When we get to his room, we see Evy sitting on the bed next to him, and they’re holding hands. It looks like an intimate moment, and for some reason I want to back out of the room and give them their privacy. But Gracie, being my sweet innocent girl, goes right on in.
“Hey, Dad, morning, Evy.” She smiles at the woman, and I don’t miss the tender way Evy looks at her.
“Hey, Gracie,” she says and stands from the bed but still keeps a hold of Joseph’s hand.
“Morning, pumpkin.” He smiles at Gracie and then turns to me. “Good to see you, Donovan.”
I nod and tell them hello as Gracie jumps right into it. “Has the doctor been in yet?”
“The nurse said she’d be by in just a few minutes,” Evy answers. “But I think before that your dad and I need to tell you something.”
“That you two have been sneaky dating?” Gracie says and smiles brightly.
Evy looks at Joseph, and I can see her cheeks flush a little. “Well, yes.”
“I want you to know Evy and I did a lot of talking last night,” Joseph says.
“Good, so did Donovan and I.” I take Gracie by the hand and squeeze it as I look down at her and wink.
“Evy and I are getting married.”
“Good morning, Mr. Hall, I bet you’re ready to head home today,” the doctor says, interrupting the bomb that just went off in the room.
“Umm, can you give us a second?” Joseph asks as he looks around at all of us.
“Sure.” The doctor smiles and backs out.
“You and Evy are getting married?” Gracie asks, and when the two of them confirm, she surprises all of us by bouncing on her toes and squealing as she covers her mouth to muffle the excitement.
“Well, that wasn’t exactly the reaction I was thinking, but I’m happy to see it,” Joseph says as he looks to Evy.
“Are you kidding me?” Gracie goes around the bed to hug Evy and then her dad. “I’m so happy for the both of you. I mean I knew you’d been dating on the sly, but I had no idea it was this serious.”
“I think we both realized after yesterday that life is short,” Evy says and shrugs. “I love your dad with all my heart, and we talked a lot about what we want for the future.”
“You’ve taken care of me a long time, kiddo, maybe even at times when I should have been taking better care of myself.” Joseph squeezes her hand now. “I should have been better about letting you live your life instead of worrying about mine.”
“Aw, Dad.”
“No, I mean it. And I’m not just trading out one nurse for another.”
“I told your dad that I’ll help him manage his diabetes better, but we’re going to do it together.” Joseph nods at Evy.
Seeing the two of them and the way they look at each other gives me hope. Life is short, and it’s never too late to find love. I stand back and let them talk for a few minutes before the doctor comes back in and goes over Joseph’s discharge paperwork. I step outside for that, giving them as much privacy as possible.
A little bit later, Gracie and Evy come out of the room with Joseph’s things in a bag. “I’m going to go with Evy to sign his discharge paperwork. Are you okay to hang here for a second?”
“I’ll be right here.” I lean down and kiss Gracie on the cheek before the two of them walk down the hall.
I wait a beat to make sure they’re not coming back before I turn and go into the room with Joseph. He smiles at me as I walk in and then he nods like he’s been waiting for this.
“I know what you’re going to ask.”
“You do?” I glance over my shoulder and then back to him.
“Anyone that sees the two of you together knows it’s more than just puppy love. I know what I feel for Evy, and I see the way my baby girl looks at you. It’s the same no matter what age you are.”
“Gracie is old enough to make her own decisions, so I’m not asking for permission to marry her. I’m asking you to give us your blessing if she says yes.”
“If?” He chuckles. “She’ll say yes, and yes, you’ll have my blessing.” He nods. “Gracie is a good judge of character, and if she loves you like I think she does, then you’re a good man.”
“I promise to always be that for her.” I place my hand on my heart and make the vow I will keep for the rest of my life.
“Then I hope the two of you are as happy as me and Evy.”
“We are,” I agree, hiding my smile. Because I have a feeling we might be the happiest couple on this earth.
Chapter Fifteen
Gracie
“Are you sure you guys don’t need any help?” I ask my dad.
They have moved most of Evy’s stuff in, but there are a bunch of boxes left to unpack. Evy comes to stand beside my dad, and he wraps his arm around her and pulls her closer. I love that he’s not hiding this from me because it was beyond silly trying to. He thought it might hurt my feelings that I wasn’t his number one anymore.
He didn’t word it that way, but I got it. We’d both become a bit codependent with worrying too much about the other. Joseph is a great dad, and he raised me on his own. I never felt like I missed out on not having a mom because he was always there for me. Now it’s time for him to start living for himself. I know he’ll still be here for me if I need him, and I’ll never question that.
Donovan and Tidas loaded up the last of my stuff into the back of the truck before Tidas took off. I didn’t have a ton left after slowly moving my things over the last few weeks to Donovan’s place. I don’t need the small bed that I’ve had since middle school because Donovan couldn’t fit on that little thing even by himself. He did manage to pin me to it once for a small makeout session that was almost busted by my dad.
When Donovan asked me to move in, I’d said yes without a thought. We’d been at the fall festival and Tidas surprised Val with a wedding. I might have helped a little in making that happen, and it was one of the sweetest things in the whole world. It made me want to jump all over the next step in my relationship with Donovan.
I love going to bed with him every night and waking up the same way. Donovan is adorable in the morning when I get ready. It’s hard to hate my alarm clock when it’s a mouth that brings me to orgasm.
Every morning Donovan drags me out of the bed to take a shower with him. While I get dressed and ready for work, he makes me coffee and something to eat. He even picks out the ribbon I should put in my braid. It’s so cheesy, but I love it so much.
Never in a million years would I have guessed this is how things would turn out that day I made my first delivery to his grumpy ass. I’ve even changed my route at work so I hit home around lunch, and we can eat together.
“We’re fine, but know that you can come back anytime, honey,” Dad says, giving Donovan a hard stare. Donovan’s fingers flex against my hip, not loving my father’s words.
“I know that, Dad, but even if it doesn't work out with Donovan I’m—”
“Enough,” Donovan growls, lifting me off my feet and tossing me over his shoulder. I burst into laughter.