Page 51 of Faking It With the Single Dad

The air seems still around us as the sounds of the restaurant fade into the background. My breath catches, and for a moment, I’mfrozen. The ring sparkles in the candlelight, but all I can think about are the what-ifs, the fears, the scars that Caleb left behind, the lingering doubt that I’m not ready for this…thatwe’renot ready.

“Ryan,” I whisper, my voice trembling. “I—”

His brow furrows slightly, but he doesn’t pull his hand away. “It’s okay,” he says softly, his tone free of judgment or impatience. “Take your time.”

I glance at the ring again, my mind racing. “I just…I don’t know if this is the right thing to do,” I admit, my words tumbling out in a rush. “What if we’re rushing into this? What if…what if I can’t be the wife you deserve? What if I mess everything up?”

“I understand your fears, my love, but the kids need a stable family,” Ryan continues, his tone gentler now. “Something real. Something permanent. And as much as I love being here, cohabiting isn’t enough. It’s not enough for them, and it’s not enough for me.”

I swallow hard, my hands twisting nervously in my lap. “Ryan, I...I’ve been through this before. I thought I had forever once, and look how that turned out. I can’t go through that again.”

“I know,” he says, stepping closer. He kneels in front of me, his hand reaching for mine, but he doesn’t rush me. “I know Caleb broke your trust. I know he left you with nothing but pieces to pick up. But I’m not him, Bella. I’ll never be him.”

My throat tightens and I look away, but Ryan doesn’t let go.

His words break something open in me. I force myself to meet his gaze, and the intensity there steals my breath.

“You are my redemption,” he says softly. “You gave me a second chance at happiness, Bella. At a family. At love. I’m not asking you to take a leap of faith blindly—I’m right here, ready to catch you. Every single time.”

Tears sting my eyes, but I blink them back, my voice trembling as I speak. “Ryan, what if I can’t be what you need? What if I mess this up? What if...what if forever isn’t real?”

He cups my face gently, his thumb brushing away a stray tear. “Forever is real, Bella. It’s messy, and it’s hard, and sometimes it’s terrifying. But it’s real. And I want it with you.”

I let out a shaky breath, and his hand slides to my cheek, grounding me.

“This isn’t just about us,” he says. “It’s about Luke and Alice. They deserve to grow up knowing what a real, stable family looks like. They deserve to feel safe, to know that no matter what, we’re in this together. We owe them that.”

My chest tightens, and I look at the ring again. It’s not the ring itself that scares me—it’s the weight of everything it represents.

“I’m scared,” I whisper.

“I know,” he says. “But you’re not alone anymore, Bella. You don’t have to carry everything by yourself. That’s the promise I’m making to you tonight—not just to love you, but to stand by you. To be your partner in every way. Forever.”

His voice cracks on the last word, and something inside me shifts. This isn’t Caleb making empty promises. This isn’t a man looking for a convenient arrangement. This is Ryan—steadfast, patient, and so deeply in love that it terrifies me almost as much as it comforts me.

For the first time, I let myself imagine what forever might look like with him. Late nights in the café, the kids laughing in the next room, his arms around me as we face every storm together.

And for the first time, it doesn’t feel impossible.

“Okay,” I whisper, the word slipping out before I can stop it.

Ryan’s eyes widen, his breath catching. “Okay?”

I nod, a tear sliding down my cheek. “Okay.”

His face breaks into the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen as he pulls me into his arms, holding me so tightly it feels like he’s trying to piece me back together. Maybe he already has.

The relief on his face is immediate, and his grin is so infectious I can’t help but laugh through my tears. He slips the ring onto my finger with careful precision, then pulls me back into his arms.The restaurant bursts into applause, but I barely hear it. All I can focus on is the way he holds me—like he’s never going to let go.

“I love you,” he murmurs into my hair, and I tighten my arms around him, letting myself believe, for the first time in a long time, that maybe this is exactly where I’m meant to be.

“I love you, too,” I whisper back, and the words don’t feel like a risk anymore. They feel like coming home.

Chapter Twenty

Ryan

The sun streams through the windows of Bella’s café, casting a warm glow over the room as I sip my coffee and glance at her from across the table. She leans over a stack of wedding magazines, her brow furrowed as she scribbles notes in a spiral-bound notebook. Luke is at the counter, sneakily eating cookies, and Alice sits beside me, happily doodling on a napkin with crayons.

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