He was really trying.
“The fact you started your own company is impressive,” he said.
“Thanks,” Rhett said. “I like being my own boss.”
“Is this lucrative?” Dad asked.
“Dad.” I gave him a pissed look.
“Sorry.” Dad held up his hands in surrender. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to be rude.”
“It’s okay,” Rhett said. “Every father wants to know his daughter is well taken care of. To answer your question, I do very well and made smart investments so Aspen will want for nothing. I’m not loaded by any means, but I’m more than happy with that salary.”
Dad nodded. “That’s very impressive. Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” Rhett said.
“You make way more than I do,” I said with a laugh.
“Not anymore,” Dad said. “Now you’re a very wealthy woman.”
“Ooh…” Rhett leaned toward me. “You’re my sugar mama now.”
“I am, aren’t I?” I snatched his cherry then ate it.
“But you can always have my cherries,” he said.
Dad continued to watch us. “You two remind me of me and my late wife. We were very playful together. The moment we met, we just knew it would last forever.”
Dad never talked about Mom, even when she was alive.
Rhett nodded. “I think I can speak for Aspen when I say we feel the same way.”
“We do?” I asked with a smile.
“Would I have asked you to move in if I thought otherwise?”
“No, probably not.”
“You’re my future wife,” he said. “I just know it.”
My heart melted when I looked at him. When I first saw him in that coffee shop, I never expected an intense love affair to happen. I assumed a gorgeous man like him could never want an average woman like me. And I never expected our souls to connect in such a profound way. It seemed like I’d known Rhett my whole life, that the past had always included him even if I couldn’t recall it.
Dad looked down. “Aspen, I’m sorry I forced John on you. Now I feel even worse.”
I turned to him and saw the remorse in his eyes. “It’s okay, Dad. I forgive you.”
His lips upturned in a smile. “You do?”
“Yeah.”
Rhett put his arms around my shoulders and held me close. “To new beginnings.” He held up his cup of ice cream then clanked it against mine. Then he tapped his against my dad’s.
I held mine and pressed it against my father’s. “To new beginnings.”
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Alpha Series
Sadie
Elisa
Layla
Janet
Cassie
Hawaiian Crush Series
Connected By The Sea
Breaking Through The Waves
Connected By The Tide
Taking The Plunge
Riding The Surf
Laying in the Sand
Forever and Always Series
Only For You
Forever and Always
Edge of Love
Force of Love
Fight For Love
Lover’s Roulette
Happily Ever After
The Wandering Caravan
Come What May
Again and Again
Lover’s Road
Meant To Be
Here and Now
Until Forever
New Beginnings
Love Conquers All
Love Hurts
The Last Time
Sweet Sins
Lost in Time
Closing Time
Southern Love
Then Came Alexandra
Then Came Indecision
Then Came Absolution
Then Came Abby
Abby’s Plight