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“Call me sir.”
Uh-oh, I’ve pissed off Papa Bear.
“Daddy.” Lizzie laughs and rests a hand on her father’s. “You just told him to call you Marcus.”
“That was before I knew you two were dating. Jonathan called me sir until the day he married Emily.”
Lizzie’s smile falls as she looks at her dad.
“It’s okay,” I whisper, squeezing her hand.
“No, it’s not,” she shoots back at me before leveling her dad with a firm glare. “A minute ago, you were trying to set me up, and now you look pissy over Aiden, whom you’ve known for years. He’s a good man. Successful, smart, funny, sexy—”
“Too far,” her dad warns.
“He’s perfect for me, Dad. Aside from the fact that he’s been my best friend forever and has been there for me anytime I’ve needed him, he’s a good man. You should be happy that I’ve chosen Aiden.”
If Lizzie didn’t already own every part of my heart, she would now. Happiness makes me tighten my hold on her hand to let her know how much her words mean to me, and she squeezes back.
Marcus’s walls crumble under his daughter’s stare. He frowns and looks at me for a solid minute before looking at Lizzie. “Sweetheart, until you have a little girl of your own and a guy looks at her the way Aiden is looking at you right now, you’ll never understand
.”
My God, he’s right. I picture myself sitting at this table in thirty years having the same conversation with a man that my daughter brings home—should I be lucky enough to have a daughter—and my stomach roils.
“Sir, I would never intentionally hurt your daughter.” All eyes snap to me. I hold Lizzie’s gaze. “I love her too much.”
Lizzie’s eyes are glossy as she mouths, I love you, too.
Marcus scoots his seat back to the table, picks up his fork, and looks at me. “We’ll finish this conversation after dinner.”
Lizzie
“Come have a beer with me,” Daddy says, handing Aiden a brown bottle.
“Dad—”
He gives me a stern look, but I know better; my dad is nothing more than a giant teddy bear. “Be nice.”
“I’m always nice.”
“Right.” I roll my eyes and kiss Aiden. My dad growls, and Aiden pulls back.
“If you keep doing that, your dad is going to take me into the woods to bury me.”
“It crossed my mind,” Dad mumbles.
I smile and lean in for another kiss, but Aiden side-steps me and follows Dad out the door.
“Why are men like this?”
“It’s just how we are,” Jonathan says, grabbing himself a beer from the refrigerator. “Your dad had a similar talk with me.”
“I didn’t know that,” Emily says.
Jonathan nods. “It was the first time you brought me home for Thanksgiving. You girls were laughing and drinking eggnog, and your dad pulled me outside.”
“What did he say?” Emily asks.
