Needing Happily Ever After - Elena Aitken Page 0,67

she always kept her promises.

And isn’t that what got her into this predicament in the first place?

Damon paced the length of the barn, and then again. He felt like a caged animal, unable to do anything but wait for his captor to let him out.

In this case, his captor might also prove to be his savior. Because when it was time, he’d get the text message saying everything was ready to go.

It was a huge plan and there was no way he would have been able to pull any of it off without his friends’ help. He really owed them.

If it worked.

It had to work, because Damon had no idea what he was going to do if it didn’t. The last few days without Katie had been hell. There was no way he could imagine a lifetime in that purgatory. He needed her just to exist. And he hadn’t even realized it.

He’d almost broken down the night before and gone to see her, but ultimately forced himself to stay put. They’d put all the work in. All that was left was to execute. Besides, there was nothing that he could say that was going to be able to properly express to Katie how he felt. He needed to show her. He needed the big, huge, massive grand gesture. And that’s what he was going to do. Because there was no other choice left.

Damon pulled his phone out of this pocket for the dozenth time to make sure he hadn’t missed the text message.

He hadn’t.

With a sigh, he put his hands on the bar and dropped his head.

“Son?”

Damon’s head shot up to see his father in the doorway of the barn, leaning heavily on his walker. “Dad? Is everything okay? What are you—”

“I needed to tell you something.”

Damon crossed the floor and led his dad to a nearby table, where he settled him into a chair. He had no idea what his dad could possibly have to tell him now that they’d set everything straight.

Anthony held out his hand, and Damon took it in his. It was the second time in as many days, but it still felt strange to hold his father’s hand. But he welcomed the connection. And despite their strained relationship, the contact settled Damon.

“I’m proud of you, son.”

His father said the words so simply and without any fanfare, but they resonated in Damon’s head. Not once, not even when he’d designed and sold the microchip, had his father ever expressed anything resembling pride to him. He closed his eyes and bent his head, absorbing what he’d said. Even as a fully grown adult, the words still meant the world to him.

After a moment, he looked up. “Thank you, Dad.”

“I mean it,” Anthony said, a slight waver in his voice. “I haven’t always been a good father, but you are a damn fine son, and you’ve grown into a man that any damn fool would be proud of. Especially today.”

Damon couldn't help but shake his head a little. “There’s still a lot left to happen today, Dad. We don't know how it’s going to go. I don’t know if she’ll—”

“She will.”

“We don’t know that.”

“No,” Anthony said bluntly. “But no one knows the future, do they?”

Damon chuckled a little. “We certainly don’t.”

“All we can do is our best, son. And you’re doing your best here today. And for that, I’m more proud of you than I’ve ever been before.” He squeezed Damon’s hand in his. “I love you, Damon, and your mother would be so proud of you today, too.”

He pressed something into Damon’s hand but before he had a chance to respond, or even wipe the tear that had developed in the corner of his own eye, his father struggled to his feet at the same time that his phone chirped with an incoming text.

Go time.

Chapter Nineteen

For the next thirty minutes, Katie forced herself to smile and tried to look bridal—whatever that meant—as Faith took pictures of her standing by pine trees next to the river. Most of the time, she was able to convince herself that it was all business and for marketing purposes only, but more than once, she glanced down at her dress and tears welled up in her eyes as the memory of her standing with Damon as they exchanged vows rushed back in vivid detail.

“Faith, are we almost done?” Katie called out over her shoulder. Faith had directed her to put her arm up on a tree and gaze out over the river,