Page 118 of Grumpy Sunshine

Silver didn’t outright know exactly what happened like I did, but she knew enough to realize that this was no accident.

Cakes grinned and tossed a chip at her.

She caught it and ate it.

Chevy took the spot between the two of us and then said, “Cutter gave me his houseboat and land.I’m thinking about building a house.”

I blinked and turned, staring at him.

“Really?”

He nodded.

“Hey, Cakes?”Chevy asked as he switched back over to the ball game.

Cakes turned to him.“What?”

“Can I have your daughter’s hand in marriage?”Chevy wondered.

My heart stalled in my chest, and I couldn’t decide if it was the pain killer coming to life inside of me, or the fact that Chevy had just casually asked my father if he could keep me.

Cakes blinked.“I dunno, man…I just found her.”

My eyes started to fill with tears.

Gosh, I was coming to love my father.

Hell, there was no “coming to love.”I was already loving the hell out of him.

It was a really foreign feeling, and Cakes made it so easy to feel the way that I did.

He was a kind, caring, and genuinely great man.

I was relieved to find out how freakin’ nice and caring he was.Even if he was only nice and caring to me and Silver.

Silver snorted.“Just say yes.You know he’ll do what he wants anyway.”

That was true.

My heart was pounding, and I was staring at the man that’d just shocked me to the core, waiting for him to tell me what was next.

“Oh, all right.”Cakes groaned.“But you have to have a wedding where I can walk her down the aisle.I’ve missed enough of those dad moments.You won’t take this one away from me, too.”

Chevy turned to me, and when I looked down, he had a blue velvet box in his hand.

I licked my lips, my heart pounding, and stared as he pulled the box open and showed me the ring inside.

It was…huge.

There was no other word for it.

“That’s massive,” I breathed.

“I wanted it to be big and ostentatious so that any man that saw it would know that I’m over the top.Then Cakes offered me this ring, and I thought…perfect.”he paused.“Will you marry me, Aella Diane?”

Tears spilled over my eyes, and I nodded my head frantically.“I’ll marry the hell out of you, Chevy Andrew Clayborne.Today.Tomorrow.Next week.Next month.Next year.Next millennia.Next Tuesday.Next Wednesday.Next…”

“You should probably ask her again when she’s sober,” Silver interrupted my word vomit, reminding me that I’d just taken a pain pill.

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