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Chapter Nine

Colby

Wow. I was officially a college graduate. And honestly? It felt kind of amazing—especially considering I didn’t trip across the stage during the ceremony, or forget my name when it was called, or spontaneously combust from all the attention.

It had definitely felt amazing when Daddy had hugged me as I’d left the stage—before we found my family in the swarm of post-ceremony chaos—and whispered how proud he was of me.

I was proud of me, too, and the high of accomplishment was almost— almost —enough to conquer my nerves during my post-graduation dinner, as Mom and Dad made small talk with my ridiculously hot boyfriend and Maddie’s eyes sparkled as she made a hundred and one “pass the… sugar ” jokes, even though I knew she was actually really happy for me that my time as a sugar baby had resulted in true love.

Still, a boyfriend meeting the parents for the first time?

I’d never done it before, never had a relationship that felt important enough to, and I’m pretty sure it would have been nerve-wracking even without the big age gap, impending cross country move, and constant internal reminders not to call Grant “Daddy” in front of my own mom and dad.

Thank god he was handling it well, because I honestly felt like I was about to bounce out of my own seat with nerves.

I reached for my water glass, because even though I was of legal age and Grant had actually been teaching me to like it, ordering wine in front of my parents still felt kind of weird. Besides, water was just fine.

I took a sip to calm my nerves, then almost spit it right back out when Mom smiled at Grant with interrogation in her eyes, and said, “So, Grant, how did you two meet?”

“Uh,” I started, choking on my water.

Grant rubbed my back, completely unruffled, and launched into an answer that was absolutely true and yet somehow managed to completely leave out our actual sugar baby arrangement.

“Oh, you know,” Maddie whispered, leaning in close with an evil grin as she parodied him, “the usual way. Boy meets benefactor, benefactor offers generous terms, boy realizes he prefers terms of endearment over terms and conditions?—”

“Maddie,” I hissed, kicking her under the table.

She just grinned harder. “What? I’m just saying, it’s very… romantic. You might almost say your love story was as sweet as… sugar.”

Oh god. She was never, ever going to let me live down the true beginnings of my relationship, was she? But at least she had the decency to tease me quietly enough that our parents didn’t hear.

No, if I was going to be thankful for small mercies, it was that she didn’t—and never would—realize that I’d gone from having a sugar daddy to a Daddy . I wasn’t ashamed of it, but I was more than happy to keep that part of my relationship private.

“Some people go to college to get a degree,” I muttered when Maddie snickered at my glare, “others go to get relentlessly trolled by their younger sister.”

“And some of us multitask,” she said, clinking her glass against mine with zero remorse. Then her eyes softened as she smiled at me. “No, really, Colbs, I’m so happy for you. Gonna miss the shit out of you when you’re in Seattle, but still. Love looks good on you.”

Grant must have caught that last part, because with no shyness at all, he gave me a smile so warm it made my heart flutter, leaning in to kiss my temple as he said, “Everything looks good on Colby. He’s beautiful.”

I blushed.

My dad’s eyebrows shot up.

Mom got a thoughtful look on her face that made me hopeful she was starting to feel a little more at ease with me dating a man just a few years younger than she was.

Or maybe that was just my wishful thinking, because somewhere between the entrées and dessert, the stealth interrogation phase of dinner began.

“So,” my dad said, settling back in his chair with a deceptively casual tone that belied the sharp look in his eyes. “Seattle. I have to say, we were surprised to hear Colby plans on joining you there so soon after the two of you started dating.”

“It’s been six months,” I said a little defensively, counting every single bit of my sugar baby time.

And was it quick? I didn’t know. Maybe.

What I did know was that it was plenty long enough for me to fall in love with Grant. And to finally, for the first time in my life, feel completely settled and secure. Not because of where we were going, but because of who I was going with.

Daddy really did take care of me, and no matter where we ended up, Grant would always be my home.

He reached for my hand beneath the table, lacing our fingers together. His thumb stroked the back of mine like a silent reminder that he was here, and we were okay.

It was important to me that my parents feel good about us because they were important to me, but even if it took them a while to come around—and they would, because Grant was wonderful—I believed him.

We were okay.

We were perfect.

“We understand it might seem fast,” he said evenly as my heart started to slow to a less frantic rhythm, meeting my dad’s gaze.

“But Colby and I didn’t make the decision lightly.

It’s been six months, yes, but in that time we’ve built something solid.

I’ve seen Colby navigate school and stress and hard choices with grace.

I’ve seen how much heart he puts into the things and people he cares about. And I’ve fallen in love with him.”

I squeezed his hand. Hard. Butterflies exploding in my stomach.

Dad raised his eyebrows again, but he didn’t look mad. More… surprised. Like maybe he hadn’t expected Grant to be that direct. Or maybe he had, and he was just impressed.

I wouldn’t blame him. Grant was impressive.

Not that I was biased or anything.

“And what will Colby be doing in Seattle?” Mom asked, her voice gentler than I expected. “He’s talked about freelancing, but it’s a big shift right after graduation.”

“We’ve talked about that, too,” Grant said, giving me a smile before turning back to them.

“There’s a lot of flexibility with what I do, and I’m fortunate to be in a position to support him while he explores what comes next.

He’s incredibly talented—his portfolio is strong enough to start picking up clients right away, and I have contacts who’ve already expressed interest in commissioning work.

But the most important thing to me is that he has the time and space to ease into that transition in a way that’s healthy and sustainable. ”

Oh, wow. He was doing such a good job with this whole meet-the-parents thing. Calm, confident, completely focused on me in a way that made those butterflies inside me flutter even harder. He wasn’t flustered by this interrogation at all.

Because he loved me.

My mom tilted her head, looking at him intently. “And your work? Colby says you do land development, right?”

“Urban revitalization,” Grant gently corrected her.

“My new project in Seattle starts in a matter of days. It’s one of the biggest undertakings I’ve managed—a multi-phase investment on the waterfront that’ll span two years.

That kind of timeline creates some welcome stability. It’s a long-term base for both of us.”

Dad hummed, clearly processing. “So you’re already relocating. You’d be moving regardless of Colby.”

“Correct,” Grant said, then looked at me again, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled at me. “But now I can’t imagine going without him.”

Oh .

It was one thing to have him declare himself to me in private, but like this? To my family? In front of everyone?

It made my chest ache with happiness, as if my heart had grown too big to contain it all.

Maddie made a quiet “aww” sound and not-so-subtly kicked my foot under the table. I gave her a look that said shut up , but it was way too late. She’d already seen me melt.

And honestly? I didn’t even mind.

There was a small silence then, broken only by the clink of silverware and the waiter refilling our water glasses.

And then Dad cleared his throat.

“Well,” he said, folding his hands on the table.

“It sounds like you’ve both put some thought into your next steps.

We appreciate knowing Colby’s decision isn’t as impulsive as it first sounded.

But since we’re talking about next steps…

” His eyes narrowed slightly, not in a mean way, but as if he was trying to pierce right through Grant with his gaze and see through to the heart of him.

“What exactly are your intentions with my son?”

Oh shit. Really , Dad?

But Grant just smiled.

Not nervously.

Not sheepishly.

But like a man with a plan. A plan I had definitely not been clued in on.

It made my heart stutter. It made my breath hitch. It made me squeeze his hand so tightly I probably cut off his circulation.

And then—god, then —he shook free of my grip, reached into his suit jacket pocket, and pulled out a very small, very shiny, very terrifying box.

Terrifyingly wonderful.

My heart started to pound so hard that, for a moment, the sound of my own blood rushing through my ears was all that I could hear. Surely I was seeing things. I knew Daddy loved me. He was my everything. But was he really this sure?

I got the answer to that question when Grant rose to his feet with the kind of calm that came from either absolute confidence or complete insanity, then walked around the table, offered me his hand, and pulled me to stand beside him, just about making me swoon on the spot.

And then, with the kind of poise I’d only seen in period dramas and viral proposal TikToks, he got down on one knee.

My mom gasped.

Maddie squealed.

I forgot how to breathe completely.

“Colby,” he said, opening the box to reveal a ring that sparkled so brightly that it might have outshone my own hopes and dreams if I wasn’t pretty sure they were already coming true right in front of me, “falling in love with you was the most unexpected, most incredible thing that’s ever happened to me.

You’ve made my life brighter, softer, more meaningful—hell, you’ve made me better.

I love your heart. I love your art. I love the way you love me.

And I want to take care of you, cherish you, and keep building something wonderful with you for the rest of our lives. ”

I made a strangled little sound that might have been a sob. Or a squeak. Or maybe both.

Definitely both.

And… dammit. I was crying, too. But in a good way.

In a great way.

“I know it’s fast,” Grant continued, looking at me as if I was his whole world, just like he’d become mine.

“And I know we’re still figuring certain things out.

But I want to do that together—with you.

I want to be your partner. Your person. Your forever.

And I most definitely want you to be mine. Will you marry me, sweet boy?”

“ Yes ,” I breathed, heart pounding. “Yes, yes, yes .”

… Daddy .

I didn’t say it, not out loud, but the smile Grant gave me as he slid the ring on my finger and pulled me down onto his knee to kiss me silly told me that he still heard it, loud and clear.

Of course he did. He’d always been able to hear what was truly in my heart. That’s what good Daddies did .

The restaurant clapped. Maddie whooped. Mom started crying and Dad handed her a tissue, but not before muttering something that sounded suspiciously like “Well, I guess that answers that question.”

But it was all background noise for I don’t even know how long, because this was the start of my happily ever after, and it was so perfect that for a single, shining, endless moment, nothing else existed but us.

“You’re mine now,” he murmured, kissing my temple and radiating so much joy that he outshone my ring.

I nodded, beaming back just as brightly. “I always was.”

And I always would be.

Because now we had forever.

The End