Down Under With Dad’s Best Friend by Flora Ferrari

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Sean

I find that my hands are shaking as I stand up.

I’m surprised at myself because I’m always so confident in situations that would make others sweat with fear. It’s one of the reasons that I’m so good at my job. I always stay cool and in control, no matter what might be happening.

But then again, I’m also not surprised. Because after all, this is the most important moment of my life so far. This is the moment when I get everything I’ve ever wanted – or I don’t.

But I have faith. Faith in my angel. That’s why when I go down on one knee and hear Candace’s sharp intake of breath, see the look on her face, I know that I can do this. My heart is still racing in my chest, my hands are still shaking, but everything inside me goes still and calm. This is the best and most exciting moment of my life so far. And I just know I’m not going to see things go the wrong way.

“Candace,” I say, surprised even so to hear just how steady my voice is. How full of love and certainty. “I know it’s only been a week, but I’m sure. I’m so sure. More sure of this than anything I’ve ever been in my life. You’re the only one I want to spend the rest of my life with. The only person I have ever wanted to spend my life with. Please, make me the happiest man that has ever existed. Marry me?”

She gasps for breath for a few moments, looking down as I snap open the ring box in my hands to display the antique ring I managed to pick up while she was sleeping. It took me a while to find it, but it was worth the sleeplessness. And it was worth every penny I paid – and there were quite a few of them.

I think it suits her perfectly. Of course, this is the moment of truth. We’ll probably have to have it resized, and maybe she’ll want something new. But…

“Oh, my god,” she breathes, her voice strained by the tears appearing in her eyes. Happy tears, I’m pleased to see, from the way she also smiles. “It’s so beautiful. It’s perfect.”

“Don’t leave me hanging,” I say, with a half-laugh. But I’m also serious. This is a tense moment for me. I need to hear her answer.

“Oh, Sean,” she says, the tears spilling down her face now. “Yes. Of course, yes, a million times, yes. Yes!”

I find myself laughing happily, tears springing to my own eyes as I get up to embrace her. She throws her arms around my neck and kisses me, then buries her face in my shoulder, holding on to me so tightly. All the while, I embrace her with the ring box still outstretched in my other hand, trying not to drop it or knock the ring out. I squeeze her as hard as I can, then stand and whirl her around in the air, finally letting her down as we both laugh and giggle together, only pure happiness in our eyes when they meet.

“I love you,” I tell her, simple and straight from the heart. She beams back at me.

“I love you, too,” she says, then laughs again. “Now, are you going to put that ring on my finger, or what?”

I chuckle, taking it carefully from the box and sliding it onto her finger. It’s a little loose, but it goes on, at least. We’ll just have to have it taken in a little when we get the chance. I’m sure it won’t be a problem. After all, we’ve got all the cities in the world to choose from to get it adjusted.

“It’s so beautiful,” she coos again, admiring it on her hand. She turns towards the camera then, lifting her hand the opposite way to show it to her Dad.

He looks stunned. Like he doesn’t know what to think. He’s sitting there watching his daughter laugh and smile and cry with happiness, in what must be the happiest moment of her life so far. A moment that every girl dreams of. That every father dreams of for his daughter.

I’m sure he just didn’t dream of it happening with me.

But he doesn’t look angry anymore, which is a definite plus point.

“It’s nice,” he concedes, his voice sounding strangled and choked. Like even that is too much to admit.

“Dad,” Candace says, all seriousness now. She sits back down on the couch, and I join her. “I know this is a lot for you to take in. But look at me. I’m so happy. This is everything I’ve ever wanted – believe me when I say that.”

“I…” Bill pauses, swallows hard. “Sweetie, I do believe you. I just…”

“You don’t trust me to know what I want,” she fills in, and sighs. “You’re still thinking of me like I’m a little girl. But I’m not. Not anymore. I grew up. I became an adult. I know what I want. And it’s Sean.”

Bill is looking down, out of frame. Maybe at his own hands.

“Bill,” I say quietly, taking this moment to try to help out. “I promise you that I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that Candace is happy, and safe, and fulfilled. I mean that. I wouldn’t have fought with you so much earlier if I didn’t care so deeply about her happiness. I will take good care of her. The best.”

I can see him fighting his emotions. There must be so much in his head, especially now as he’s calming down from the initial shock. I’m sure his gut is still against it because every father demands only the best for his daughter – and it’s not likely that anyone would ever be considered good enough for Candace. Even I can accept that. She’s an angel on earth.

But he also knows me, no matter how much he might have protested earlier. He knows that I’m a good man, and a trustworthy one. He must know that out of all the men in the world, he could trust me the most to look after his daughter.

It won’t make it easy for him to accept. But it might make it easier than it would have been otherwise. And seeing how happy she is now – that must go a long way to making things right.

“Alright,” he says, after a long and charged moment. His voice is thick, and his eyes are shining with emotion. He looks like an old dog who’s had his favorite toy taken away by a younger pup. Downcast and dejected. “It looks like there’s nothing I can say to stop this from happening, anyway.”

“There isn’t,” Candace agrees immediately. “But Dad, it would mean so much to me to get your blessing. To have you in our wedding.”

He swallows again. “I don’t know,” he says. “I’m going to have to talk to your mother about this. I’ve got a lot of long and hard thinking to do, and I think it will be best if you come home as soon as you can to talk it over some more. But I don’t want this to get between us, sweetie. So, you come home, and I’ll think about giving you my blessing.”

It’s not the best result we could have hoped for. But it’s good enough.

I check my watch. Candace has missed her flight by a long margin, and I’m about to miss mine, too.

“We’ll get on a flight first thing tomorrow morning,” I promise him. “We’ve missed the boat today, but we’ll get out there. I’ll bring her right to your door.”

I see him hesitate. “Maybe it would be better for her to come on her own.”

“No, Dad,” Candace speaks up before I get the chance to. “We’re together now. We’re going to be married. We come together – and we talk together. That’s how it has to be.”

“Fine,” Bill sighs. He looks at me, and for a second I just see a flash of my old friend. He’s giving me a look I recognize from the business deals we’ve worked on together. A look that says, you better know what you’re doing, because I’m trusting you.

I only hope he can trust me for long enough to show him, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure his daughter is always happy.