She looked away shyly.
And I loved her even more.
I was hers. Forever. She had me under her spell, and I didn’t ever want to be released. This beautiful, ethereal creature, who had been through so much, had no idea of the power she wielded over me.
I vowed to be worthy of it.
Worthy of her.
My father had loosened up—two glasses of wine helped—by the time Belinda brought in dessert and coffee. He’d even had a few kind words to say to my mother.
Daphne met my gaze, her eyes questioning.
I nodded.
It was time.
“Mom, Dad,” I began.
“What is it, honey?” my mom replied.
I cleared my throat. “Daphne and I have some news.”
Daphne looked down at her lap, her cheeks flushed.
“Oh my.” My mother regarded her.
She knows.
The words flew into my mind.
“It will be all right,” Mom said.
“What the hell are you talking about, Mazie?” my father boomed.
“I’m not talking about anything. Your son is trying to talk to you.”
My father harrumphed and turned back to me. “What is it?”
“Daphne, we… We’re going to get married.”
“For God’s sake,” my father said. “Why the hell—” He stopped, looking sternly at Daphne. “There’s only one reason a twenty-two-year-old and an eighteen-year-old get married.”
My mother nodded. “Do you feel okay, honey?” she asked Daphne.
“Yes. I feel fine.”
“How the hell did this happen?” my father roared.
“Probably the same way it happened when Brad was conceived,” Mom said.
“I’m not talking to you, Mazie. And we were already married.”
Daphne still looked at her lap, and her head trembled a bit. God, no. Please don’t cry. I’d personally deck my father if he made Daphne cry.
“We were careful,” I said.
“Apparently not careful enough.”
Daphne’s head jerked up. “He used a condom. I witnessed it. We were careful.”
My mother patted Daphne’s hand. “We believe you, sweetheart.”
My father gazed at Daphne, and—I couldn’t believe it myself—his eyes softened.
Fucking softened.
“A grandchild,” he said, his voice still gruff.
“Yes, George, a grandchild.” My mother smiled. “But are you two in love?”
“We are, Mom,” I said. “I know it’s soon, but I knew as soon as I saw her.”
“Love at first sight doesn’t exist, Brad,” my mom said.
“Maybe not,” Daphne said. “But fate does.”
My father regarded Daphne again, his gaze still soft. “A grandchild.”
“It’s wonderful news,” Mom said. “Perhaps Daphne is right. Perhaps it’s fate.” She looked over to Dad. “George? What do you think?”
“I think I’m happy to have a grandchild.” He met Daphne’s gaze. “Thank you, my dear. Thank you for giving me a grandchild.”
Daphne looked down. I couldn’t tell, but I believed she was touching her belly. “I haven’t done anything yet.”
“The first of many, I hope,” Dad said.
My mother frowned then.
Of course. He couldn’t resist giving her a metaphorical punch in the stomach. My father was being kind to Daphne, to the woman I loved. Why couldn’t he save a tiny sliver of kindness for his wife, the mother of his child? That she couldn’t have any more children after me was not her fault.
Still, though, Daphne…
She was a magical creature. She’d softened my father.
No one else could do that. No one.
Only Daphne.
She was too perfect for this world, as her father had said.
Too fucking perfect.
I vowed, then, to give her the perfect world she belonged in. She and our child would want for nothing as long as I lived and breathed.
I’d create a legacy for my wife and children—a legacy bigger and grander than my father’s.
A legacy worthy of the woman across from me.
Chapter Eighteen
Daphne
“I don’t need anything fancy,” I told Mazie in the greenhouse later. “My parents can’t afford a big wedding.”
“We can afford it. I want you to have everything.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe the effect this has had on George. He actually smiled at dinner.”
“I certainly didn’t expect that,” I said. “Not after Brad told me how gruff he is.”
“He is. He’s usually a jerk.” Mazie cut one of her pale-green tulips. “You’re probably wondering why I’m still with him.”
“No. It’s not my place to wonder anything like that. No one can know what goes on between a husband and wife.”
“You’re wise, Daphne. Believe me, I thought many times about leaving, but I stayed for one reason and one reason only.”
“Brad,” I said.
“You got it. He’s everything to me, and George would have fought with everything he had to take him from me. So I stayed, and I think Brad is a better man for it.”
“Brad is a wonderful man. If you had something to do with that, I owe you a lot.”
“He got his work ethic and knowledge of the business from his father, of course. I’d like to think I’m the one who taught him the finer things in life, like how to love. And he loves you, Daphne. I can see it in his eyes.”
“I love him too,” I said shyly.
“I know. I see it in your eyes as well.”