Page 45 of A Daddy of the Heart
Tears stung the back of Eli’s eyes. “If you want.” He swallowed hard. “And I never said I didn’t want to get married, Will. Just that I wanted to take this slow, in case you changed your mind. Marriage is forever.”
Willem nodded. “It is.” He pulled out a small velvet box. “I’ve been carrying this around for the past four months, boy. It’s yours when you’re ready.” He opened it to reveal a pure gold band. “Unless that’s now. I want to spend the rest of my life taking care of you, boy. Without you our family is incomplete. Say you’ll not only be my boy, my lover, but also my husband.”
Tears ran unchecked down Eli’s face. “Yes.”
Willem slowly slid the ring on his finger. “And you’ll add my last name to yours?”
“Of course.” He jerked his Daddy close enough to press a quick kiss to his lips. “I’ll be happy to bear the William last name as well.”
“Then it seems a marriage license is in order, opposed to a name change. Bailiff…” The judge’s voice broke through their embrace, “…please bring appropriate forms so we can get this nice couple married.”
Happiness spread through Eli. “You’re sure, Daddy?”
“Absolutely.” Willem rubbed his thumb over Eli’s lip. “I love you so much. I can’t wait until we’re a family.”
“Family.” Eli’s grin widened. “I like that sound of that.”
“Congratulations, Will. You deserve this.” Derek joined them at the table. “Sadie couldn’t be here, because some little imp decided to sneak into chef’s kitchen and cause mischief again, so she’s in a time out, but I promised I’d get a picture of you all together as a family. What do you say?”
“Absolutely.” Willem pulled Eli and the kids close. “Considering that you were the one to introduce us.”
Eli chuckled. “Yeah, hard to believe, Daddy Will, that it all started with a job.”
The End
