you, I love Arella with everything inside of me. I want to spend the rest of my life making her happy.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face, his gaze still on the ring box in my hand. “I never thought you weren’t good enough. Stupid as fuck for letting her slip through your fingers, yeah, but never not good enough.” He muttered something vicious under his breath as he turned and stomped a few feet away. “You hurt my little girl repeatedly. I gave you the benefit of the doubt countless times, telling her she just needed to give you a little more time. You were scared, I could see it. Hell, kid, I’ve been there. I let the love of my life walk away because I was too fucked up in the head to be everything she needed. When you meet the one who turns your whole world upside down but you’re not ready, you run scared. I get it.”
He made a growling noise deep in his throat and turned to face me. “But then you kept tearing her apart. She deserves better than that, boy.”
A knot had filled my throat, choking me, but I quickly swallowed it. “I realize that, and you’ll never know how sorry I am. Things got mixed up. Wires got crossed, and I didn’t think she cared about me in the same way. So, yeah, I ran scared. For years, because I couldn’t stand the thought that she might not love me as much as I love her. But then, someone made me realize how blind I’ve been. I want to make up all of that wasted time to her.” I opened the box, showing him the ring. “Please, sir. Give me your blessing to make all of her dreams come true.”
He shook his head, and I felt my gut twist. “She’s a strong girl. She can make most of her dreams a reality all by herself. We raised her to stand on her own, to fight for what she wants. That’s why she’s gotten so far in her career without my help.” He inhaled deeply, as if he were in pain, and slowly blew it out. “But you’re part of her dream too. And I won’t ever stand in the way of any of my babies’ happiness.” He walked back over to me and thrust out his hand. “You have my blessing, Jordan.”
My fingers trembled as I shook his hand, my eyes stinging with tears of gratitude. “Thank you, sir.”
His hand tightened around mine. Fuck, it hurt like hell, but I didn’t even flinch. I’d take this punishment and anything else he threw at me, as long as I got to keep Arella. Losing her was the only thing that could ever break me. “But if you ever make that girl cry again, I will chop you into tiny pieces and scatter your body from here to Vegas so that your mother won’t ever find all of you.”
His threat made me want to grin, because it was definitely one I would be using one day if some motherfucker ever dared to make my own daughter cry. “I promise you, Drake. You’ll never have to worry about that where Arella is concerned. She loves me, and I’m not strong enough to ever let her go.”
A throat clearing behind me had Drake stiffening and dropping his hold on my hand like it was on fire. “Angel, I was just telling the boy—”
Lana snickered as I turned to face her. “I heard most of what you were telling the boy, Dray,” she chided, walking over to the pack ’n play to lift Conrad out. Straightening, she gave me a wink and turned back to go into the house. “And I’m sure he needs some ice for his hand.”
“I’m good,” I told her, not even daring to shake out the throb that still lingered in my fingers.
“Dray, baby, get our future son-in-law something to drink while I change this little one. I just called his mom to ask if he could spend the night. Looks like my guys are getting a sleepover tonight.” Lana cooed down at Conrad. “Does my little man want to spend the night cuddling with G-Mom?”
“I want to cuddle with G-Mom,” Drake called after her, a pout on his face. “Can I cuddle with her too?”
“Only if you get Jordan something to drink and are nice for the rest of the day,” she yelled back from the kitchen.