Princess in Lingerie (Lingerie 12)

“That’s generous of you to keep him here.”

“Generous?” he asked. “He’s been a loyal servant to my family since the beginning. Actually, he is family. This is where he belongs.” He guided me to an open bedroom door. “I wanted to show you Vanessa’s room.”

I followed him inside and saw the queen-size bed against the wall. Everything was decorated in tones of champagne pink and white. Classy and elegant, it fit her style perfectly. Her vanity held an old jewelry box, and there was a scarf hanging up on the back of her door. This was where she slept when we spoke on the phone last Christmas. It had been too dark for me to see her surroundings clearly, but now the image was easy to picture. I wasn’t sure what Crow wanted me to say about it, so I said nothing.

“From when she was in a crib until she left for university, this was where she stayed. I watched her grow from a little girl to a very impressive young woman. Now she’s a professional success…couldn’t be prouder.” He walked to the nightstand and picked up a picture frame. “This is the three of us at her first art camp when she was in high school.” He showed me the picture, Crow and Pearl on either side of Vanessa. Vanessa was visibly younger, maybe seventeen at the time. She had a spot of paint on her nose and on her apron. She always got paint on her nose, and now I knew it was because she rubbed her nose with her arm when it itched. I only knew that because I watched her all the time. He sighed as he looked at the photo. “She’s a dream come true. Even through the difficult times, she was nothing short of lovely. When Pearl was pregnant with her, I was hoping for a boy. I never wanted to raise a girl. And then she came…a fierce spitfire. I knew I didn’t have anything to worry about. She’s just like her mother, a titan.”

I stared at the picture for another moment before he put it back. I wanted to ask why he was showing me things, but I thought that would be rude. Of course, I found all of it interesting. It just seemed like something Vanessa would share with me instead.

“The reason I’m telling you all of this is because…this is what I imagined I would do when a man came to ask for my permission to marry my daughter.” He came back to my side, his hands in his pockets. He wasn’t the silent and hostile enemy he used to be before. Since we’d buried the hatchet, he’d only shown his vulnerable side to me. Just as he was with the rest of his family, that was how he was with me. “I would want to share these things with him since he’s the only other man who will love her as much as I do.” He looked out the window into the darkness beyond. “I know she’ll always be my daughter, but I know things will be different now. I know I have to let her go…and that revelation has been very difficult for me.”

I turned to look at him, to see the pain on his face. “You never have to let her go, Crow. I don’t want you to.”

“That’s nice of you to say…but I understand it can’t be the same. And it shouldn’t be the same anyway. You’re the man replacing me…and she couldn’t have picked anyone better.”

It was the nicest compliment he’d ever given me. “I haven’t asked for your permission yet.”

He looked around her bedroom and settled on the painting on the nightstand. He took a deep breath before he spoke. “But I know it’s coming.” He moved his hand to the center of my back and rested it there. “And I’m happy about it. Really, I am.” He patted me before he dropped his arm.

I could feel the pain in his touch, feel a father grieve like he was losing his daughter forever. “Crow, Conway married Sapphire. Now that he has a wife, it seems like he’s closer to you than he was before. They moved here to be closer to family—because they want more of you and Pearl.”

He didn’t say anything, his eyes still on the picture.

“And Vanessa has told me how much she wants to be close to you. It wasn’t an ultimatum, but she didn’t sugarcoat what she wanted. It was a compromise I was willing to make, to move to Tuscany so we can be ten minutes apart. You say you’re losing your daughter…but you aren’t. I love her more than anything in this world. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her. But I can share you with her… I want to share her.”