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I sat on the chair opposite Mr. Daly’s desk and took a deep breath as he shut the door behind us. The sound had an air of finality I did not appreciate.
This would not be the battle that thwarted my half-formed marital plans.
“Before you begin,” I said as he sat down, “I am going to marry your daughter. Please?”
Okay, so that wasn’t the start I’d been going for. And I’d intended to talk to her mom too, but he’d thrown me off with his stern expression and use of my last name before he dragged me off to the gallows.
Teagan’s father cocked his head. “Is this supposed to be a surprise?”
“Yes?”
I really needed to stop using so many question marks.
“Well, it’s not. How many times have you come here with Teagan?”
“Four times?”
Apparently, I wouldn’t be stopping today. Maybe tomorrow.
“Five,” he corrected me. “I knew you loved her from your second visit when you insisted she wear a jacket with a hood because, and I quote, ‘it was misty out’. To which she threatened to knee you, and you smiled at her as if she was Diana Ross.”
I wouldn’t have chosen that particular analogy, but he had a valid point. I smiled at the memory. “She complains when her hair frizzes, so I was trying to save her the trouble.”
“A noble undertaking for sure. Where’s the ring?”
“Uh…”
Mr. Daly folded his hands and waited.
“I don’t have it yet?”
“You’re not sure?”
“No. I don’t have it yet. I’m certain. I’m not prepared because, well, we only started dating on Friday.”
“It’s Sunday.”
“Yeah.” I itched the side of my neck. “How about those Yankees?”
Turned out Mr. Daly was a Red Sox fan. Strike fifty.
“I have the ring box though.”
“You have a box, not a ring,” he said slowly, as if he wouldn’t give his blessing for me to accompany his daughter across the street.
After this conversation, I wasn’t sure I blamed him.
“Her grandma—your mother, I think—gave her this crystal piano. It was really important to her, and her asshole ex destroyed it when—” I took a deep breath as Mr. Daly’s jaw turned rigid. “I love her so much. I’d give my life for her. I don’t know what else to say.”
He studied me for a long moment before he broke into a smile. “That’s it. That’s exactly what you needed to say.” He rose and rounded the desk to clap me on the shoulder when I stood as well. “Welcome to the family, son.”
I grinned as we hugged, and then he sat back down. I did the same, even though I wanted to bolt for the door and the freedom that waited on the other side.
“The fire,” he said gravely. “What happened?”
Shock curled through me. I had to clear my throat. “You already knew?”
“I’m on the insurance paperwork. I was one of the first calls, I imagine. We expected Teagan to call, but she didn’t.”
