Page 125 of Lace 'em Up

Yup. I’m a sap and sobbing through this moment is likely ruining it.

But I can’t help it as I turn my bleary eyes to the thin silver chain of the bracelet.

“The clasp is reinforced so it should withstand any persistent pups,” he says softly, gently lifting it from my palm and showing me the clip. “And the charms aren’t wooden but they’re?—”

“Perfect,” I whisper, touching a finger to each of the charms in turn.

Big Ben. The Eiffel Tower. A koala. The Colosseum. A boat.

The Golden Gate Bridge.

All of the charms from my father.

And new ones.

A dog bone.

A crown.

A hockey stick.

And a…cactus.

The laughter that bubbles up and out of my throat is watery, and the tears that slide down my cheeks are hot and copious and drip off my chin.

“Shit,” King mutters, drawing me close. “I’m sorry, princess. I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

“Sad?” I ask, eyes still leaking but vision clear enough to see his face, to see this beautiful man. “No one has ever done anything this nice for me.”

His chest inflates on a breath, worry dragging over his features.

And I find myself desperate to take it from him, to make him smile, to make him see. “I’m touched, King. Beyond words.” My mouth curves. “And that’s coming from a woman with Jean-Michel Dubois as my fairy godmother.”

“Godfather,” he says.

“What?”

“I’ve been calling him your fairy godfather because he’s scary as shit, but he’s worked magic in your life.”

Magic, yes.

And I’m so freaking grateful for it, for him.

But not as much magic as the man in front of me has sprinkled over my life.

“Fairy Godfather.” I tap my bottom lip. “I like that. Maybe I’ll get him a T-shirt printed with it.”

King grins, says dryly, “I’m sure he’d love that.”

I smile back at him, heart full because…he sees me, he wants me. This…

Isn’t fake.

“He’d wear it to all his board meetings,” I quip.

Laughter in the air and then King sobers, touches my cheek again. “I’m sorry I made you cry.”

“I’m not,” I say, covering his hand with my own.

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