"Yes." I was sure that the insanity that was engulfing me and the happiness that consumed me had to be love.
"Good." I could hear the relief in his voice.
"Just so you know, I plan on marrying her soon. I am not planning to wait a year when I am absolutely sure of what I want."
"How soon are you talking about? You have only known her what—a week or two." As much as his words said he was against it, there was no conviction behind them.
"Almost two, and I will give her another week of dating back in Dallas before I propose."
"If you ever make her unhappy, I will destroy you. You do understand that, right?"
"I understand that you are her father and are looking out for her best interest, and so am I. I will always make her happy."
That was the end of our battle of the wills, if you could call it that. Then he asked me about the ex. I didn’t tell him everything because he was a cop, but I did let him know that I whooped the pussy's ass.
Now it was time claim my woman. I was going to look into this matter. I wondered if Alexandria knew her father was sick. When we walked out of the room, he stopped me and said, "Don’t tell them that I am unwell. I think I am coming down with a stomach bug, and I don’t want my family to be concerned.”
If he thought I bought that shit, he was mistaken. I would play along, but I was going to get to the truth.
I loved his daughter, and I wanted to make it work with her. I didn't want to keep it a secret, but if it was bad, I didn’t want Alexandria to be upset. "Hey, baby, how are you doing?"
"I’m fine, Max. What happened?"
"Nothing much, except we came to an understanding." I pulled her into my arms and added, "So do you want to go for walk in the city? Maybe we could go downtown and you could take me sightseeing."
"I want to go to the zoo. I haven't been in a long time, if that is okay with you?"
"Of course, woman. Whatever you want."
We left the house and headed out to the Brookfield Zoo. We had a good time because she lit up with every animal we saw, and every small child in a stroller made her coo. Good, because I had every intention of putting my baby in her belly when we got married. If she wasn’t on birth control, she would be getting bred tonight.
Before we left the zoo, she had to use the restroom, and it was perfect because I had to make a call to my brother's neighbor. I tried Ryan Elliot's company number because I didn't have his new number. Jake, his main man, answered the phone, and I gave him a quick rundown of what I needed.
"Hey, man, I need you to look into the medical records of Detective Jack Davis with the Chicago PD. He is keeping a secret about his health from his family. I want to know that he is going to be around to walk his daughter down the aisle."
"Will do. I will get back to you in two days or less."
"Thanks."
I hung up the phone after giving him all the details I had, including their address. It was perfect timing because Alexandria walked out the moment I hung up the phone.
"Everything okay?" she asked.
"Yes. My assistant just had a question."
It was time to take her to the hotel. Somehow, that didn't seem right. She was going to be my wife, and fucking her in a hotel was not a good thing. I had a change of plans.
"Hey, babe, I was thinking that we should head out to Dallas tomorrow."
"Why so soon?"
"Well, because I have work, and I want you to feel comfortable again down there. How about we go to dinner, and then we go back to your house and you get ready?"
"Am I getting a choice, or is this where you suggest, but it is really an order disguised as a question."
"Oh, sweetheart, you are learning."
"So we are going to eat in your hotel room?"
"No, I changed my mind. I want to take you to a nice place in the city. Let me know which place you would prefer."
"I have a taste for tacos, so how about a trip to Pilsen and have dinner there? I don't think you will like the neighborhood, but then again, that is why you got that behemoth of a driver up front."
"Yes, that is true. Is it that bad?"
"No, it's not. It’s just crowded, but there are several restaurants there that I like."
Fine. I was going to stop wherever she wanted, but I was going to make sure I took some Tums before I went to bed tonight.
"That will work." I told my guy, and he put it in his GPS. We were there in about twenty minutes, and she wasn't kidding—it was packed as hell. But she was right. The food was fantastic. We ate until we could not eat any more. I put her into the back of the car, and we headed to her parents’. I stole touches and kisses as we drove on and spoke about the plans for tomorrow. While we had waited for our food, I arranged for the jet to be ready to go. We were leaving first thing in the morning because I wanted her in my bed that night.