I reach the door and go to unlock it, but when I try the handle, it opens right away – completely unexpectedly. I step inside with a frown, wondering if I forget to lock it –
And stop dead. Because I’m not the one who unlocked or failed to lock the door, Alex did.
“Alex,” I breathe, and I hear rather than see Finn stop dead behind me as well.
She whirls around from where she was standing, by the window, and sees me. Her eyes first widen at me, then flick to her father behind me, and something in her face hardens.
“You two,” she says, slowly. “You’re together.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, immediately, a knee-jerk response, but Finn nudges me inside as he sets a pile of bags down on the floor.
“We went away together this weekend,” he says, getting right down to telling the truth as he closes the door behind us. I guess he’s as reluctant as I am to have everyone start talking again. “I would have told you about it, but you haven’t answered any of my calls.”
Alex opens her mouth to say something, clearly a sharp retort, but then closes it again right away. “I suppose that’s true.”
Finn pauses, then walks over to take a chair by Alex’s desk. Following his lead, I sit down on my bed, watching Alex with concern. She still looks a little annoyed, but not as pissed as before – and she isn’t screaming. Cautiously taking this as a good sign, I try to stay calm and quiet for the moment, letting them talk.
“I want you to know, Lexie,” Finn says, folding his hands together in front of him. “I’m not taking this lightly. It’s not just some infatuation or a silly fling. This is for keeps. I’m in love with Candy, and I’m in this for the long haul.”
Alex looks at me sharply, without saying anything. I get the idea that she’s waiting for me to confirm this, and I take a deep breath.
“I love Finn, too,” I say, glancing at him as I say it. The first time. It would have been better if we were alone for this, but at least we’re clear about how we feel. “And I’ve never felt like this before, Alex. Believe me. I never wanted to hurt you. If I had known he was your father, I would never have tried to get to know him. But now that I do, I can’t just walk away. I want to be with him. I… I need to be with him.”
Alex looks between the two of us, glowering. The way she’s looking at us makes me want to flinch. It seems that she’s still pissed – still wants to yell and punish us. I brace myself. Whatever she’s about to say next, I have the feeling it isn’t going to be pleasant.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Finn
Lexie opens her mouth, and I know I have to say more. I can’t let her say something she might regret – she has to know that this isn’t just a passing thing. It’s real. I have to make her see that.
“Lexie,” I say, but she cuts me off with a raised hand.
“Dad,” she says, and her voice is quieter than I expected. Calmer. She takes a deep breath and then begins to speak. “I need to admit something. I may have overreacted, just a little.”
I blink. Glancing at Candy, I can see her mouth dropping open.
“I really wasn’t happy about the two of you sneaking around behind my back,” Lexie continues. “But I can see that you weren’t doing it for long – just one date. I guess, when I think about it, it’s reasonable that you should try things out and see how you feel about each other before making it complicated by involving me. But… when that stupid artist tried to put everything online just to spite you, I fell for it. I got really mad. I’m sorry for some of the things I said.”
“Some of them?” I ask, with a tiny tweak to the corner of my mouth.
“Yes, some of them,” Lexie says, giving me a strong look and carrying on. “At the end of the day, I’m not thrilled about my best friend and my Dad getting together. It’s… weird, to say the least. But I shouldn’t have been so hard on both of you. We should have sat down and talked about it like adults, and… I guess I can see that you have strong feelings for each other.”
“What are you saying?” I ask, barely able to believe my own ears. “You’re… giving us your blessing?”
“Maybe not quite that strong,” Lexie says. “But I’m not going to stand in your way. You should have the chance to see where this goes. Dad, I’ve watched you live your whole life alone, looking after me. You’ve been a wonderful father. You deserve some happiness of your own.”
“Lexie, I’ve always been happy to be your Dad,” I say, unexpected emotion welling up behind my eyes. “Don’t ever think I wasn’t.”
“I know, but… it’s different, isn’t it? Being in love with someone. Having a partner.” Lexie takes a deep breath. “I can’t control who you fall in love with. You can’t even control that. So, I guess – yes, I guess I am giving you my blessing.”
Candy gives a cry of happiness, and both of us leap to our feet. Lexie can’t keep the smile from her face, even though I can see that she tries to. Within a moment I’m embracing Candy, holding her close against me, kissing the top of her head as her arms squeeze me tightly. We’re getting our chance, and I know we’ll make the most of it.
“Alright,” Lexie says, gathering some books from her desk. “That’s my cue. Since it would be way too weird for me to live with my Dad’s girlfriend, I’m moving in with the friend who’s been putting me up the last few days. And, Dad? You’re paying the rent.”
“Understood,” I say, immediately. Why argue, when I have everything I could have asked for?
“What about us?” Candy asks. “You… you don’t hate me?”
“I’ll see you in class,” Lexie says, pausing and squeezing Candy’s arm as she passes towards the door. “I am happy for you, Can-Can. Even if this wasn’t what I was picturing, I’m glad you’ve found a man who will treat you right.”
She nods at us once, takes a breath, and then steps outside, closing the door behind her and leaving us alone together.
“So, that’s it,” Candy says, looking up at me. “Everything worked out. And we…”
“We’re going to be together,” I say, looking down at her. In that moment, I know. I know it beyond a shadow of a doubt. I haven’t prepared anything, but it doesn’t matter. We can go to the jeweler’s right after and make it right. I have to take this moment before it passes. “Forever, if you’ll allow it. Candy, will you be my wife?”
“Isn’t it too sudden?” Candy asks though I see the way her face lights up, the love in her eyes.
“Yes,” I say. “But I don’t care. Is that a no?”
“It’s a yes,” Candy says, her voice so choked with emotion it comes out as a whisper. “Yes, Finn. Yes, I’ll be your wife. I can’t think of anything in the world I would want more.”
I bend my head and kiss her, long and full on the mouth, as she laughs and cries and I do the same, and I know nothing will ever come between us again.
EPILOGUE
Candy
“Hey,” Finn says, reaching out for me. “Come here, wife.”
I chuckle and step closer to him. Even though it’s been a year since he proposed, and six months since our wedding, I haven’t grown tired of hearing him say that. I don’t think I ever will.
“What?” I ask, turning to face the wall he’s gesturing at.
“What do you think?” he asks. “Too much? Not enough?”
“Just right,” I say, admiring the display he’s put together for our latest artist showcase. There’s just the right amount of decoration on the wall, allowing the art itself to stand out whilst also enhancing the theme of the exhibition.
Lizzie gurgles as if putting her stamp of approval on the decision, and we both laugh.
I bounce her up and down on my arm – our daughter, the latest addition to our family. She’s won over everyone’s hearts, from her much older sister (a constant source of babysitting duties) to the customers who regularly come into the gallery. Since the made-up scandal with Robiye blew over, it’s enjoyed amazing success from both critics and buyers, and Finn has
managed to score some big names for the latest event. I’m sure it’s going to be a big hit, too.
“You’re here again?” Eric, the foreman of the team installing the new layout for this special exhibition, nods and grins at me. “I thought you had class.”
“I’m on my way there as soon as we finish up this wall,” I say, smiling. “I had to bring someone over to stay with Daddy, didn’t I?” I peer down at Lizzie and nuzzle my nose against the top of her head, making her giggle.
“Wait, let me go get my coffee,” Eric jokes. “It could use a little sugar, and you three are so sweet together it’s just dripping out into the air.”
Finn laughs, leaning over to kiss my forehead as well as taking Lizzie from my arms. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says, mock-gruffly. “We’re here to do serious business. Right, Lizzie?”
Lizzie gurgles in response to her father’s voice, making us all laugh again.
“I’ll head out, then,” I say. With the help of the professors allowing me to switch my studies to part-time, the past year has gone smoother than I thought it would. And since moving in with Finn, and getting the use of Bernard as well, it’s been easier to keep up with class than it was before we met. This year is going to go off with a bang, and I should have enough credits to graduate by the end of it.
“Wave to Mommy,” Finn says, lifting Lizzie’s tiny hand to wave in the air as I walk backward, not wanting to take my eyes off them.
“Stop it,” I tell him, only half-joking. “You’re making me not want to leave.”
Finn drops Lizzie’s hand and quickly spins around, hiding her from me, before looking back over his shoulder with a cheeky grin.
My husband. Who would have thought I’d be able to say that? Yet, here we are. And I wouldn’t change it for anything in the entire world.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
Finn
I take a glass of champagne from a passing tray, and take a sip, ready to salute my wife.
She’s standing in the center of a small ring of people, all pressed around listening to her talk. And of course, what she has to say is very interesting; it’s what they all came here for. A statement from the artist on her art, at this – Candy’s very first solo exhibition.
It may have helped that her husband runs the gallery, yes, but that’s not why I decided to put it on. It’s because when I looked at all the submissions I had from agents and independent artists trying to get their work shown, I realized that Candy’s actually was the best. All of the other joint and group exhibitions she’s taken part in at other galleries since graduating college have been building up to this. She earned it, fair and square.
Benji grabs for my champagne flute and I hold it further out to the side, where our youngest boy can’t reach it. I glance across the crowd to where, somewhere near the back, Lexie is doing a great job of corralling her younger siblings, five year old Lizzie and three year old Tommy. They aren’t even making any noise, subdued into silence by the sound of their mother’s voice at the front of the room.
“And to finish, I’d like to thank the people who made this exhibition possible,” Candy says. The years have made her even more beautiful, I think; she stands in a floor-length golden gown, highlighting her amazing figure. “The support of the team here at the gallery, including Eric and his builders. Alex, who is my best friend and also a sister to my children. My children, whose inspiration means everything. And, of course, my husband, Finn – the owner of this gallery and the man who made it possible for me to pursue my art without having to worry about whether or not it would be accepted. And it has been. And finally, thank you for coming tonight… cheers!”
Candy lifts her glass and everyone else in the room raises theirs, voices ringing out at the same time in reply. I look around the room and I can’t help but smile to myself, jiggling Benji up and down and seeing everyone I love within the span of the same space. In spite of the fears that we had about Alex, about our age differences, everything else, it all worked out. Somehow, we’ve made it to be a real family and a family that loves each other very much.
As the crowd disperses to start looking through the paintings again, I step closer to Candy, seeing that Lexie is also making a beeline for us.
“Well done, Can-Can,” she says, leaning in for a hug as Tommy and Lizzie automatically scamper to their mother’s side, Tommy hugging one of her legs. “You’ve really knocked this one out of the park.”
“Thank you,” Candy smiles sweetly. “How long do we have you for?”
“I’m staying over tonight,” Lexie says. “Tomorrow, I thought we could maybe go out for lunch? Then I’ll head back home in the evening.”
“I’m glad we’ll have time to catch up,” Candy says. “How’s Greg doing?”
Lexie smiles at the mention of her current beau. I’m not sure that I entirely approve – after all, nothing is quite good enough for my daughter – but knowing how accepting she was of us, I have to give her the benefit of the doubt that she knows what she’s doing. “He’s great,” she says. “He just got a promotion at the bank. He’s thinking about getting a new house – something with a couple of bedrooms.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Bedrooms for what?” I ask, on guard. Is she trying to tell us…?
“For sleeping in, Dad,” Lexie says innocently, flashing me a smile which is anything but.
“Don’t be a grump,” Candy laughs at me. “Not tonight.”
“No,” I agree, slipping my arm around her shoulders. “Tonight, we have more than enough reason to celebrate.”
We enjoy the party for a few more hours, everyone mingling, laughing and talking, about art and life and nothing at all. I wonder if, somewhere in this room, someone is meeting the person they will be with for the rest of their lives like we did back then. It’s a wonderful evening, and we sell most of the paintings before the end of it. I couldn’t be more proud.
But the best part of it comes right at the end when all of the guests are gone. After we close up the gallery for the night, leaving the clean-up for tomorrow. After we get in the car and Bernard drives us, all of us, back to our home. After we settle the kids in bed and Lexie goes off to her own room, and after we change out of our fancy evening clothes and into comfortable pajamas and settle down next to each other.
My favorite part of every day is always the same. When I lay in bed next to my wife, and I look at her, and I say, “Shall we turn the lights off?” and she says yes, and for a long moment I just look at her; the woman I love. The woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and will, the one I just had to have.
And she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me, too.
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A MAN WHO KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS
Book 1: Baby Lust
Book 2: Veteran
Book 3: Built
Book 4: Bambino
Book 5: Rescued
Book 6: Leader
Book 7: Professor
Book 8: Burned
Book 9: Worldly
Book 10: Pistol
Book 11: Policed
Book 12: Driven
Book 13: Lucky 13
Book 14: Lumberjacked
Book 15: Protector
Book 16: Carpenter
Book 17: Italian Stallion
Book 18: Gardener
Book 19: Budapest Billionaire’s Virgin
Book 20: Billionaire’s Babysitter
Book 21: Cocky CFO
Book 22: Fireman’s Filthy 4th
Book 23: Mechanic
Book 24: SEAL’s Secret
Book 25: Police, Pooch, and Smooch
Book 26: Fireman’s Fake Fiancée
Book 27: Billionaire’s Virgin Ballerina
Book 28: Bitcoin Billionaire’s Babysitter
Book 29: Veterans Day Daddy
Book 30: Cowb
oy’s Christmas Carol
Book 31: Police Officer’s Princess
Book 32: Statham
Book 33: Bodyguard
Book 34: Greek God
Book 35: Billionaire Single Dad's Babysitter
Book 36: Mountain Man
Book 37: SEAL’s Justice
Book 38: Royal Romance
Book 39: Doctor Mountain Man’s Special Delivery
Book 40: Crocodile Dan D
Book 41: Mountain Man’s Secret Baby
Book 42: Doctor Bad Boy’s Secret Baby
Book 43: Cop’s Babysitter
Book 44: Nanny for the Cop Next Door
Book 45: Small Town SEAL’s Saving Grace
Book 46: Cop’s Fake Fiancée
Book 47: Billionaire’s Nanny
Book 48: Cowboy’s Babysitter
Book 49: Steamy
Book 50: Brother’s Best Friend
Book 51: Possessive Professor
Book 52: Firefighter’s Babysitter
Book 53: Soldier’s Secret Baby
Book 54: Ward’s Independence Day
Book 55: Doctor Next Door
Book 56: Possessive Policeman
Book 57: Coached by the MMA Fighter
Book 58: Boss’s Babysitter
Book 59: Virgin in New York
Book 60: Rock Star’s Baby
Book 61: Possessive Protector
Book 62: Possessive Australian
Book 63: Best Friend’s Brother
Book 64: Possessive Cowboy
Book 65: Summer Romanced
Book 66: Possessive Prince
Book 67: Lovers’s Enemy
Book 68: Cop’s Best Friend
Book 69: Possessive Firefighter
Book 70: Football Next Door
Book 71: Doctor December
Book 72: Possessive Canadian
Book 73: Blue Collar Billionaire
Book 74: Possessive K-9 Cop
Book 75: Possessive Brazilian
My Roommate's Dad: An Instalove Possessive Age Gap Romance Page 12