“Emily,” he continued. “You know how much I love you. I could spend all night telling you just what you mean to me, but you already know. I trust you with my children, with the two most important things in my world. That, more than anything, is proof enough of my love for you. I never, ever want to live a day on this earth without you by my side.”
I felt tears falling down my cheeks uncontrollably.
“Before I ask you my question I want to tell you something. I know how important it is to you to open your daycare center, and I genuinely believe in your vision. I know you can make a difference in the lives of so many children. I want to personally invest into your center and we can start the ground work on it right away or wait a little while whenever you are ready.”
“Sean, I don’t know what you say. I love you so much!”
He paused and turned to Tommy. Tommy dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. He handed it to his dad and then turned to face me. His little eight-year-old face smiled up at me, full of innocence and love.
“I was really sad after my mom died,” Tommy said softly. “Really sad. We didn’t talk about it much, but I know Dad and Sarah were sad too. Now, I don’t feel sad anymore. I still miss my mom, and I always will, but I think you’re kind of like a mom too. You take care of us. You love us.”
“Yeah,” Sarah said, jumping up and walking over to me. “I love you a lot. I don’t really remember my mommy very much anymore. I still think about her a lot, and I think she’d really like you. She would want you to take care of us and Daddy. She still loves us, just like you do.”
“Emily,” Sean said, pulling my attention back to him. He was kneeling in front of me, his hands outstretched, holding open the box.
Inside was a sparkling diamond ring that took my breath away. I felt tears slide down my cheeks as I stared at it, my mouth hanging open. When I finally looked back at Sean’s face, he was crying too. He cleared his throat and held the box out to me.
“Emily Ward,” he said softly. “I am so in love with you. You are the piece that was missing from our family, and now, we’re all whole again. So, will you please do me the honor of becoming my wife and spending the rest of your life as part of this little family?”
I couldn’t speak. My throat felt tight, and tears were still streaming freely down my cheeks. I cried with earnest, unable to stop. Finally, I nodded my head and fell into Sean’s arms. He caught me and kissed me quickly, wrapping his arms around my body and holding me tightly against him.
I sobbed into his chest while the kids surrounded us with hugs. Sarah wedged herself between us for a group hug, and then Tommy did the same. We held the kids and all laughed together, happier than we could ever remember being.
That night, Sean and I tucked the kids in bed in their room and then closed the door. We had adjoining rooms and were eager to be alone. We didn’t speak. We didn’t need to. Everything had already been said, and when we fell into each other’s arms, it felt like coming home.
We made love that night, slow and sweet. Our eyes never once fell from each other’s faces, and our hands never stilled as they moved across each other’s bodies. Sean whispered “I love you” in my ear, over and over again, creating the perfect soundtrack to the perfect night.
The End
DADDY’S GIRL
CHAPTER ONE – VIOLET
Breathe, Violet. Breathe, I told myself as I waited outside Sebastian Townsend's office. I tried to convince myself that it was no big deal, that I'd been to his office countless times before. But this time was different and I knew it. This time, I wasn't here on a social call with my father. No, this time I was interviewing for a job – a job I needed very badly.
When Sebastian had initially offered me the opportunity to interview, I worried it was out of pity or even out of some sense of obligation to my father, and I balked. But now, well, things had changed and I couldn't afford to be picky.
Far from being the hot commodity I thought I'd be, this was the only interview I'd had in weeks.
My stomach lurched and his office door opened, and Sebastian – or rather, Mr. Townsend as I probably should call him if I were to work for him – stepped out. And I stared up at him like I always did – with the wide-eyed wonder of a little girl with a major crush.
Because the fact of the matter was, potential boss or not, he was drop-dead gorgeous – even if he was my father's age.
“Violet, how nice to see you again,” he said, his smile going all the way to his blue eyes.
Even though I knew – or at least, based on what my father had told me – Sebastian could be absolutely brutal when it came to business and tended to take no prisoners, he always had such a genuine kindness and gentleness about him. It was one of the reasons I admired him as much as I did.
“It's nice to see you too, Mr. Townsend,” I managed to croak.
He waved me toward his office. “Come on in and let's chat.”
I stood up and shook his hand, making sure my grip was firm and professional, and went through all the normal pleasantries of small talk as we walked into his office. I sat down in a chair across from his desk, the skirt of my business suit riding up and showing a little more leg than I'd intended. I fought to pull it down without looking too obvious about it, but it was too late. He was already looking down at my leg and doing his best to not laugh out loud and make me feel any more awkward than I already felt.
“Excuse me,” I said, the color rising in my cheeks. “New suit.”
“It's all good, Violet,” he said. “So, tell me, what have you been up to since college?”
He ran a hand through his dark brown hair, and I watched his every movement with wide eyes and an open mouth. Seriously, Sebastian could have stepped right off the pages of a fashion magazine or a TV show like Mad Men; he was that beautiful to look at. It was almost distracting.