“Stating my intentions. I don’t believe in asking permission, but I sure would like your blessing.”
He narrowed his gaze on me. I fought the urge to shift in my leather club chair. I was probably going about this all wrong, but I was doing it the only way I knew how.
“And if I don’t give my blessing?” he asked, crossing his arms.
“I’m marrying her either way. She’s the best part of my life, and no man will ever love her more than I do. I’d take a bullet for her. Die for her.”
“How much of this has to do with the fact that she’s carrying your baby?”
I wasn’t surprised he knew. I figured Jo had caught on when Valentina had stepped away twice during dinner last week, because the smell of beef was setting off her nausea lately.
I met his gaze, much like Valentina’s dark one. “Not a damn thing. She’s been mine since the day I first saw her. The baby is just one more miracle I didn’t think I deserved in my life.”
“I worried about you when she first told us. Worried that you’d been under too long and too deep to be able to surface. That lifestyle becomes ingrained in you. You don’t just play along, you live it every day.” He uncrossed his arms and leaned forward, elbows on the desk. “Do you miss it? The rush?”
I didn’t answer right away. Did I miss it? Life as the king of my own empire? Power, money, and everything that came with it?
“I’d give it all up again to be with her. If you don’t think I know how rare a woman your daughter is, you’re wrong. She’s worth everything.”
He nodded. “I can’t disagree with that. I just worry about you getting bored trying to live the civilized life. A wife, kid, house in the Garden District.”
I leaned forward and rested my forearms on the edge of his desk and met his gaze. “A woman who loves me, a kid I never thought I’d have, and a home? That’s the kind of life I would never even let myself dream of before, and now it’s mine. You think I’d ever fuck that up?”
Noble didn’t answer as he rose, hand outstretched. “Welcome to the family, son. You set the date and I’ll officiate. Glad she picked a man worthy of her.”
Worthy of her. That was my hope. I’d do my damnedest to prove it.
I clasped his hand. “Thank you, sir.”
When I turned to leave, I paused at the door. “You and Jo going to pretend to be surprised when we tell you about the baby?”
Noble’s smile transformed into a grin. “My first grandbaby? Damn right we’ll pretend to be surprised.”
“Good man.”
I walked out of the courthouse, the weight of my task off my shoulders and approval of Valentina’s father lightening my every step.
Damn, but life was sweet. Now to pick up the ring and get to the gallery for Valentina’s big night.
The crowd in Noble Art quieted as Valentina made her way to the center of the room. Her royal-blue dress hugged her curves and reminded me of the shirt she’d worn the night I’d taken her to the club. That had been six months ago.
Six long months of me continuing to sneak in through the back way, and no one being the wiser about our relationship except for a very select few close friends. Not Hennessy, though. He’d disappeared without a word after he resigned from the NOPD.
Sorting shit out and bringing the existence of the NODOs to an end had taken longer than I’d expected, but my woman hadn’t complained. As long as I found my way into her bed every night, that was all she’d cared about.
The delay had grated on me, though. A woman like Valentina wasn’t meant to be kept in the shadows. She was destined to be standing in the middle of an elegant gallery, surrounded by friends and family, a champagne flute in her hand and a smile on her face that came straight from the heart.
She was meant for nights like tonight, and I would make sure she had hundreds of them.
“Thank you all for coming.”
That smile of hers was wide and easy, hiding the trace of her nerves from everyone but me. I could see them in her, but I was proud as hell that she was doing this.
“Tonight is very special to me for several reasons. First, the gathering of friends and family is always a reason to celebrate. Second, tonight is a night I never thought I’d have the courage to see through. And finally, because tonight is about giving back to the community that I love.”
She reached for a cord attached to a black drape that separated the original gallery space from the newly remodeled other half of the building she’d taken over when the antique store had given up its lease a few months back. She’d waited months, refusing to take this step and host this event without me being able to be present. I’d protested, but there were certain arguments a man had to know were pointless to keep pushing.
“So without further ado, I give you Noble Art’s newest collection, Beauty and the City, offered for sale by me and Trinity Rodgers.”
With a tug of the cord, the drape slid to the floor, revealing a room with two distinct styles of artwork hanging on the wall. The crowd began to murmur in approval.
“All profits from the sale of these pieces will benefit the Teach Life Through Art program, offered to the children of this city at no cost by the New Orleans Museum of Art.”
The crowd clapped loudly, shrill whistles filling the air. I glanced toward the sound, and Elle Snyder had two fingers in her mouth as she blew. Her man, Lord, laughed and tugged her into his side, interrupting the whistle.
“Cheers to Valentina and Trinity,” I said, raising my glass high. “An amazing project to support an amazing cause, which is nothing less than I’d expect from such an amazing woman.” Glasses lifted in hands all across the room.