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You will. She has no idea how persistent I can be. She’s mine. I won’t give up until I possess her. “I promised him I’d take care of you, and that you’d want for nothing. I also told him I knew it was unorthodox, the way I went about proposing. Not to mention, you're my son’s ex. But I knew we were meant for each other as soon as I saw you.”
She stares at me, surprise in her eyes.
“The awkwardness of the situation is not lost on me,” I say gently.
“And what did my father say?”
“That he was pissed-off with my son and he needed proof that I wouldn’t do the same to you. I told him I’d have married you right then, if I could've, but since that wasn’t happening, I gave him my word?—”
“Y-your word?” she sputters.
I nod. “A gentleman’s word is everything, and I promised him we’d be married as soon as you agreed to my proposal.”
“You promised—?” Color smears her cheeks. “You promised?” Her voice rises toward the end of the statement.
“I did the right thing, didn’t I?” I say it, knowing full well it’s going to anger her, and she doesn’t disappoint me.
“You dared talk about me when I was not in the room? Like I am some... Some... Bit of chattel?” she spits out.
“It was a man-to-man conversation.” That, too, is aimed at riling her up, and once more, she rises to the challenge.
“About me!” She curls her fingers into fists. “How dare the two of you decide my fate when I wasn’t in the room? What do you think this is? Regency England? I didn't realize you were that old.”
I suppress a smirk. “It was simply my way of putting your father’s fears to rest. I realized he wasn’t well, and he felt helpless that his daughter’s wedding had fallen apart. He knew you were hurt, and he couldn’t do anything about it. This was my way of handing some of the control back to him.”
“Oh.” She deflates a little. “You’re right; he was upset about what happened. What father wouldn’t be? The last thing I would've wanted was for him to witness my humiliation, but”—she points a finger at me—“how dare the two of you discuss things that could impact me, and in my absence?”
“It’s totally up to you to decide, of course.”
“Why, thank you for letting me have a say in my own future,” she snarls.
I tilt my head, pretending not to hear the scorn dripping from her tone. “You’re welcome.”
She thrusts out her chin, frustration inherent in the way she holds herself stiffly. “You’re a chauvinistic pig.”
“I’ve been called worse,” I agree.
She stares at me, frustration etched into the lines on her face. “I think you should leave.”
"Only if you leave with me.”
"You wish." Once more, she reaches for the bottle of tequila, but I use my body to prevent her from getting closer to it. Going by her flushed cheeks and feverish gaze, she’s had enough to drink. Any more and she’ll be sick.
Has she even eaten anything today? It hasn’t been an easy day for her. The stress of the wedding, then Felix standing her up, followed by my surprise proposal. That’s a lot! Her emotions are, no doubt, all over the place, and the alcohol is not going to help.
She overstretches, the stool tips over, and she begins to slide. I grab at her shoulder and steady her. She rights herself and shakes off my hand. “Don’t touch me.”
“Is that any way to talk to your future husband?”
She makes a gnashing sound with her teeth and looks like she’s about to throw herself at me, not that I wouldn’t welcome that. And when she purses her luscious lips, they form a moue, and all I can think of is having them wrapped around my cock. I shake my head. Nope, don’t go there. This is not about sex… Well, not only.
I admit, from the moment I saw her, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. Not even the fact she was going to marry my son stopped me from wanting her. And when I realized Felix had stood her up, I seized the opportunity. At my age, you don’t wait for the right moment. You know that these feelings come around but once in a lifetime; so when you feel this strongly about a woman, you don’t hesitate. You claim her, and keep her, and worship her, and take care of her, so she never wants for anything. It also means, you protect her with everything you have.
I glance around the room, making sure to look every asshole who’s looking at her in the eye. They promptly look away. Losers. None of them deserve to set their gaze on a goddess like her.
"Did you just growl?" Her eyes widen.
I don’t reply.
