Curt continued: “I was so worried you’d hurt him, that you wouldn’t love him back and he’d be thrust into a marriage of convenience for the sake of the curse.”
Ouch. Is that what it was like for him? He was always super nice to Mrs. Hudson, but did he love her? Maybe not like he’d loved my mom.
“Unrequited love is no good for anyone,” he muttered.
Damn, his face looked like a lost little boy in that moment, and I fully understood how badly this curse had hurt his family. For generations, they were forced into marriages that wouldn’t have naturally occurred.
He shook himself. “Anyway, I see you two together and I know you will have a long and happy life together.” He smiled.
It was actually one of the sweetest things he could have said.
“We will,” I assured him. “As long as he understands happy wife, happy life.”
I pointed to the custom t-shirt I was wearing that Sage got me.
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Get outta here.”
A grin pulled at my lips once more. “Thanks again.”
As I stepped out of the room, I couldn’t help but remark that this went way better than I could have hoped. I had mad love and respect for my future father-in-law now and understood that humans were just flawed creatures, all trying to make our way through heartache and trauma. But I wanted to have a real relationship, and real people argued and aired out their grievances. I wanted to be able to go to my father-in-law with things when they bothered me and not be shut out. He’d listened to me and we’d come to an agreement, and damn that felt good. I left the hotel in high spirits.
“He’s soft on you,” Eugene commented as I skipped back to the car.
“Hah. That was soft? He reamed me at first,” I told him.
Eugene chuckled. “He always wanted a daughter, you know. After the death of Sawyer’s twin… they tried again and again and again but… to no avail.” I stopped in my tracks, frowning.
The curse. It only let you have two children, and when Sawyer’s twin brother died… they weren’t allowed to have any more. No wonder he hated the Paladins. It took his chance at being able to have a daughter.
“That’s really sad,” I said.
“That’s life,” he retorted.
No truer words were spoken.
I steppedinto the little private room that the hotel had set up for family so that we could all enter the main ballroom together. We were a bit early, but Sawyer was already inside because he’d texted me as much on my new phone, which he’d had delivered to my hair salon.
After unwrapping it, I’d promptly taken a selfie and posted it on my Insta.
“I need a doctor!” Sawyer clutched his heart in mock agony as I walked into the room in my new dress, hair spun up in a cascade of glossy curls. “I’m marrying the most beautiful girl in the world and I can’t breathe.”
I grinned. “You’re a charmer, you know that?”
He straightened, pulling his hand away from his chest, and pulled me into his arms, my body pressed flat against him. “You bring it out of me.”
Sage made a mock retching noise behind us and I spun around to flip her off, only to catch Walsh totally checking out her ass. His eyes snapped up to mine when he caught me looking, cheeks going red, and I grinned.
When I spun back around, Sawyer released me and pulled two boxes from a nearby table, handing them to me. “Engagement gift.”
My eyes widened. Shit, was that a thing? “I… didn’t get you anything.”
He waved me off. “You’re my gift. You even wore a bow.” He fingered the bow under the bust of my dress.
I grinned and then tore into the first present. I hated surprises but I loved presents. Who didn’t? When my gaze landed on the pair of white Converse sneakers encrusted with thousands of tiny rhinestones, I squealed.
“Oh my God, you are so not wearing those.” Sage peeked over my shoulder and Sawyer flicked the top of her head, lightly pushing her back.
I laughed as she flipped him off, and then I kicked off my flip-flops and slipped on the little thin socks he’d provided and the shoes.
