Page 71 of Emily

Meeting her gaze, Daddy popped open the lid.

Damian

What the fuck are you doing, you old fool?

Going after what I want. Finally.

Now that he’d gotten into the habit, waiting felt too hard. He hadn’t planned to do this at this moment. He couldn’t have because he hadn’t known this moment would happen. But it was, and he didn’t want to lie to her, and… well, he couldn’t wait.

She was staring at him, face pale, eyes wide, as if she didn’t believe what she was seeing.

“Emily, I know this is really soon. I know it might even seem a little crazy. There are so many logical reasons not to do this, so many things working against us.”

Getting depressing there, asshole, get to the good stuff. He cleared his throat.

“But at the end of the day, I love you. I think I’ve been in love with you for longer than I want to admit. And you don’t have to say yes right now. I wouldn’t blame you if you said no, but I wanted you to know where I stand. I love you, and I want to marry you, and?—”

“Yes!” She cut him off, throwing herself forward and nearly knocking the box from his hand as she went down on her knees to wrap her arms around him. “Yes, I love you, and I want to marry you, and I don’t care how crazy it is. We’ll make it work.”

Happiness rushed up inside him as cheers went up around them. There might be a few naysayers among the crowd, but it was obvious most of them were happy for him and Emily. And over her head, he could see Desmond glaring at everyone as if daring them to lodge a protest. Bastian came up beside him, watching and grinning as he slipped his fingers through Desmond’s.

But they weren’t who he wanted to be looking at.

Dipping his head, he swiftly pulled the ring out of the box and slipped it on Emily’s finger before claiming her lips in a kiss, causing more cheering and whistling… and over the din, he could hear Don shouting.

“What the fuck? What the fuck is going on? What the fuck, Damian! Get your hands off my girl!”

Lifting his head, Damian met the gaze of his furious former friend. Don was flushed, enraged, and cuffed. His hands were behind his back, and his eyes were swollen and red. Damian knew at a glance Emily must have maced him.

Good girl.

“She’s my girl now. And you are never going to come near her again.” Wrapping his arms securely around Emily, Damian shifted so she couldn’t see Don, and he couldn’t see her. Bastian and Desmond immediately came up on either side of him, creating a wall of muscle.

“Fuck you!” Don screamed, struggling against the cops holding him. He managed to throw himself forward, as if he thought he was going to be able to crawl without the use of his arms. When the cops tried to pick him back up, he started kicking at them, still screaming.

“Oh, good,” Bastian said mildly. “They’ll be able to add on resisting arrest to the charges.”

“And assaulting an officer,” Desmond added when one of the kicks landed.

What a fucking tool. Damian could only shake his head before turning his back on Don and facing his Sunshine again.

“Come on, sweetheart, let’s get inside. You don’t need to see this.”

“No, I really do,” she said firmly, stepping forward to wedge herself between him and Desmond. “I want to see it. I deserve to see it. He’s not my… not my dad. He’s just my sperm donor, and I want to see him get exactly what he deserves.”

Well, okay then.

He stood beside her as they watched her dad being wrestled into the cop car and driven away. He was part of the past.

Their future was together.

28

The Big Announcement

Damian

Seeing the ring on Emily’s finger sent a thrill of satisfaction through Damian every time he looked at it. Satisfaction and possession. She was his, and the whole world was going to know it. All he wanted to do was celebrate.

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