Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Emmet
Over the next few months, we see each other as often as possible, which isn’t often enough.
I travel to the UK for work once a month.
If I can, I arrange to be there leading into a weekend, which I then spend with Ty.
He shows me around London, his hometown, and introduces me to his parents and friends.
His parents make me feel like part of the family, accepting me without reservation despite the whirlwind nature of my and Ty’s initial meeting and the age gap between us.
Before Ty’s birthday, his mom emails me to see if I can visit.
She wants to take us out for a meal to celebrate.
She also gives me some present ideas, though I don’t need them.
I book a vacation straight after a business trip, so I can spend more time in the UK.
After we’ve done the family thing, I treat him to a night in a posh hotel with a couple’s massage.
“You spoil me, Daddy,” he says, as we lie in bed, utterly relaxed from the massage.
“I enjoy it, baby.”
At Christmas, Ty is brave enough to fly to New York, so we can spend a few days together, during which time I introduce him to my parents.
They love him, which isn’t surprising considering how wonderful he is.
Mom drops veiled hints about marriage. I don’t shut them down.
Nor does Ty. Every time the subject is mentioned, he gazes at me, blushing adorably.
Whenever we’re together, we love passionately, and every parting gets harder.
The rest of the time, we keep in touch via messages, phone calls, and video calls, which is tricky given the five-hour time difference, and even worse when I have to go to Sydney.
By the time I’m in my hotel room, he’s at work.
When he’s home from work, it’s the middle of the night in Sydney.
We have to make do with rushed phone calls during his lunch break, which is less than ideal.
Even when we have longer, touching his face on the cold computer screen isn’t the same as stroking his soft skin.
I can’t kiss pixels or hold them in my arms. This thing between us might have started as a passionate fling, but now it’s so much more. I am deeply and truly in love with Ty.
“I asked my boss if he can send me to the UK more often,” I say during a video call.
It’s a damp morning in New York. The weather isn’t any better in the UK.
Ty’s eyes light up with excitement. “Can he?”
“He said he’d try. I can’t get out of the Sydney trips, though.”
Ty grazes his fingers over his laptop screen. “I wish I could visit you more often, Daddy.” He rolls his eyes. “I wish I could visit you at all, but between my fear of flying and the cost of the flights and—” He takes a deep breath. “Mum suggested hypnosis.”
“Hypnosis?”
“Yeah. To get over my fear of flying. It won’t help with funding flights. If anything, it’ll take me even longer to save up for plane tickets because I’ll be paying for the hypnosis sessions, but… what do you think?”
“I think trying to overcome your fear is a great idea.” I wish I could hold him. “Let me pay.”
He shakes his head. “No, Daddy. I couldn’t ask you to do that. It’s too much.”
“You’re not asking, I’m offering.”
He pinches his lips together. “Daddy—”
“Half,” I offer, by way of a concession. “Let me pay half of the fees, baby.”
He puffs out a breath. “Okay, Daddy. Thank you. I wish you were here.”
“Me too, baby. Me too.”
No matter how happy I am to see and talk to him, every visit, phone call, or video call is tinged with the sadness of having to say goodbye.
I hate goodbyes. We’re making the long-distance thing work, but as the months tick by, I realize with increasing certainty that I want more.
Which is why I end up in my boss’s office, discussing my future with the firm.
It’s been a year since we first met, and Ty is back in New York for Pride.
I met him at the airport, and then we came back to my apartment to get reacquainted.
Ty wasn’t as much of a wreck after flying the last time he visited.
The hypnosis must be working. Even so, I figured he’d appreciate feeling nothing but me.
I was right. Now, he’s in the shower while I cook.
Butterflies flit in my stomach as I turn the tiny kitchen into a romantic scene, complete with dozens of candles, scattered rose petals, and soft music.
I’ve been planning this moment since our last goodbye in the UK.
“Wow, this looks wonderful, Daddy.” Ty stands in the doorway, his northern lights hair damp from the shower, his skin pink, looking somewhat dazed and a little jetlagged. He gazes at the things I’ve set out, eyes getting wider by the second. “Why, Daddy?”
“Can’t I spoil my boy?”
He opens and closes his mouth. “Yes, but… you do that all the time. Why the candles and rose petals?”
I check the food, which needs to simmer a little longer, then cross over to him, pulling him against me and kissing him tenderly. “I was going to wait until after dinner.”
“Wait? For what?”
I nuzzle his neck and jaw. “To do this.” I drop onto one knee and take a ring box out of my pocket.
Ty’s eyes get even wider, and his mouth drops into a surprised O. “Daddy?”
“I love you, baby. More than I ever imagined I could love anyone. I want to be with you. Now. Tomorrow. Forever. Will you marry me?” I open the box, revealing a polished titanium band with a thin opal inlay in all the colors of the Pride flag.
He covers his mouth with his trembling hands. “It’s— it’s beautiful. Daddy, I—”
My heart pounds and my mouth goes dry as I wait for his response.
He sinks to his knees in front of me and clasps his hand over the ring box. “We live thousands of miles apart, Daddy.” Tears dance in his eyes. Are they happy ones?
“About that— I can get a transfer to the London office. I’d still have to travel here and to Sydney, but I’d be based in London. Say the word, and I’ll make it happen.”
“You’d move? For me?” he asks, voice quivering.
“Yes, baby.”
“But— That doesn’t seem fair. Your family is here.”
“And yours is in the UK. I’m sick of doing the long-distance thing, aren’t you?”
“I’ve been sick of it for a while,” he mumbles.
I chuckle. “Me too. We’ve made it work, but I think it’s time to take our relationship to the next stage, don’t you?”
He takes a deep breath. “Moving in together? Getting engaged?”
“Too much too soon?”
“No, Daddy. I just wasn’t expecting a proposal this weekend. I definitely wasn’t expecting you to offer to move to the UK.”
“Would you rather move here?”
“I— I would. For you.”
I cup his jaw. “I’m not asking you to, baby. Moving to the UK will be a good move for me. I’ll get more vacation time, for a start.”
Ty laughs.
“I’ll be able to see my folks whenever I come back here on business trips, which will be a lot more often than you’d get to see your mom and dad if you moved here.”
“True…”
“This isn’t a rash decision, baby. I’ve thought about it. I want to be with you.” I stare into his beautiful eyes. “I love you, Ty. Marry me? Move in with me?” I chuckle. “Or let me move in with you.”
“Central London is one heck of a commute from my place.”
“I’ll cope, short term. We can look for a place together once I’m in the UK. But if you don’t want—”
He leans forward and crashes his mouth against mine, preventing me from finishing my sentence. “I want, Daddy.” Overbalancing, he flings his arms around my neck.
We crash to the floor in a heap of kisses, hysterical laughter, and the flutter of sweet rose petals.
“I want to marry you, Daddy,” he says. “I want to live with you. I love you so, so much.”
Chests heaving from laughing, we lay on the floor beside one another. I take the ring out of the box and slide it onto his finger.
“It fits perfectly,” he whispers, awestruck.
“Of course it does. You’re my boy, and I know you by heart.”
A slight burning scent fills the air, but I don’t care. We can order takeout. Better yet, I’ll take him out for dinner to celebrate.
Either he doesn’t notice our food getting ruined, or he doesn’t care, as he holds his hand up and wiggles his fingers. The ring catches the light beautifully. “I need to get you a ring, Daddy. Oh! We could look at Pridefest.”
“I’d like that, baby.”
He sighs happily. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Daddy. Thank you for making me your boy.”
The End