He nodded. “Sorry we had to keep it from you, babe, but there was a chance the Board of Corrections wouldn’t go for it. In the end, they did.”
“How long have you been planning this?”
“Um…” Dorian hummed, trying to remember. “I guess about six months or so?”
“Wait a second. Are you telling me the day I was in jail visiting him, trying to pass along the bribe envelope, that the two of you already had this plan cooked up?”
Dorian shook his head. “No.”
He sort of ticked me off. Once he told me he hadn’t, some of the anger left my body. I relaxed. Interlacing his fingers, he dropped them in his lap and looked at me, smiling.
“It was the day after that.”
“What!” I began, spinning in my seat and facing him. “I can’t believe you let me go through all of this time without knowing! I can’t believe my dad did it!”
Dorian’s smile widened. “I know, it’s scandalous isn’t it? Two men who love you more than anything in the world conspiring with each other to do nothing but make you insanely happy. We are the worst, aren’t we?”
What could I say? Do?
I just shook my head. “You are a jerk sometimes, but I love you. I love you!”
Dorian chuckled. “I know.”
He opened his hand. “Come on, it’s time to go.”
Minutes later we made our way backstage. I saw my dad and ran towards him. We hugged for I don’t know how long but not long enough for my liking. At last, we separated. Pulling away from him, I remembered how angry I told myself I should have been. The problem was I was insanely happy at the same time.
“Okay,” I began, poking him in the chest. “First of all, I want you to know I’m really mad at you for keeping such a secret from me. On the other hand, I couldn’t be more proud of you. Mom would’ve been too.”
He beamed a smile across his face.
“I’m sorry we had to do things this way,” my dad said, looking past me towards Dorian. “But you know, it wasn’t all my idea. I had a partner.”
Dorian stepped forward and extended his hand. “Michael, you did a helluva job up there. Terrific work.”
My dad’s eyes never left Dorian’s face. My father was the proudest man I’d ever known. I’m sure that even though he’d done things in a way that he wanted, relying on Dorian for some help couldn’t have been easy for him. He wrapped his fingers around Dorian’s hand, shaking it with a firm yank.
“I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity. Without your help, it never would have happened.”
“It’s the least I can do,” Dorian replied, releasing his grasp from my dad. “After all, you are the father of the most wonderful woman on earth.”
My heart felt like it would leap from my chest, just burst out and fall to the floor. Excitement overwhelmed me. There was still one thing I had to know.
“Dad, what does this mean for your prison sentence?”
My dad glanced at Dorian and then looked at me. “Well, thanks to the opportunity I’ve been given, I’m going to have my first parole hearing next month – about five years ahead of schedule. I…”
Before he could say another word, I shrieked. Hell, I squealed and leapt towards him, throwing my arms around his neck.
“Oh my God!” I yelled, kissing him on the cheek before turning and jumping on Dorian, kissing him also. “Oh my God!”
I couldn’t believe it. Of course, it didn’t mean he’d be getting out of jail, but it was a massive step in the right direction, an incredible step. Eventually, my pulse calmed down.
My dad looked at me. “I don’t have much time left here, Temp. They’ll be coming to take me back to jail soon.”
Before I could say anything, Dorian interrupted, looking at my dad. “I guess we should get this taken care of then, right?”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
My eyes darted towards my father. What the hell was going on?
“Whoa, whoa,” I began, holding my hands up. “The two of you aren’t going to fool me twice in one day. What are you talking about?”
It was nearly nightfall by the time we left the casino. After riding across town in Dorian’s limousine, the three of us arrived at his estate. Dorian hadn’t told me a thing, like nothing, other than I’d find out when we got there. We walked inside, entering the foyer. Ainsley, Kendrick and Oksana were already there, waiting.
Oksana smiled in Dorian’s direction. “Everything is ready, just as you requested.”
“Excellent, thanks Oksana.” he replied.
“Tempest…” Dorian said, wiggling his fingers like the first night we walked to the observatory. “Give me your hand.”
I smiled at him and interlaced my fingers between his. Dorian closed his hand around mine, the reassuring warmth sending familiar surges through me.
I leaned into him. “What’s going on?”
“You’ll see, babe. You’ll see.”
With everyone standing in a semicircle around us, Dorian looked up. “Everyone, it’s time.”
Walking together, we exited the back of the house and took the familiar path to the observatory once more. Dorian and I spent many nights there over the past six months, and I’d come to love it, almost as much as he did.
I still had no idea what was happening. It seemed like everyone else did, and of course that made me crazy. But, just this once, I decided to go with the flow and just be in the moment. It wasn’t easy, hell, it was almost impossible. Entering the observatory, my anticipation swelled to a new high.
Clutching Dorian’s hand, I felt my palm sweat. What the hell was happening?
We walked to the center of the room where Dorian stopped, looking into my eyes.
“Tempest, baby, stand across from me. Give me your other hand.”
It was dark enough out so that the lighting of the observatory added an unexpected element of romance. The stars and dark backdrop of the night sky overhead set my pulse racing. I know that sounds corny but it was true.
I swear.
The room went silent. My head felt like it might spin off my shoulders. I mean, I knew what I hoped this was about, what I wished. Dorian spoke, breaking my train of thought.
“Michael is on a bit of a deadline everyone. I hate to rush such a blessed event but the long arm of the law knows no bounds.”
Blessed event?! Oh my God! It was really happening!
Dorian nodded, gesturing in the direction of my dad. “Are you ready?”
I snapped my head in the same direction.
“I am,” my dad replied, taking a step forward. “I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life.”
While I watched him, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out my mother’s wedding ring. My breath stopped. Dad passed the ring to Dorian. There was no way I would keep it together. I was going to lose it.
Dorian let go of my hand and took the ring. After, he looked down at me. I couldn’t fight it any longer. A tear slipped out of my eye and ran down my cheek. With the same hand he held the ring in, Dorian reached for my face and with a gentle motion across my cheek, brushed away my tear.
“Why are you so sad?”