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I was over the moon.
Lane sat up. “Well then, I suppose there’s nothing for it. I suppose I can’t deny my daughter’s happiness.”
I doubted that, as the man had been playing with her life like a mobster, not a father. I was disgusted but said nothing. I didn’t want Emma heartbroken thinking (and knowing) that her father was an awful person who couldn’t care less about her.
“Emma,”Lane said, “is going to be your lawfully wedded wife. It’s the only way. You will not bear me illegitimate grandchildren.”
I grinned. Lane was stuck with me whether he liked it or not.
What I didn’t have to think about was how Emma felt. I knew.
17
EMMA
Icouldn’t hold it in any longer. Jack was the father of my child, and I wanted everyone to know. I could feel the baby within me, and there was no doubt about it, I was the mother of someone incredibly special. Part of me was afraid, and another part was horrified. When I stood up to my father, I had no idea what Daddy would say. Forcing me and Jack to get married wasn’t on my list, but it made sense, coming from him.
Still, I didn’t think he would want that for us.
I sat, speechless at his decision, but it was freeing to tell him I would have Jack’s child.
It was then that my father said that I’d marry Jack.
I didn’t doubt that Jack would be a good father, nor did I doubt that I loved him. But my father was setting the terms for my nuptials with Jack and I was furious. I wanted to take my time, I wanted to show Jack real love, and I wanted to develop it. Instead, Daddy was, yet again, bringing his terms to us.
Jack immediately argued with my father. “Sir, that’s her decision,” he said firmly. “Not yours.”
There was a defiance in Jack that turned me on, and, though I wanted Jack more than anything, I loved that he wanted to stick it to my father.
Daddy, however, was resolute. “Nonsense,” he said. “You two will marry within the next month. It’s a perfect way of restoring harmony between the two rival gangs.”
Jason, who’d been standing silently by the door this whole time, finally spoke. “Forgive me, sir—I know it’s not my place, but have you considered the consquences of this?”
My father nodded.“Of course I have,” he said. “Emma will be happy, and my grandson will have a father.”
“What if it’s a girl?” I asked, and that’s when Jack looked at me questioningly.
Did he want a son?
I had no idea if our baby would be a boy or girl, but I did know that both my father and Jack had to accept my baby as theirs.They don’t have a choice.
Jack shrugged. “Then we have a little girl.”
“It’s a boy,” Daddy said. “Or else, Jack is not a man.” He laughed.
I ignored him; it didn’t matter to me. Jack held me, and I felt completely whole.
Jason’s voice brought be back to reality. “There’s still the matter of the Reeds,” he said. “They want more.”
“And so do the Kings,” my father said. “I hold the money bags, not the Reeds, not the Kings. Remember who owns you, Jason.”
Jason shot him a dirty look. I wasn’t surprised. Daddy would always make sure those who had access to his funds were his.
Jack, however, was his own man. “The wedding will only happen if Emma agrees to it and—“
“Emma,” my father said, interrupting Jack. “Do you agree to marry Jack?”
Jack mouthed the words ‘don’t answer him,’ but it was too late.
