Page 79 of One Reckless Moment

“Yes, you can.” She closed her hand around mine and pushed it back to me. “You deserve all the beautiful things on your wedding day.”

I opened it again and ran my finger over the emerald ring. It was an antique, art deco style ring with a huge bezel set emerald-cut gem bordered by two smaller emerald diamonds. The ring was a family heirloom that my dad’s mother gifted Lottie before she died, specifically for her to wear on her wedding day as her something old.

I was so jealous when she was given the ring, but I never said anything to her about it. At the time, it just felt like another thing Lottie had been chosen for over me.

“This means so much to me,” I said, sliding the ring onto my right ring finger.

Lottie wrapped her arm around my shoulder and rested her temple on mine as I raised my hand for us to admire it.

“Family is about tradition. We can both wear the ring and then it’ll be a memory we get to share and tell our kids about one day,” she whispered. “Maybe our daughters will wear it too, and it can become something beautiful we all share.”

This felt like a monumental moment for us. The day when we stopped competing for everything in life and learned how to embrace living side by side.

The rehearsal dinner was going seamlessly. Cocktails were flowing and everyone was all smiles—everyone except my father. He’d looked stoic, standing with one hand in his pocket while the other swirled the ice cubes around in his whiskey.

I stood and smoothed down my skirt before approaching where he stood next to my brothers near the makeshift bar.

“Hey, sweet pea,” he said before placing a kiss on my head.

“Hey, Daddy. Can we talk for a second?”

He nodded to my brothers, who scattered like rats in the New York City subway.

“How are you feeling about tomorrow?” he asked, taking a sip of his whiskey.

“I feel good.” I nodded, playing with my fingers in front of me. “I feel like I haven’t seen you at all since I’ve been home.”

“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind,” my dad said, barely looking me in the eyes.

“Are you mad at me?” I whispered.

My dad’s gaze snapped to mine and his eyes softened.

“No, sweetie. I am struggling a little with the fact that my little girl is suddenly not so little anymore, but I’ve come to terms with the whole situation.”

“He’s a great man, Dad,” I said, my eyes drifting to where Cash was laughing with Reid and Axle a few feet away from us.

“I know he is. I wouldn’t have kept him around this long if I didn’t think that.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. We were scared that everyone would disown us…but then it leaked and suddenly everyone in the state knew.”

My dad released a deep breath. “I was in shock when you first came home, but I’ve seen the longing looks Cash has sent your way for years. I chose to ignore it and that is on me.”

“You never would’ve been okay with it,” I whispered.

“That is not true. I would’ve given him shit, sure, and I still will because it’s fun. But you two are great together.”

His words truly surprised me. Of all of the ways I expected this conversation to go, this was not an outcome I’d expected.

“What about what you told him the day you hired him?”

My dad furrowed his brow and tilted his head in confusion.

“Cash told me you said there were two conditions to him working here: he shows up to work sober, and Lottie and I are off limits.”

My dad barked out a laugh. “I said that when a homeless eighteen-year-old boy showed up at my doorstep asking for a job. I didn’t know Cash as a person, and I didn’t know what he was capable of.”

“So, you wouldn’t have fired him if he’d asked to date me?”