Forbidden Forever (22 page)

"I love you
morefinity. Thank you for being so amazing to my kids. Most men would
not take on the baggage I have." She squeezes me slightly. I
turn to face her and pull her chin up so I can see those beautiful
blue eyes.

"Sapphire, my life
started the day I saw you in my office. It was like the map I was
searching for my whole life magically appeared and the X was marked
on your heart. Your kids are my kids and baggage is nothing compared
to a lifetime without you." I open my heart to her.

Her eyes twinkle and she
looks deep into mine. I can feel every emotion without her even
speaking out loud.

"You will never
have to be without me. I wouldn't want to live a life without you
either," she assures me.

They are starting to
call the winners' names so we all walk over to the judge's area.
Third place is a skinny boy named Travis and second place goes to
Toby. Kaleb feels defeated and puts his head down. I see Laney's
heart breaking for her son. They call out First place and our group
burst out in excitement. Kaleb landed first place in his first surf
competition. He hugs everyone and he comes and wraps his arms around
my neck. In that moment I felt like the proudest dad around. I know
this is something I want to be to these kids and something I want to
do for myself. I never want to go another day without being their
dad. Okay, I basically will be their step-dad but I can promise
this...I'll be the best damn step-dad around.

The smile on my face
hasn't moved since this afternoon when I watched my boy kick the ass
out of that punk Toby. Laney and her mom cooked us an awesome meal
consisting of pot roast, potatoes, fried okra and homemade macaroni
and cheese. I love that Laney has southern roots because they know
how to cook. It was time for Mr. Partin and I to go play a round of
golf. We leave the ladies to do whatever it is ladies do when we men
are not around. We take the elevator to get the golf cart down in the
storage unit. I am a motorcycle man, therefore my golf cart is souped
up with a Harley-Davidson themed paint job. My parents actually
bought it for me two years ago for a birthday gift. It was the best
gift they could have gotten me because it gets the most use.

"Can I drive?"
Mr. Partin asks.

Who am I to say no? I am
trying to impress this man. "Yes, sir," I say, handing over
the keys.

At the 18th hole I
figure it's now or never. I have to man up and do it before I lose my
nerve and lose the chance. I feel like I have been shaken and not
nicely stirred. I take a deep breath in and slowly let it out.

"Sir, I would like
to talk to you about something." My nerves get the best of me
and I stumbled on my words.

"Go ahead," he
utters.

"I want you to know
that I love your daughter very much and I would do anything to keep
her safe. Callie and Kaleb have become a part of my world that I
don't ever want to be without. I want to know if you would do me the
honor and trust me with Laney's hand in marriage?" I hold my
breath waiting for his response.

"She has already
been down this road before and the husband ended up being a bastard.
How can I trust that you won't do the same to her?" he
questions.

"It's easy. I
wouldn't be who I am now without your daughter. She opened my heart
and I have seen the beauty she has surrounding her. I love her more
than words, and I promise to always live each moment making her
happy. My day isn't complete until I see her smile." I spit out
my case.

"I have known you
for a day and I can see that you are nothing but a honest, good
hearted man. It would be my honor to walk my daughter down the aisle
to you. You have my blessing," he assures me.

Words cannot describe
what I am feeling right now. I have her dad's blessing and that
leaves the children. They have been through so much already and I
hope this isn't too soon for them. Mr. Partin is a great golf player
and I didn't even have to play it easy. He won fair and square. He
drives us back to the storage unit and carefully parks. Once back in
the condo, I search for the children. They are in Kaleb's room
playing Call of Duty on the Xbox and Callie's winning. When they
notice me in the room, Callie holds up her index finger and says
laughing, "One sec. I almost got them all...now there. I won."

"Can I talk to you
both?" I ask.

"What's up?"
they say in unison.

I sit on the end of the
bed and plead my case to the two most important people in Laney's
life.

"You both know I
love your mom very much. Well, I was wondering if you would allow me
the privilege to marry her."

They both look at each
other and Callie squeals and clasp her hands to her mouth. Kaleb
stares at me for a moment.

"Dude, there is no
one else better matched for my mom than you. Heck yeah, you can marry
her," he agrees.

I look at both of them
hopefully. "I hope you will welcome me as your step-dad and we
can continue building a family."

"I wouldn't want it
any other way," Callie says, smiling ear to ear.

Wow, what a relief. That
wasn't as bad as I pictured it. I thought for sure those two would
have given me the hardest time. I tell them what I have planned and
they are both hyped up about it. Callie agrees to call Sierra since I
know she will kill me if everyone is here but her. Tomorrow, I will
get on my knee and ask my treasure to be my Sapphire for eternity.
Laney walks in and eyes us suspiciously and shakes her head. "Movie
time," she utters.

The morning sun is
pouring in through the window. I overslept and fanatically jump up,
knowing that today I have so many things to do. Laney is up before me
and in the kitchen with her parents. This never happens and I can
only assume it is because her parents are here and she is anxious. I,
however, am more than anxious for this evening. I walk in the kitchen
and greet everyone good morning as I fix my coffee. Mr. and Mrs.
Partin are full of smiles and it's so noticeable that something has
gotten them completely giddy.

"Sapphire, I have
to run some errands today. Is there anything you need while I am
out?" I ask.

"No, sweetie. I
have everything I need," she answers.

I kiss her on the cheek.
"Morefinity," I say.

"Morefinity,"
she repeats.

"I will see you
when I get back," I say when passing Laney's parents.

I already had the most
important part of the evening bought and stored in the safe in the
office at the condo. The kids make an excuse and help me complete my
plan. We go and set up everything, which ends up taking a couple
hours. I clean the best I can so it's not obvious to where I have
been.

I get into the elevator
and try to calm my nerves. I have to remember the box in the safe. I
spend most of the day texting the kids since they are helping me
prepare everything. I have never been this nervous before, not even
giving speeches in front of hundreds of doctors at conferences. This
is seriously a huge event and I am so fucking nervous. Sure, I would
think she loves me and she will say yes but in all honesty, Laney has
been through the ringer and she never talks about marrying me. I
think we are on the same page but there is always that small crack in
her heart that might make her turn me down.

The evening has arrived
and I am wearing my khaki cargo shorts, blue plaid button up shirt,
and brown flip-flops. She walks out of the bathroom, wearing a
sexy-as-hell orange sundress paired with brown sandals. She reaches
for her cover up and I know she thinks she needs it but I like to see
all the skin I can. I grab it from her hand. "Sapphire, you
don't need these anymore. I love you and you look beautiful without
it," I assure her. She smiles and I set it on the chair beside
the closet. We walk into the living room where the kids and Laney's
parents are.

Laney's
POV

"Are you sure you
don't want to walk with us? The sunset is so pretty from down at the
beach," I ask them.

"No, honey. We just
want to watch this movie on Netflix. We really should get this at
home," my mom utters.

"Okay, we will be
back shortly. Enjoy the movie," I inform them.

We take the long way to
the beach and I enjoy just getting out and having some one on one
time with Chance. With everything that is going on we haven't been
alone except to sleep. Chance slides his fingers through mine and we
walk hand in hand down the beach. He brought a blanket so we can sit
and watch the sunset. We come up on a child's sand castle and he lays
out the blanket. I cuddle up next to him and nuzzle his neck. His
arms wrap around me and keep me warm. The sun is midway down and the
sky is encased in the most beautiful colors. I don't know how I spent
my whole life never wanting to come see this every night. Just one
more thing I can thank Chance for giving me.

I notice a bucket full
of seashells next to the castle. One of the shells is so beautiful
that it doesn't seem real. I grab the bucket and pull it closer to
us.

"It's a shame
someone went through all the trouble to gather up these shells and
then just left them here," I tell Chance.

"Let's see what
they collected," he utters.

I grab the top one that
is rich in color unlike the rest. I turn it over in my hand and there
is a note written on it with marker.

In these shells there
is a message. Unscramble the letters in each shell to reveal the
puzzle.

I look at Chance and
hold up the shell showing him the inside.

"Oh my god! It is a
puzzle. This is so cool. I can't believe we stumbled across it,"
I gush.

I dump the bucket upside
down and lay out all the letters. I have never been good at word
games, but this is one I want to solve. I lay the shells out letter
side up and I start to shuffle them around in the sand hoping for my
brain to get a clue. I look over at Chance and he is watching me
suffer without assistance. I even try looking at him with puppy dog
eyes and poke my bottom lip out. Still nothing. Well, I guess he
isn't into puzzles and would rather watch the sunset. I shrug my
shoulders but I keep looking at him, hoping he will feel sorry for
me. No such luck. Just as I think Chance is helping me, I see that he
is adding to the sand castle. He is packing sand into a bucket shaped
like a castle. I roll my eyes, annoyed, and turn back to the shells.

M...A...R...R...Y...
M...E...

I stare at the words
that I have spelled out and my heart skips a beat but starts picking
up pace when I turn my head around and see Chance on one knee. He has
his hand out toward the sand castle that is topped with an opened
black velvet ring box. Inside sits the most beautiful sparkling
square shaped diamond and two sapphires on each side of it. I gasp
and my hand rises to cover my mouth.

"Will you, Laney
Collins, give me the honor in being my wife?" His voice cracks
just a little as he speaks.

"YES!" I
squeal as the word bursts out. I wrap my arms around his neck and
pull back to kiss him.

He grabs my hand and
lifts it up, sliding the ring onto my finger.

"A little treasure
for my treasure," he whispers.

"Chance, you have
no idea how lucky I am to have found you. This treasure thing works
both ways. You started shoveling and uncovered a person hidden away,
afraid to come out. I could have been lost forever," I express.

I look down at the ring
and hold out my hand.

"This is a gorgeous
ring. I love the sapphires," I share, smiling ear to ear.

He stands and holds out
his hand for mine. "I think someone would like to say something
to you," he says, nodding behind me.

My family and friends
are standing behind me with the goofiest grins stretched across their
faces. Callie, Sierra, and Brooke run over to me. Sierra grabs my
hand and holds it up, examining every part of the ring. Callie and
Brooke come up around the side of me and wrap me in a double bear
hug.

I laugh at how silly
girls act when a ring is involved. My parents walk over and I hug
them both. My mom is full of tears. I know when the day comes I will
be bawling like a baby when Callie or Kaleb go through the engagement
stuff. I shiver at the thought.

"Well, let me see
the ring," my mom says as she reaches for my hand.