“Always,” Maxton says passionately. “I mean it when I say we’re in this for life. This isn’t a fling. There’s no world where I can simply forget about how I feel about Madelyn, about the future we’re going to share. Jesus Christ, Steve, we’ve been killing ourselves, certain you were going to hate us.”
“I couldn’t hate either of you,” Dad says. “I could never do that. And I mean, hell… look at you both.”
“What?” I ask, but I can’t help but let a smile lift my lips.
“I’ve never seen either of you so happy. The way you look at each other… It’s hard to explain.”
“Try,” I whisper urgently.
“It’s like there are two of me,” Dad goes on. “I know how strange that sounds. But it’s the truth. One half of me is screaming that this is wrong. There are two decades between you and—”
“The age gap isn’t a problem,” I cut in. “In fact, I love the age gap. I love how much more experienced he is than me, nothing like the jerks my own age. It’s a good thing, Dad.”
He raises his hands, grinning. The smile lights me up inside. Of all the things I expected him to do, smile wasn’t one of them.
“Consider me sold on that score, then. But it’s still difficult to accept. I’ve known you separately for so long. To see you together… but there’s this other part of me, a part that can’t deny how clearly crazy you two are about each other. And I’m in a good position to judge. Probably the best position.”
“Agreed,” Max says. “You know both of us better than anyone.”
“And I can see how happy this makes you. I’m not saying I’m not slightly upset about the sneaking around, or that it will be easy to accept. But I can’t be the one to stand in the way of this.”
I stand up and walk around the table, ignoring my doubts as I lean down and wrap my arms around my father. There’s a moment where I think he’s not going to hug me back, but then his arms tighten around me and we embrace fully.
I let out a choking sob, burying my face against his chest, as he softly strokes my hair.
“It’s okay, Maddie. You don’t have to cry. This is a good thing.”
“I know. I just feel like I’m going to burst. I’ve been so worried about this, Dad. I thought you’d hate me, hate us. And I know you said you never would, you never could… But it’s still there, that feeling.”
“Hey, look at me.” I lean back, staring into his smiling face, his kind eyes. “I’m happy for both of you. It’s like I said. It’s going to take some getting used to. But I can see how badly you both want this. I can see this is real. And Max is the best man I’ve ever known, hands down. He’s loyal, honest, caring, and even if he looks like one grumpy bastard, I know he’s going to make you happy.”
Maxton chuckles at the joke and dad looks past me, smiling at his old friend. That does so much to make me believe his words, helps me fully accept that he truly does want the best for us.
“Shall I make us all some coffee?” Maxton asks.
“Sure,” Dad says. “That sounds great.”
Maxton walks across the living room, leaving me and my dad alone for a second. I stay on the arm of the chair, needing to be close to him, just in case the impossible happens and he suddenly changes his mind.
“Maddie, I’m not going anywhere.” He smiles, as though reading my thoughts. “Don’t forget I’ve had a few days to come to terms with this.”
“You don’t think it’s too fast?” I ask.
He chuckles. “It’s fast. I won’t deny that. But I’ve never known either of you to lie… even when it came to sneaking around, you never outright lied to me.”
“That’s not much of a distinction,” I mutter.
“It is to me,” Dad says fiercely. “I knew if I came right out and asked you, you’d tell me the truth. But I figured you were going to get around to it in your own time.”
“How did you react, at first, when you found out Max and I had been talking all this time?”
He grins. “To say I was shocked would be the understatement of the century. I couldn’t believe it at first. I checked it several times, just to be sure.”
“And when you were sure?”
“I wasn’t angry. And after my surprise wore off, I started to wonder if this would be a good thing. For you both. I meant it, Maddie. I’ve never seen Max like this before. He seems like a new man when he’s around you, even in the virtual world. Or maybe that’s not right.”