I tossed my hair over my shoulder in staunch refusal of their offers and squeezed their hands in gentle reprimand. “We don’t need a piece of paper to prove our love,” I announced. “I won’t choose between you. Jayme is going to be the officiant at our wedding ceremony, and that’s what matters. All that matters is our love for one another.”
I looked at my father on the last, beseeching. I craved for him to understand, but if he chose to walk away, my men would hold me while I cried over the loss. With their support, I could endure anything.
My father blew out a long sigh. “In my line of work, I’ve seen enough unhealthy relationships. I know it when I see a good one.” His bright gaze held mine, and my heart twisted with tentative longing. “I wasn’t expecting this,” he said gruffly. “I can’t say that this is the life I thought my daughter would have. But I love you, Ashlyn. If this is what makes you happy—if they make you happy—then I want to be here for you.” His attention swept my men. “I want to know you. Both of you.”
“Will you…” I barely dared to ask the question. “So you’ll come to the wedding?”
His chest puffed up, affronted. “I’m walking you down the aisle. I’m your father, aren’t I? That’s my job.”
“Oh!” My chest hitched on a soft sob as relief flooded me. “Thank you. You don’t know what that means to me.”
My dad was accepting me, my life choices. He might not ever fully understand me, and I definitely wasn’t living the life he’d planned for me. But he loved me. He was choosing to let go of his vision for my future and be part of my unconventional life.
He blinked hard, clearing away his own tears. “And I’ll give your mom a call. I know you don’t speak much, but she should be at the wedding too. I’ll explain the situation to her and will ask her to get in touch with you.”
“Really?” I breathed, hardly daring to believe his promise. I hadn’t decided if I could muster up the courage to explain everything to my distant mother.
He offered me a watery smile. “Really. I love you, Ashlyn. I would do anything for you. I hope you know that.”
“I…” I hadn’t known that. I’d only ever focused on his high expectations for me, only seen my shortcomings in his eyes. But maybe I’d been keeping him in the dark about my hopes and dreams because I’d been scared of his disapproval. Maybe I hadn’t allowed him to truly know me as an adult because I’d been worried about him rejecting me.
“I love you, Dad,” I promised. “Will you stay for dinner?”
He’d said he wanted to get to know Marco and Joseph, but I could let him get to know me too; the real me. Not the sunny, distant version of myself I usually offered him.
Warmth glowed in my chest, filling my heart with nearly painfully bright intensity. This was the start of a new chapter in my life, a new beginning for my family. I would marry the men I loved, and my father would walk me down the aisle. Everything was like a wonderful, impossible dream.
I’d never been happier in my life.