Damon looked me straight in the eye and said, “Just know that anyone or anything that is a threat to my family will be handled.”
“Why?” I asked, unable to stop myself.
“It’s not obvious?”
Smiling, I shook my head. “I need to hear the words.”
He smirked and placed a short kiss to my lips. “I’ve been in love before, but never, not once, like this.”
“How?”
“With my whole entire soul.”
I ducked my head, swooning, before lifting my gaze to meet his again. “I love you, too.”
Rising on tiptoes, I brought my hands to his face and pulled his lips to mine. I kissed him with every ounce of emotion I had in me while I ran my fingers through the beard I enjoyed so much.
Damon pulled back, chuckling. “I don’t even care that you only want me for my beard.”
I giggled. “It does make a great seat.”
His eyes widened prior to a huge grin covered his face. “Look what I started.”
I laughed before pulling him in for another kiss.
Epilogue
Six months later
Damon
“All right, short stuff, you got the ring, right?”
Monique looked up at me with those same damn eyes as her mother and my actual chest tightened. She blinked just before nodding.
“Yes, I told you a hundred times already,” she retorted, shaking her head as if I were the child instead of the other way around. I knew I should’ve told her to calm down or reminded her that she was only ten and not to be speaking to adults like that, but hell, I was wrapped around her pinky finger. I had no qualms admitting it.
“And do you remember your lines?” I questioned as we rounded the corner from my kitchen to my dining room area. I placed the salad I’d prepared at the center of my long, glass table.
“Yes. I am going to say that Mr. Damon and I had a long talk and we mutually decided that it’s best for all of us to be a family. Like, under the same roof. And you’re going to be my daddy from now on.”
I paused, remaining completely still. We’d talked about this night for the last few weeks. I’d even showed Monique the ring I’d picked out for her mother. I was leery of doing so at first, but it turned out she’s great at keeping secrets. I’d keep that shit in mind for when she became a teenager. I’d have to watch her like a hawk during those rebellious years. My heart already tensed up just thinking about the shit she might get into. But hearing her call me her dad for the first time had stopped me in my tracks.
“Is that all right, Mr. Damon?” she questioned. I’d let her come up with her own lines. “When you and my mommy get married, you’ll be my daddy, right?”
I swallowed and nodded, staring down at her. “That’s right, short stuff.”
Her smile made my heart leap into my throat. I was so far gone for this little girl and her mother. But I didn’t have time to dwell. A few seconds later, there was a knock on my door. I knew it was Sandra. Although I’d given her a key months ago, I gave her grandmother specific instructions to tell her to knock tonight. I wanted to set the mood.
“Okay, it’s showtime.”
Monique’s face brightened and she clapped, pressing down the sides of the fluffy, black and white polka dot dress she’d picked out to wear for the night. “Okay,” she stated as she hurried off to the door, doing as we’d practiced.
I stood behind, a few feet away, straightening the edges of the tuxedo jacket I wore. Monique looked back at me and I nodded. She reached for the door handle, turning and pulling it open to reveal a stunning looking Sandra. She was dressed in a cream-colored, sparkly dress that stopped an inch above her knee but extended all of the way to the floor in the back.
I groaned inwardly when I saw that she’d worn her red lipstick for the evening. She thought we had plans to go out to the theater that night.
“Monique?” she questioned, confused, turning her gaze from her daughter up to me.
“Hi, Mommy!” Monique waved.
“What are you doing here?”
As far as Sandra knew, Monique’s grandmother had taken her to spend the night after the trio had lunch together this afternoon. However, I’d had her grandmother drop Monique off over here so we could set everything up for the night.
“My great-grandma dropped me off. Mr. Damon and I have a surprise for your birthday.”
“You do?” She glanced between us again.
“Yes. Come in.” Monique took her mother’s hand. “We hope you’re not mad, but we won’t be going to the theater until tomorrow. You look really pretty, by the way.”
“Thank you, baby.”
“She’s right. You look stunning.” Leaning down, I kissed her lips. “Hope you don’t mind your outfit will be wasted on just the two of us tonight.” I took the overnight bag Sandra had over her shoulder and placed it on the floor by the door.
“Wasted? On my two favorite people in the world? Bite your tongue.”
I smiled. “Happy birthday, little one.” I handed her a gift wrapped box.
“You’re giving me my gift already?”
“That’s gift number one. Open it.”
Taking the box from my hands, she removed the light purple ribbon that held it closed and peeled it open. She gasped at the sight.
“That’s our second timepiece for women. It’s named the Sandra.”
Her watery eyes moved up to meet mine. Pulling out the white gold band, I studied the face of the watch that was outlined in white diamonds. “These will only be sold as a limited edition. Can’t have everyone wearing my woman on their arm.”
She gave me a sweet smile. “I love it.”
I placed the watch on her delicate wrist, securing it in place.
“Are you hungry, Mommy? We cooked dinner,” Monique interjected.
“I am.” Sandra nodded. I knew she would be. We had had plans to go out to dinner before the theater. “It smells great in here. What’d you two make?” Sandra asked as Monique led her to the dining area of my condo.
“Roasted duck, mashed sweet potatoes, and salad.”
“Mmm, sounds delicious.”
“Sit here, Mommy,” Monique ordered as she started pulling out her mother’s chair.
“I got it, short stuff.” I moved behind the chair that faced the glass sliding door and window, giving us a perfect view of the sun that was getting ready to set. I’d timed this night out perfectly.
I then moved behind a second chair and had Monique sit down. I was going to be serving the ladies tonight.
“This looks great,” Sandra stated as the food was placed in front of her. She grasped my hand. “Thank you for doing this.”
Leaning in, I kissed her lips. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
We ate dinner as Monique talked about her plans for the upcoming school week. I told Sandra about Sean and I finally signing with a major watch retailer and that we could expect our timepieces to be selling some time within the next year. She, of course, was more than elated.
“How was it being at the center today?” I questioned, looking across the table at Sandra. She had recently began working part-time with Kayla, Kayla’s sisters-in-law, and their mother-in-law to create an organization for women who’d endured some type of abuse or trauma. Sandra had made the bold decision to continue working while going back to school part-time to get her degree in social work, to work as a counselor for young women and girls.
She smiled wide. “It was so great. Every one of us is dedicated to this project. I’m so happy they asked me to be a part of it.”
“And speaking of,” I began, “here’s gift number two.” I slid the envelop with her name on it across the table.
Her forehead wrinkled. “What’s this?”
“Open it, Mommy!” Monique called.
Sandra looked from her daughter to me.
I nodded.
She opened the envelop and gasped when she pulled out the check. “What’s this
?”
“A blank check.”
“I know but for wh—”
“Your tuition. You can go to school full-time while working at the center.” The “center” wasn’t the official name of the organization, but the women hadn’t come up with one yet so we all just referred to it as “the center” for now.
“Damon, I can’t—”
“You can and you will. But that’s not all.”
Sandra lowered the check and looked between Monique and I.
“Now?”
I nodded at Monique. “Yes.”
She sprang into action. Monique excused herself, moving down the hall to turn on the specialty lights I’d had set up.
“Don’t move,” I ordered as I got up and went into the kitchen to retrieve our dessert.
“What?” Sandra questioned as I walked back into the dining area with a slice of tiramisu with a lone lit candle inserted in the middle.
“Present number three,” Monique answered at the same time the plug-in candles strategically placed around the room lit up. The candles led all of the way to the door which she opened, revealing the sunset behind us.
“Do you like the sunset, Mommy?” Monique asked.
Sandra nodded. “I do, sweetie.” Sandra looked over at me.
“Good,” Monique responded. “Mr. Damon and I worked really hard to have everything set up.”
“I see that. It’s perfect so far.”
“And Mr. Damon and I have something to ask you.”
“You do?”
Monique nodded, a serious expression covering her precious face. “We want to be a family.” She looked up at me and I had to fight to keep it together.
“We are a family, sweetie,” Sandra answered.
“Yeah, but we want to be one, for real. Right, Mr. Damon?”
“Yes, short stuff,” I responded around the lump that’d formed in my throat.
“Mr. Damon wants to be my daddy and I want him to be my daddy, too, because I love him,” she stated, taking my hand in hers.
Oh shit. My damn knees almost buckled. This little girl really was trying to rip my heart out of my chest before I could even get the question out.
“Oh,” Sandra responded, looking over at me with watery eyes.
Monique reached out and opened the black, velvet ring box that held the three karat, princess cut diamond ring with a white gold band.
I decided to take over from there. Taking the ring from Monique’s hand, I held it out to Sandra as I lowered to one knee.
“Short stuff is right. I want to be her father and I want to be your husband. And give her a sibling or two because I’m deeply in love with the both of you and I can’t see my life without the either of you in it. Will you marry me?”
Sandra covered her mouth, eyes watering as she looked between the ring in my hand and my face as I knelt down in front of her.
“Say yes, Mommy!” Monique encouraged excitedly, after nearly a minute of silence.
My heart thundered in my chest. Not out of fear. I knew Sandra just needed a breather to take it all in. I was anxious to hear the word, though. My mind raced on what life would be like after that yes. I needed it to feel complete again. I’d thought my life was whole prior to meeting Sandra—I ran a successful company and was in the midst of starting up another, I had great friends, my family was doing okay, and I had fighting. But ever since this woman and her child entered my life, I realized I had just been bullshitting. All of that other stuff had been the foundation I needed to prepare to be man enough to make this woman my wife and Monique my daughter.
“Yes,” she finally answered just above a whisper.
I immediately removed the ring from the box and placed it on her left ring finger before pulling her up from the chair to stand, kissing her with all of the passion and gratitude I had that she’d come into my life. I stopped myself before I got too carried away, however, remembering that Monique was watching us.
“Yay!” she shouted, slamming her body into the both of us, wrapping her arms around us.
I covered Sandra’s hand that had went to Monique’s back. I silently vowed to protect both of these women with my whole, entire heart.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Smiling, Sandra ran her free hand through my beard.
I grinned. “As soon as this little one goes to bed, I’m going to take you up on that offer,” I whispered in her ear. She knew that her hands in my beard turned me on.
Sandra laughed, pulled back, looked me right in the eyes, and said, “Just say the word.”
Oh, we were going to have a hell of a night ahead of us.
And a life.
We were going to have one hell of a life ahead of the three of us. I couldn’t wait.
The End
Looking for updates on future releases? I can be found around the web at the following locations:
FaceBook private group: Tiffany’s Passions Between the Pages
Website: TiffanyPattersonWrites.com
FaceBook Page: Author Tiffany Patterson
Email: [email protected]
More books by Tiffany Patterson
The Black Burles Series
Black Pearl
Black Dahlia
Black Butterfly
Forever Series
7 Degrees of Alpha (Collection)
Forever
Safe Space Series
Safe Space (Book 1)
Safe Space (Book 2)
Rescue Four Series
Eric’s Inferno
Carter’s Flame
Non-Series Titles
This is Where I Sleep
My Storm
Miles & Mistletoe
The Townsend Brothers Series
Aaron’s Patience
Mean to Be
For Keeps
Just Say The Word Page 28