19. Extended Epilogue Chapter Five
Cozy and safe and warm and well-fucked. Curled up on her Daddy’s lap in bed was the best way to spend a Sunday morning. Even though this was the same house she’d spent weekends in with Cabot with pretty minor alterations, it still surprised Nuala how different it felt with Remy. She’d never felt sheltered, relaxed, and content. Happy. She did now.
“Had enough to eat, Duchess?”
Her Daddy’s low voice rumbled beneath her, and it made her smile for some reason even thoguh he talked to her all the time.
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Good. I had something I wanted to talk to you about.”
Anxiety jolted her out of her peace, and she sat up, heart racing as her stomach dropped. Sadly but fortunately, Remy was used to her freak outs, and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back until she was snug against his chest, her head on his shoulder.
“Hey, Nono. You’re okay,” he told her, rubbing her back and kissing her hair. “It’s nothing bad, I promise.”
She let herself be soothed for a minute and then looked up at Remy, wrenching her mouth to the side. “Someday I won’t assume that whenever someone wants to talk to me it’s because I’ve done something wrong but today is not that day.”
Her Daddy curled a finger under her chin and tipped her head up just a couple degrees. It didn’t need to be much to send a cascade of arousal through her even though she’d just come. These days the gesture brought other feelings too. Safety. Peace. Being Little. Being loved.
“That’s okay. I don’t want you to be distressed, obviously, but I get why that’s your knee jerk reaction. That’s going to take a while to heal, and I’m not in a rush. I’ll tell you as many times as you need to that you’re safe. I’m going to protect you and take care of you.”
His sweetness and compassion brought tears to her eyes. He was such a good man, and so good to her. Such a good Daddy.
“Thank you, Daddy.”
“You deserve nothing less, Little girl,” he told her, and then pressed a kiss to her forehead.
He released her chin and gathered her closer but she made sure she could see his face. He’d said he had something he wanted to talk to her about, so she would give him her full attention. It was the least she could do after everything he gave her.
Her heart seized when his brow furrowed but she reminded herself, “It’s nothing bad, he promised. Daddy always keeps his promises. It’s just his thinky face. He’s being serious because he takes me seriously.”
That helped a smidge but she knew the worry wouldn’t dissipate entirely until he’d told her what was on his mind. Maybe that would go away someday, or maybe she’d just learn to live with it. Either way, Remy took a deep breath and covered her hand with his. It was almost comical how much bigger and rougher his was, but she thought they both liked it that way. He was so rugged and handsome with those amber-colored eyes she sometimes felt looked straight into her soul, her secrets, her desires.
“I want to marry you, hummingbird.”
What?
He must’ve seen the shock that rippled through her, because he squeezed her hand, and hurried on.
“I know you have a complicated relationship with the institution and I get it. I’ll sign whatever your lawyers want me to sign if that’s an issue, because I want you to be protected too. I’ll ask you any day of the week but I thought it was more important for you to know—without any expectation that you reciprocate or respond to a proposal—that I want to be with you. For the rest of my life. Whether we have rings on our fingers or not. I love you, I always have, and my heart is yours.”
That was…not at all what she’d been expecting. She’d thought about marrying him, of course, because that’s what people often did when they were in serious relationships. But she hadn’t wanted to put that kind of pressure or expectation on Remy. He told her she was silly, but she still thought he was young.
Plus, despite him telling her nearly everyday that she was the only one for him and he wanted to be her Daddy forever, there was a part of her that didn’t believe him. Which said far more about her than it did about him. He’d never given her reason to doubt him—he was just still paying the price for a bill he hadn’t run up. It wasn’t fair but he never seemed mad about it.
“I…”
His hand cupping her jaw and his thumb sliding across her cheek slowed the flurry of thoughts a little, and it was steadying to meet his gaze.
“You don’t have to say or do anything. I wanted to tell you because I wanted you to know. That’s it. You can think about it as long as you like, we can talk about it as much as you need to. At the end of the day, if you say ‘thanks but no thanks,’ that’s fine with me as long as you’re still my Little girl. That’s all I need from you. But I thought it might be nice for you to know that’s how I think of you, and I’d devote myself to you in that way too. If you want me to.”
There was such a maelstrom of thoughts in her brain that it was hard to hold on to any of them for more than a second.
He wanted to marry her? He wanted to be her husband? Did he really know what that meant? She was older than he was. What would the Foster-Webbs say? What would her lawyers say? How would things change? Would he want a big wedding? She thought she’d like a small one, if one at all. What would she wear? What if she called him Daddy at the altar? Would she change her name? Again? When would this happen? Who would they invite? What would the newspaper coverage be like? He’d look amazing in a suit, but she thought a tux would be too much.
One thought kept circling around again and again, though.
“Wait. You’re not actually asking me?”
The way his Little girl’s dark brows knit was the cutest thing. She almost looked insulted.
Remy huffed a laugh and shook his head. He could tell her mind was spinning—he would say he could see the gears turning but it seemed far more chaotic than that. He’d really ruffled his hummingbird.
“I—”
“Because when people propose, it’s usually phrased as a question. And you didn’t ask me. You just told me. Not in a rude way. But it wasn’t a question ?—”
He put a finger to her lips to shush her rambling, and smiled. Nuala was such a delight. So funny, even when she didn’t always mean to be.
“I didn’t ask, you’re right. But not because I don’t want to. I didn’t want you to feel pressured. I think you’ve had enough of that for one lifetime. I meant it as a gift. Something for you to know, and hold, and maybe keep for a while to see how you felt about it. Like I said, I’ll ask you any day of the week but I thought it might be nice for you to just know.”
His Little girl got a devilish look on her face and nipped his finger. He loved when she was even so innocently mischievous, and teased her back by feigning that it had hurt.
“Oh, ow! You’re not a hummingbird, you’re a greedy seagull, snapping at my finger like a french fry!”
Which of course sent Nono into a gale of giggles before she composed herself and then took his “injured” finger and raised it to her mouth. “I’m sorry I snapped at your french fry finger, Daddy. Here, I’ll kiss it and make it better.”
She did, with the most reverent kiss that had ever been pressed to a fingertip. Sweet Little girl. Then his porcelain doll looked up at him.
“You said any day of the week, right?”
“Mm-hmm,” he confirmed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear while his heart beat slightly harder, a touch faster in his chest.
“Would today be considered one of those days?” she asked, and then pressed her lips together as she blinked at him.
He hadn’t dared to hope. Yeah, he’d thought about it all the time, making her his bride, and knowing they belonged to each other in yet another way. But given everything she’d been through, he’d prepared himself for Nuala to say “thank you” and move on. Maybe “I love you, but not now.” And those would have been perfectly fine responses. He wasn’t trying to toy with her or guilt or pressure her into anything.
And maybe that was why she was responding like this. Maybe he’d proved that he’d show up every day, he’d love her every day, that he would care for her every day. Maybe she’d decided he could be trusted, and there wasn’t anything that compared to having a Little girl’s faith and stitched-together heart put in your hands. At least nothing in his life had compared so far.
“Sure would be. If you wanted it to.”
“I…I think I would. I don’t know when or anything like that, but…”
“You don’t have to know that,” he assured her. Hell, if they never actually got married that would be fine with him. The knowledge that she wanted to could sustain him indefinitely. But he didn’t want her to have any shred of doubt that he wanted to. “Here. Can I do this properly, please? I feel like I should do this properly.”
“Um, okay? As proper as this can be, I guess?” She said with a flush-faced, close-lipped smile. Still a bit tight-laced, his Duchess.
He made a show of reaching across her, and she squealed like she was being crushed. Silly Little girl. He pulled the small velvet bag that had been in his pocket for weeks from his nightstand, and sat back up to shake its contents into his hand.
It wasn’t anything like the massive diamond that had graced her hand when she was married to Cabot, but he suspected that had felt more like a heavy, stifling weight than a reminder that she was loved. Even if he could have afforded something like that, he would have opted for something else. As things were, he hoped she’d appreciate his unconventional choice. Her round eyes and the way her lips parted said yes.
Remy picked up the gold band crowned by the round, spring green gem so she could see it better, and took her hand. He’d done a lot of research to find something that felt right and as soon as he’d found this, he’d known.
“It’s not your average engagement ring. The stone is chrysoberyl, which is supposed to symbolize strength, protection, and creativity.”
“It’s perfect,” she breathed, and looked so happy he tried to imprint the image in his mind so he could keep it forever. Hopefully he’d get to see that look a million times, but he wanted to savor and keep every one.
“Nuala Erin Feury, my hummingbird, my Duchess. I want to marry you. It doesn’t matter when, doesn’t matter how, or with who present. Would you do me the honor of my life and say you want to marry me too?”
She’d basically told him already that she wanted to marry him, so he couldn’t understand why his ribs didn’t feel like they could expand all the way. Was he nervous? Maybe it was just the anticipation. Whatever it was, Remy couldn’t breathe quite right.
“Yes, Daddy. I want to marry you too.”
He couldn’t kiss her fast enough, or hard enough, or long enough. Which was silly—he’d apparently have a lifetime to kiss and hold and treasure her. But still, it was only to let them both up for air that he finally stopped, and realized he hadn’t put the ring on her finger—he was still holding it. Properly? Pfft. Nuala didn’t seem to mind though.
She smiled at him, big and bright, and held out her hand. “Can I please, Daddy?”
“It would be my pleasure,” he told her, and slipped it on her finger. It looked perfect, if he said so himself. Pretty and petite and a tad unexpected, just like his little doll.
“I love you, Daddy. And I hope I didn’t seem ungrateful, before. I know you were trying to be thoughtful, so thank you. It was perfect, and I’ll never forget it.”
“I love you too, my Little girl, my forever.”
I hope you loved watching Nuala and Remy fall in love.