at my drink, not wanting to look at Crow’s face anymore.
“I don’t expect things to change overnight. I don’t expect you to even like me. And if you never like me, that’s fine. But either way, I want to be part of your life. I want my own relationship with you, to get to know the man I’ve come to admire and respect.”
My eyes lifted to his face, to see the sincerity in his gaze.
“I’m not the kind of man who admits when he’s wrong because I’m never wrong. But with you…I was very wrong. You’ve proven your loyalty and your love. I trust you implicitly. I’m very happy to know my daughter has you. That’s all a father wants, for his daughter to marry a good man. You’re a good man, Griffin.”
The only other person who’d ever said that to me was Vanessa…that I was a good man.
Crow stared at me for a long time, as if he expected me to say something.
I didn’t have any words. Even without knowing Crow as well as Vanessa did, I knew I could assume this was challenging for him. For him to sit down with his enemy’s son and try to start a relationship couldn’t have been easy, and no one could make him do it either. Not only was this genuine, but also difficult. After everything he did to me, it was hard for me not to hate him, and it was even harder for me to stand his company like this. But something he said sank into my skin, hit the right nerve.
