“Uh…yeah.”
“Look, Callie. We’re both up to our necks in crap right now. I want to do something right. I love you, and I want to ask permission to marry you.”
“What if he says no?”
“Then we’ll wait.”
I drop my jaw, until I see the twinkle in his hazel eyes. He’s kidding.
“He’s not going to say no, is he?”
“I doubt it,” I say. “But why give him the chance?”
“Because I’m a gentleman. I’m not sure anyone knows that, given my history, but I am. I want him to know how much I love you. That I’m going to take excellent care of you.”
“Don’t forget that I’m going to take excellent care of you too.”
“Absolutely. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
I grab his hand. “Oh, no. I’m coming along.”
“How am I supposed to ask him for his daughter’s hand if you’re hanging on to me?”
“Because this is a two-way decision, Donny. He needs to know that I want it. For God’s sake, you just admitted we’re living in the twenty-first century.”
He grins. My God, he’s handsome. “Okay, boss.”
“I’m not your boss. Just like you are not mine. Neither one of us is a boss, Donny, we—”
“Easy, Cal. I’m kidding. You’re a little on edge tonight.”
“Can you blame me? All this other stuff that’s going on, and now we have to go talk to my father? This is something we could easily avoid.”
“Callie, I feel strongly about this. I feel like I’ve fucked so much up lately, and I want to do this right. Exactly right.”
His hand is warm in mine. Just this light touch of our bodies has me feeling a little less tense. For that, I’m so thankful. I’m so thankful that Donny Steel came into my life. If he wants to do this, I have to support him.
We approach my father, who’s talking with my mom and Uncle Scott and Aunt Lena, Cage and Jordan’s parents.
“Mr. Pike,” Donny says.
“Mr. Pike?” My dad erupts in laughter. “I don’t think you’ve ever called me Mr. Pike, Don.”
“Okay, Frank. I need to speak with you privately.”
“With both of you.” I gesture to my mother.
“You are determined to make this a feminist issue, aren’t you?” Donny beams at me.
“My mother is just as much a part of this as my father.”
“Okay, okay,” my father says. “Scott, Lena, excuse us for a minute.”
Donny leads my father, my mother, and me toward a gazebo that, oddly, is empty.
“Frank, Maureen,” Donny says, “I would like your permission to marry Callie.”
My father’s eyebrows nearly pop off his forehead. “Already?”