I snort and rest my forehead against his chest. “He should be delighted.”
“The only delight I’m concerned about is yours.”
“Did you tell your father?”
“Hell, yeah I did.”
“And he was okay with it?”
Chaser takes a long, deep breath before answering. “He took it better than I expected. He was worried that we’re too young for marriage.” He shrugs. “I told him we want to be one of those couples on the news celebrating their seventy-fifth anniversary one day.”
His voice is light and teasing but the sentiment is anything but. “I’d like that,” I whisper.
Chapter Eighteen
Chaser
Everything about our future seems possible as we leave Canada and head home. Our love is unshakable. We’ll survive tours, television shows, and ornery fathers. Anything the world throws at us, we can handle.
It’s late early afternoon when we pull into the clubhouse parking lot. Not a lot of action going on, which is fine. I want to enjoy our engagement without sharing the news with anyone else yet.
Except for my father. We stop by his office first.
He stands and walks around his desk to pull me in for a long, tight hug.
“Glad you’re back, son.”
“We have news.”
He pushes me back but keeps his hands on my shoulders. The corners of his mouth twitch. “Yeah, what’s that?”
I reach over and take Mallory’s hand, lifting to show him her ring. “I asked her to be my wife and—”
“I couldn’t say yes fast enough,” Mallory finishes for me.
Dad studies the ring for a few seconds before saying anything. Almost long enough for awkwardness to settle over us. “Congratulations.”
“You getting emotional, old man?” I ask.
He waves me off. “Excuse me for being happy for my son.” He drags Mallory in and gives her a fatherly hug and pat on the back. “If he ever gives you trouble, you come to me and I’ll set him straight, sweetheart.”
Mallory chuckles and puts her arms around him. “Done.”
“And you can call me Dad or Pop now.”
She stares up at him with wide eyes for a few seconds. “Okay, Dad.” The endearment rolls off her tongue slowly as if she’s testing it out.
He kisses her cheek. “Welcome to the family, princess.”
“All right, that’s enough.” I slice my arm between them. “Get your hands off my fiancée.”
Mallory chuckles and steps away and threads her arm through mine.
Dad gestures to the two chairs in front of his desk. “The three of us need to have a chat.”
I know what’s coming but Mallory’s brow wrinkles in confusion. “Are we in trouble?” she whispers as we take our seats.
“No.”
Dad settles in behind his desk, leans forward on his elbows, and focuses on Mallory. “Your last visit to your father went well. Things have calmed. I want to continue our respectful relationship—”
“We already talked about this, Dad.”
He continues as if I hadn’t interrupted him. “I need you to visit your father and tell him you two are engaged before you go back to California.”
Mallory stares at me with wide eyes before answering my father. “Of course we will.”
“Good girl.”
He glances at the clock. “First thing tomorrow morning. Before the party.”
The process to get inside the prison is just as annoying as it was the first time we visited.
However, on this visit, DeLova is allowed to awkwardly embrace his daughter and sit down without a pane of plexiglass in the way. I can’t say the situation is an improvement.
“You came to visit again.” He smiles at his daughter then casts a less enthusiastic look my way. “And brought the young Mr. Adams with you. Again.”
Definitely not happy to see me.
“We have news that we wanted to share with you, Father.” She holds up her left hand and proudly flashes her engagement ring at him. I’ll never get tired of seeing her do that. “Chaser and I are getting married.”
Damn, I still get a thrill every single time she says it out loud.
Poor old man just stares at his daughter. His expression doesn’t change. Guess he’s not excited about our announcement.
Mallory drops her hand into her lap. “Father, I hope you’re happy for me.”
His tired gaze swings my way. “Does he treat you well, Mallory? Respect you?” he asks without taking his eyes off me.
I keep my hands clasped on the table in front of me and don’t move a muscle, wanting him to understand whatever comes out of Mallory’s mouth is the truth and not influenced by my presence.
“Yes, Father. Chaser is good to me. He’s always respectful.”
“So respectful you’re living in sin with this man out in the City of Angels?” He flips his wrist in a dismissive way.
Obviously, the old man is still keeping tabs on us.
Mallory inhales a deep breath. “I’m twenty years old, Father. My living arrangements are my business.”
He snorts.
“Chaser protects me and always supports me. You will be proud to have him as your son-in-law.”
“Who does my daughter need protection from?” he asks me.
A smart ass remark like “you and your thugs” flirts on the tip of my tongue but I bite it back. No reason to turn this visit into a shit show if I can avoid it. Or give the old man any ideas.
Besides, there are plenty of other things to protect Mallory from. No point in sugarcoating it. “There are a lot of sleazeballs in Hollywood, sir.”
“Then why do you allow her to continue this foolish pursuit?”
What a loaded question. Where to begin?
“Your daughter’s talented, sir. She wants to honor her mother’s memory by pursuing this career. I support her one-hundred percent.”
He winces at the mention of his wife and turns toward Mallory. “Angelina put those foolish ideas in your head, didn’t she? But she never shared all the bad experiences. I kept your mother safe. I protected her from sleazeballs.” He draws out the word in what I assume is an attempt to mock me.
“Did you protect her, sir?” I ask. “Or take something away she loved?”
He slams his fists against the table, drawing the attention of one of the guards. “She loved being a wife and mother.”
“But she could have done more,” Mallory whispers.
“God didn’t allow her time for more.” His cuffs scrape against the table as he reaches over and places his hands on top of Mallory’s. “You’re all I have left in this world.”
Her bottom lip trembles ever-so-slightly, but Mallory lifts her chin and answers in a firm voice, “Then you should want me to be happy.”
“I never knew you were this stubborn.” He casts a murderous look my way.
“Mallory has her own mind, sir. Maybe she didn’t have the courage to express it before you went inside, but I assure you her stubborn will to succeed didn’t develop overnight.”
“I wanted to keep you safe,” he says to Mallory, ignoring my comments. “Maybe I should have explained the kind of enemies I had when you were younger…”
“You wanted to control me and treat me like a piece of property, Father.” Mallory’s obviously given this a lot of thought and I couldn’t be prouder of the fire in her eyes and snap to her tone as she lets her father know exactly how she feels. “To you, I’m no different from your expensive paintings or your Mercedes. Find a safe place to park me and show me off when it suits you. Maybe if you and Mom had raised a different daughter that would have been okay but it’s not okay for me.”
Holy fuck am I glad he’s chained up on the other side of that table.
DeLova works his jaw from side to side as he swallows Mallory’s words down. “You’re my daughter. A piece of me. I want what is best for you. Always. That is so wrong?”
“I’m my own person. Separate from you.”
“Does she talk back to you like this?” he asks me.
Hell no, I’m not playing along with his humor-the-little-woman game. “If by talk back you mean expresses her thoughts and feelings honestly, then yeah. She’s the smartest person I know.”
He snorts and motions for Mallory to give him her hand. “Let me see this ring.”
Slowly, Mallory holds out her hand. DeLova carefully inspects the sapphire and diamonds, even scratches his thumbnail against the gold band.
“You didn’t ask my permission, son,” he says without looking at me.
“I’m not a piece of chattel, Father.” Mallory yanks her hand back. “The only permission he needed was mine.”
Poor old-fashioned DeLova, imprisoned and subjected to this feisty side of his daughter he never knew existed. I barely stuff down my laughter.
He blows out a defeated breath. “Can I please walk my only daughter down the aisle?” His blue eyes bore into me. “When you marry this man you have chosen for yourself.”
That still doesn’t sound like acceptance, but he’s got a few more years behind bars to come to terms with me as his son-in-law.
“Well, we want to get married in California,” Mallory says.
“What a vile place.” Her father sighs. “I still want to be there.”
“Okay,” Mallory whispers. After a few beats she lifts her head and stares her father down. In a strong, no-bullshit manner she adds, “Daddy, since we’re being so open and honest today, let me be crystal clear. If you ever try to do anything to interfere in our relationship or send anyone to harm Chaser or his family, I will disappear from your life for good. That is a fact, not a threat.”
He sits back and stares at her.
Clearly Mallory knows her father better than he thought. Somewhere in his conniving, criminal brain, I’m sure he’s been plotting my death from the second we made our announcement.
She leans in closer. “Vasily tried to take me once. I won’t make those mistakes that led him to me again, Father. So for the sake of our relationship…” she touches the back of his hand and then her chest, “…I hope you’re sincere.” She glances around at the prison walls. “We’re already losing enough time together. I need you to accept our engagement with an open and honest heart.”