the dark, ominous stare of a man who had just met her daughter’s boyfriend was locked on me.
I swallowed hard. “I just want you to know that I would never—”
He lifted a hand to silence me. “It makes sense. You keep her grounded and she keeps you laughing and out of your head. I honestly don’t know how I’d missed it all these years.”
I inched to the edge of my seat and put my elbows on my knees. “Oh, no, David. This is very new. There was nothing to see over the years.”
He nodded, but it was a complete contradiction of the words that came out of his mouth. “You can’t do this, Hudson.”
“What?”
“You can’t do this. She won’t be able to handle it if you two don’t work out. She depends on you in ways we’ve never been able to get her to lean on us. Or even Cal for that matter. After Brenden…” He trailed off, shaking his head.
I suddenly rose to my feet, unable to stay seated any longer. “I was there, David. You don’t have to remind me about when Brenden passed. But she’s not the same woman she was back then. And besides, I’m not going anywhere. If this thing between us doesn’t work out, we’ll find a way to go back to being friends. But if you want the truth, I don’t anticipate us not working out. I’m in this. When have you ever known me to half-ass something? Especially when it comes to her?”
“Relax, son. I didn’t mean…” His face got soft. “I just worry about her. She’s had a tough run. Her mother and I give her hell about finding a man and settling down. But as long as she’s happy, we don’t care if she gets a herd of cats and starts a one-man band.”
I planted my hands on my hips and offered him a tight smile. “Gotta say, I’m not going to ever be okay with her getting a herd of cats, but I swear on my life I can make her happy.”
He sighed and rubbed his hands together, a habit he’d had since he was laying down the law to me and Cal in high school. “I believe you, but you can’t just date her. You have to be serious about this.”
I held his dark stare, making promises with more than just my words. “I never would have touched her if I wasn’t serious about this. I know who she is. I know what she’s been through. And I know how I feel about her. There is no way I would be standing in front of you right now if I wasn’t willing and ready to be the man she deserves.”
“Champagne!” Judy announced, still trotting as she came back into the room.
Lex was right behind her, already double-fisting it.
David held my stare as his wife passed us both a glass. And then his gaze shifted to his daughter as she sidled up beside me and wedged herself under my arm.
He couldn’t hear her as she pressed up onto her toes and whispered, “They’ve never been this excited for me to get laid before.”
But after I shot her a smile and kissed her forehead, our eyes met again, he gave us his blessing by way of a chin jerk.
I loved the entire crazy Lawson family, but I didn’t need their approval. There was nothing that could keep me away from Lex. It was the world’s longest fall, fifteen years in the making, but then again, fate didn’t always happen overnight.
David stood up and we all surrounded that old coffee table, our glasses held out in front of us.
“To Hudson finally stealing my virginity,” Lex toasted.
David and I both coughed, strategically avoiding eye contact with each other. Let’s be honest, he might have been okay with our relationship, but having sex with his daughter was pushing the limits.
Judy frowned. “Oh, honey, we all know you haven’t been a virgin in a long time. I thought I taught you better than to lie over champagne.”
“Mom!” Lex feigned injury.
But I just smiled when David clicked his glass with mine and said, “I did mention the no-return policy on her, right?”
“Lift with your legs, son,” Hudson instructed his seven-year-old on the loading dock of his warehouse as we filled his truck bed with the fabricated pieces for my first experimental cat condo.
His cabinet guy had knocked it out of the park that week and I couldn’t wait to see how it would all fit