Chapter 11: Innocent Getaway: Chapter 11

The rest of the week passes by without incident, and we spend lazy days lounging in the sun, and making love. It’s absolutely perfect, and I don’t want it to end.

“Do we have to go home, Daddy?”

Haley echoes my thoughts, and I close my eyes, loving this moment too. She lies across my chest as we cuddle in the breeze on our bungalow porch.

“I wish we could, little one, but the world awaits our return. Besides, don’t you want to see your new cake pop store?”

I feel her tense, and then she sits up, her hair is a mane of curls from swimming in the ocean. The sun streams in behind her, framing her with a halo of sunlight. She has a huge smile on her face, and she looks like an angel.

“My store?”

“Yes, your store. I had them start on it the day we left. It’s in the same building as my office, so you’ll be close. And you’ll have lots of customers what with all the people working there and the traffic going in and out.”

Suddenly she looks a little unsure and bites her lip. “Do you think I’m good enough? What if people don’t like it?”

I tug one of her curls, smiling at her. “I think you are talented and wonderful and so sweet to everyone. They will love you and your cake pops. But there’s one problem. They’ll all have to wait in line behind me.”

Her face beams, and she falls onto my chest, hugging me close with her whole body. I wrap my arms around her, loving this moment, loving that I’m able to make her dreams come true.

“Are you happy, little Haley?”

She pulls back and looks down at me, smiling from ear to ear. “I’m so happy, Daddy.”

“Do you want to make Daddy as happy as you are right now?”

Haley giggles and nods her head. I reach under the towel beside us and pull out the small box. Her eyes grow to the size of saucers when she sees it, and I sit up, taking her hand in mine.

I open the box, revealing the heart-shaped pink diamond. I had it designed the day she turned eighteen, and I’ve been waiting for the perfect time to give it to her.

“I’ll never love anyone but you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me, Haley?”

Small tears start to stream down her cheeks, and I use my thumb to wipe them away. After just a second she nods and throws her arms around my neck, nearly choking me.

I laugh a little at her excitement, and when she pulls back, I take her hand and slip on the ring. It fits perfectly.

She looks down at the ring and moves her fingers, watching it glitter in the sun.

“It sparkles almost as prettily as you do.”

“Daddy!” She blushes at my words, but wraps her arms around my neck again, this time pushing me back on the bed and kissing me all over. After a few minutes, of showering me with kisses, she pulls back and looks down at me. “I want a Christmas wedding.” She’s so excited, I can already see the wheels turning in her head.

“Whatever you want, little one. Anything.”

She cuddles in beside me, and I squeeze her close, thinking how lucky I am to have found the one. I’ve waited my whole life for her, and I’d do it all over again as long as I ended up with her. I kiss her forehead and close my eyes.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, William.”

She doesn’t call me by my name often anymore, so when she does it, I know it’s a big deal. Having her call me ‘Daddy’ is a privilege I don’t take lightly, and I absolutely love it. But when she calls me ‘William’, I’m reminded in those brief moments that this is forever. That no matter what happens, she’ll always be mine, and I’ll always be hers. That, while we enjoy our relationship the way it is now, as long as we are in each other’s arms, nothing else matters.

THE END