Page 179 of Captivated

Joe shot the man a look. “Nice.”

“Yeah, well, I try.”

Joe followed behind the enforcer, and let the man direct him through a busy, bustling restaurant. Lucian was seated in his usual area—the private dining section. The man had a host of papers and files spread out on the table, and didn’t even glance up when Joe approached.

“Have a seat,” Lucian said.

“Do you ever take vacations, or break from … this?” Joe asked.

Lucian shook his head. “Rarely.”

“Your wife must love that.”

A smile curved Lucian’s lips.

“My wife is my break and vacation, Joe.”

Ah.

Okay, then.

“How long were you planning to pace and talk on the phone in the alleyway before you gained enough courage to come in here and speak with me?” Lucian asked.

Joe blinked. “How did you know—”

“I know everything, or the cameras tell me.”

Again … ah.

“Ask,” Lucian said quietly, still going through his files.

“You don’t know if I came here to ask anything.”

“Yes, I do. You probably feel like you waited too long to ask as it is, Joe. Frankly, I would not have waited as long as you did, but I appreciate that you were able to hold yourself back. So, please, put yourself out of this misery, and just ask me what you came here to ask.”

Joe bit his inner cheek.

He glanced down at his clenched hands.

He had never been more sure of anything in his life than this.

“I want to ask for your blessing, Lucian.”

Finally, Lucian glanced up from his work to stare at Joe. He didn’t know what he expected to see staring back at him, but the calm assuredness in Lucian’s gaze was not it. That took him by surprise more than anything else.

“To marry her,” Lucian clarified.

Joe nodded. “Yeah.”

“When do you plan to ask?”

“I don’t know … just that I will.”

Lucian leaned back in his chair, and stared out the window at the passing people on the sidewalk. “She’ll say yes, Joe. I hope you’re not worried about that.”

He wasn’t.

Much.