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“If you’ll have me,” she replied.
We stood from the bench and I grabbed her hand as we walked along the rocky beach in the cool night. The sound of the water lapped at the shore. Emmy leaned against me.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I can’t believe you came up here. Thank you. Thank you for being stubborn and talking some sense into me.”
I laughed and pulled her a little tighter against me. “I’m glad Leo and the guys talked me into it.”
“Wait! Weren’t you supposed to be at the bachelor party?”
I shrugged. “Sean and Hunter bailed. I was in no mood to party. I don’t think Leo was either. We’ve partied a hundred times, hell, a thousand times. It’s not like I won’t see him again. We’re not moving away. He’s getting married. We’ve done the stripper thing. We’ve done Vegas. It was done. I just wasn’t in the mood for it.”
“Because of me?” she asked.
“And other things,” I replied. “I don’t care. I’d rather be here with you.”
“I have to apologize,” she said.
“For what?”
“You know I’m not with you to piss off my dad,” she said. “You are not an act of rebellion. My dad probably does have ideas about who I should be with, but I don’t care. I want you.”
I laughed. “I know. You did the whole rebellious thing with that metalhead drummer you dated in college. I wouldn’t have the same effect on your father. He would pull me in by my ear and kick my ass. I’m not a threat to him.”
“Hey.” I swatted at him. “I liked that guy.”
“Do you even remember his name?”
“No, but that’s not the point.” She laughed.
“That’s exactly the point,” I replied. “You only went out with that guy to piss off your dad.”
“Okay, that’s true, but he was fun,” she said.
“What do you think your dad will do when he finds out about us?” I asked her.
“You and I both know he already knows about us,” she said.
“No, I mean the second time he finds out. As soon as we get back home, it’s going to get back to him.”
“I don’t care.” She shrugged. “Do you?”
“No, but I should probably talk to my dad like an adult instead of getting pissed.” I sighed. “I don’t want him to suffer any blowback from any of this.”
“I’ll talk to my dad,” she groaned. “Maybe we can spin this in our favor.”
“How so?”
“If I’m with you, he has to feel better about things,” she said. “He trusted you to look out for me all of this time. Why should that change?”
“He trusted me to look out for you, not to touch the goods.” I chuckled. “I’m good enough to be your watchdog. I don’t think I’m good enough to be the guy in bed with you in his eyes.”
“Too bad,” she muttered. “I’m making my own decisions. My dad is just going to have to get used to that. He can choose to be a part of my life or not. I don’t care either way. I know what I want. I know what makes me happy. I know you’re the guy who will protect me and take care of me. If he can’t see that, it really is his problem, not mine. I’m not interested in making him happy. I’ve spent the last thirty years trying to be the perfect little girl. I’ve bent over backwards to make him happy. I want to be with you and write a damn book.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “That’s what I want, too. I’ll be there for you. Why don’t we ask if we can go over together and talk to him. I’ll let him know I’m not messing around with you or playing games. This is serious for me. I don’t want another woman—ever. You are the only woman I want. I don’t see that ever changing.”
“I feel the same way,” she replied. “And really, it’s my dad’s fault this is happening.”
“What do you mean?”
