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I closed my eyes and looked away from them both. “Mom, stop.”
Finn’s thumb moved gently across my skin. Almost as if he was attempting to keep me calm.
Finn finally broke the silence. “The one thing the doctor said she doesn’t need is stress. She needs to relax.”
“Then maybe you should leave.”
“Rick!” my mother said with a harshness to her voice. “Maybe you should leave, Rick.”
“I’m not leaving, sir. Ever. And if this is where you want to do this, then so be it. But I love your daughter and she loves me and there will never be anything you can do about that.”
I turned to face my parents. My father’s face was turning red. I took in a slow deep breath and decided to let Finn handle this.
“You really think you’re good enough for my daughter?”
Turning, my eyes landed on Finn’s handsome face. He shook his head while lifting the left corner of his mouth into a slight smile. “No sir, I don’t. I honestly don’t know what she sees in me. But what I do know is that I plan on loving her until the day I take my last breath. That I will do whatever I can within my power to make her happy. Tell her every day how much I love her and appreciate her. Thank God for her every single morning when I wake and when I close my eyes at night. What I will never do is hurt her.”
A tear slowly trailed down my cheek. My heart couldn’t have been filled with any more happiness.
“And before you attempt to threaten my fiancée with my job, I’ll take that option away from you right now. I quit.”
The sharp intake of air from both of my parents sounded like it bounced off each wall and circled back around.
“Finn darling, you don’t have to do that. I’ve already talked to Rick. He’s not going to threaten you or your job. There is no reason to walk away from what you love,” said my mother.
Gazing down at me with the most adoring look in his eyes, Finn winked at me. “I’m not walking away from what I love. I’m walking toward it.”
For the first time in my life, I felt completely and utterly wrapped in a blanket of pure bliss. My hand rested on my stomach. It was our little secret for now. One that tied us together in the most beautiful way imaginable.
“Wait. Did you say ‘fiancée?’?” my father choked.
Finn had asked me to marry him over a shared bowl of grape Jell-O three hours ago. I cried, of course, then said yes. It was spontaneous, just like Finn. And I thought it was perfect. But if I knew him, he would have something else planned within the next few days.
“Finn asked me to marry him, and I said yes.”
Tears pooled in my mother’s eyes as she rounded the bed and dragged Finn in for a hug. Then she made her way over to me.
“Oh darling, don’t try to move—your rib.”
After she kissed and hugged me, she moved her mouth to my ear and whispered, “If you keep touching your stomach, everyone will figure it out.”
My eyes widened in shock. “Your secret is safe with me.”
Our eyes met. “I love you, Mom.”
“Oh, my sweet baby girl, I love you, too.”
When she stepped back, I turned to my father. He wore a scowl. “I’m not asking for your permission or your blessing.”
“I see that,” he mumbled.
My chin trembled as I tried to keep talking. “But I would really like it, Dad. And until you’re ready to give it to me and apologize for what you did, I won’t be a part of your life.”
“Oh, Rory. No, you don’t mean that,” my mother whispered.
The sadness in my mother’s voice caused my chest to ache. But when my father turned and walked out of my hospital room, my heart broke. And I wasn’t sure if this time it could be healed.
Chapter 52
Rory
TWO MONTHS LATER
NEW YEAR’S EVE
“We’re going to be late, Rory, if you don’t hurry up!”
Checking my makeup once more in the mirror, I smiled and pulled my hair up into a ponytail. “Coming!” I called out. One last look at the dress pants and sweater and I was satisfied. Finn had requested I dress casual-nice, but warm. That meant he had something up his sleeve.
Flash was at my feet, like always, gazing up at me. “How do I look?”
He barked, and I laughed. “Let’s go, buddy. Daddy and I have a dinner date to get to.”
I heard Regina’s voice as I made my way into the living room. Paul was already in the kitchen whipping up something for Flash to snack on.
“Don’t worry, Finn. Flash will be fine.”
“I’m not worried. I was simply saying to make sure he goes out before you put him in for the night.”
