“Yeah. Viv, come see how good it looks!”
I smiled and walked down my apartment’s short hallway, admiring the tiny room that used to be my office. Now it was Brooklyn’s bedroom when she stayed with us. We were paining it pink and having new carpet put in. Kane had already started building a loft bed for her and was planning to make her a bookcase next.
The gym’s storage room that had formerly been his home was now his woodworking shop. He’d discovered a passion for it and I’d often go to the shop with him, working on my laptop on the couch that still remained there. The silence between us was always comfortable. I liked knowing he was there even if we weren’t talking.
Our life together was evolving nicely. We had Brooklyn every other weekend, which we’d achieved through mediation with Cori rather than taking her to court. Kane had told her in no uncertain terms that he wouldn’t be spending time alone with her anymore.
He still wasn’t open to Grayson coming over. After a thirty day stay at a rehab facility in January, Grayson seemed to be doing better. But Kane said he still had a long road ahead and couldn’t be trusted in our home after stealing from me. We invited him to have dinner with us at the club regularly, and Kane had forgiven his six thousand dollar debt. He definitely hadn’t forgotten it, though, and he watched Grayson like a hawk. I was secretly relieved, because the trust between me and Grayson hadn’t been rebuilt yet.
“You booked us in for a table Friday night, right?” I asked Kane.
“Yep. In the room with the stripper pole.”
I looked at him, my brows arched. “Are you kidding? I know you’re kidding, but I need you to confirm that you’re not taking my parents into the room with the pole.”
“Course I’m kidding. Don’t worry, baby. Your parents are gonna love your tattooed, ex-con, nightclub owner boyfriend.”
I shrugged. “They should love you, but if they don’t?”
“Eff ‘em,” Kane said. He was watching his use of his favorite word around Brooklyn.
“You can just say it,” she said, looking over at us from the wall she was painting. “I know what eff means.”
Kane’s expression sobered. “If any boy ever says that word to you, I want you to slap him. Really hard.”
She smiled the same smile that had melted my heart last fall in the most unexpected of places and ways. I saw so much of Kane in his daughter. And with her in his life, he was lighter. Free from the demons that had been chasing him when we met.
A life full of love had been waiting for him. And now that he’d reached for it, he was holding on tight. And I was, too.
Two Years Later
Brooklyn
I’VE NEVER FELT SO BEAUTIFUL. My pale blue dress comes all the way down to the floor and it shines a little in the light when I move. I’m wearing sparkly silver sandals and my toenails are bright pink because I got my first pedicure the other day.
And my hair . . . it’s all curled and piled on my head. Dad insisted on getting me a tiara that has tiny shining diamonds in it. He said I should look like the princess I am today.
And I do. He’s marrying Viv today, but they’ve told me so many times that this isn’t just their special day–it’s ours.
I’m walking slowly, like the wedding planner told me to. I’m not as nervous as I thought I’d be, because I’m keeping my eyes on my dad. He looks so handsome in his tuxedo, his short hair in a neat cut and his beard trimmed short.
The way he’s smiling at me makes me want to cry. I see the shine of tears in his eyes. He feels so much guilt over missing the first nine years of my life and I wonder if he’s thinking about that. I hope not. I hope he’s thinking about the past two years, when he and Viv have tried hard to make up for lost time.