“Dad, this is Mason,” Lana says, my head snapping up to meet her gaze. “Mase, this is my dad, John, and my mom, Nancy.”
Her father and I are roughly matched for size, his frame a little slimmer but fit for his age. He’s graying at the temples, his brown hair a shade lighter than Lana’s. Her mother is petite, her blonde hair pulled back in a low ponytail, and aside from their hair color, they look so much alike.
Keeping my arm wrapped around Holland, I hold out my hand to Lana’s father and smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”
His shake is firm but not overpowering, and I let myself relax the slightest bit knowing this isn’t a pissing match over Lana. Nancy’s smile is blinding as she offers her hand and says, “We’ve heard so much about you.”
“Likewise,” I say as Lana tells the kids to go and wash up for dinner.
They scramble out of the room, the promise of pizza the perfect motivation to get them moving.
“Lana, where’s that blanket you wanted me to look at?” Nancy says, “the one with the hole in it? I keep forgetting to grab it from you.”
“It’s upstairs.” Lana hitches a thumb over her shoulder and winks at me as her mom follows her out of sight.
Not subtle.
Swallowing hard, I turn back to John who is studying me with an amused expression.
“They’re shit at poker,” he says and my lips twitch.
“I can see that.”
“And I like seeing my daughter happy.”
“Me too,” I say honestly.
He nods. “I won’t lie and say I didn’t have concerns about the different stages of life y’all are in, but I’ve been in this house not ten minutes and it’s pretty damn clear that you’ll be marrying my daughter someday.”
I open my mouth and close it. “As long as she says yes.”
“I have a feeling you’re in luck.” His smile morphs into something more serious, his gaze focused on something on the wall behind me. “You’ve given them a piece of the happiness I feared they’d lost in the divorce and the move and hell, even before all that.” He swallows hard, his eyes locking on mine. “I can’t put into words how grateful Nancy and I are to have them back.”
Emotions clog my throat, his words unexpected but settling so much of the pain that still lingered from yesterday.
The validation that I wasn’t imagining that I fit here.
“Thank you for saying that, because loving them is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”
He grins. “Glad to hear it.” Beck and Holland slide on socked feet back into the room, making us chuckle as they grab plates and napkins before diving into the pizza box. “Mason?”
“Yes?”
“I’m gonna say yes,” John says, and then pauses, his mouth tipping up on one side, “but I’d still appreciate the ask.”
Rolling my lips in, I nod, before letting the smile take over my face. “Yes, sir.”
30
LANA
Beck had corralled Mason and my father into the backyard after dinner to throw the football around, the dogs getting in on the game. Holland had joined them, providing commentary from a lawn chair while making another dozen bracelets for her friends at school.
“We like him very much,” my mother says, handing me a cup of hot tea as we watch them from the kitchen.
“I was stupid and I almost let him get away,” I admit, only turning to look at her when she doesn’t respond. “And it’s crazy because I never felt this way about Jacob and we were married for years.”
“Marriage doesn’t make two people right for each other, and honestly, Lana, I’ve never seen you so happy.”
