Toni Aleo - Blue Lines

Piper shrugged her shoulders. “It was horrible, but worth it. I am thankful Erik was here. I probably couldn’t have done it without him.”

“He has really changed,” Harper said softly.

Piper looked up at her older sister; she was still a little upset with Harper because of the way she had acted during Piper’s labor. With a curt nod, Piper said, “He has.”

“I think I owe you an apology,” Harper said, looking Piper in the eyes.

“You do,” Reese said from the side, receiving a smack from Rowan. “Well, she does!”

“Hush,” Rowan said as Harper rolled her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Piper, I was wrong.”

Piper accepted the apology and reached out to hold her sister’s hand. Everything was crazy and Piper was sure she had probably been acting a little nuts, too.

“It’s fine; now come see your gorgeous nephew.”

Harper smiled as she came closer and with a laugh said, “God, he looks just like Erik!”

Piper laughed. “Yes, he does.”

When the door opened, Piper looked up to see Elli, Fallon, and Audrey, all smiling as they entered.

“Audrey! You are supposed to be on your honeymoon!” Piper complained as they came toward the bed with flowers and bags in their hands.

“Like I would leave without seeing you first!” Audrey said with a wave of her hand. “Oh my goodness, he is perfect!”

Piper nodded as she smiled proudly up at her girls. “He is.”

“I went to your house and got everything you needed. Erik didn’t want to leave y’all,” Elli said, placing the things on the chair before coming toward the bed.

“Oh my stars, look at him,” she gushed as she grinned back at Piper. “Gorgeous, just like his daddy, but he’s got your eyes.”

“You think?” Piper asked with a grin.

Everyone nodded as Elli said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if they turn blue. My goodness, he is beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Piper gushed as she looked around the room for Erik. She was going to ask if he thought Dimitri had her eyes, but he was gone.

Where’d he go?

Erik was on cloud nine, but he was sick and tired of people interrupting his time with Piper. He knew it was expected with the new addition to the family, so he tried not to be that mad, especially knowing that he and Piper had the rest of their lives together.

Or at least he hoped they did.

Coming out of the room, Erik found himself almost running right into Shea. Looking up at his captain, he smiled before asking, “Did you get that for me?”

Shea nodded. “Yeah, Elli got pissed because she didn’t want to stop by the store, but I explained that you didn’t have time to get it.”

Erik smiled as Shea handed him a bag that held something for Piper. “Thank you.”

“No problem; make sure you consider what we discussed, okay? Elli will need to know and I think you’d make a great alternate captain,” Shea said before reaching for the door to Piper’s room.

“Thanks, Shea. I’m thinking yes, but I’ll talk it over with Piper first.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” She said. “I’m going to go check this kid out, and hopefully he’ll be my right winger for the next generation of Assassins.”

Erik laughed as Shea disappeared into the room. With Piper’s gift in his pocket, he looked to the left to see his father standing with Blake. Just the man I was looking for , he thought as he made a beeline. Blake looked up and smiled as Erik approached.

“Gorgeous boy, Erik. He’s perfect,” Blake said as he grinned at Erik. Blake and Erik had always gotten along but he still felt there was tension between them. He figured there was a lot of reason for that and he was ready to take the steps to make things good between them, because he wasn’t going anywhere.

“We are so proud of you two,” Cooper said.

“We really are,” Blake said, squeezing Erik’s shoulder.

“Thank you, but I need to ask you something,” Erik said to Blake.

His eyebrows came together as he nodded. “Sure.”

“My father always taught me that when you meet that girl, the one that would make it hard for you to breathe, you should marry her but not to forget to ask her father first.”

Blake looked confused but nodded. “That’s good advice.”

“It is, but I didn’t do it,” Erik said, his eyes never leaving Blake’s. “And I know that bothers you.”

Blake nodded. “It did, but it’s no big deal now, son. You are family now, and also a good man for my amazing daughter.”

“I am becoming one and that is because of your daughter, but I wasn’t before. I’m ready to make things right, Blake, and first I want to ask you if I can have your blessing to marry Piper.” Erik paused and swallowed loudly. Cooper stood by, a small smile pulling at his lips as Erik went on. “I want to marry her. I can’t promise that I’ll be the best husband. I might do something to make her cry, or I might not say the right things or tell her everything I’m thinking. But I’ll love her, I’ll wipe her tears, and I’ll apologize when I say those things I shouldn’t. I’ll love her until my last breath, and I’ll make her happy. Or at least I’ll try.” Erik’s hand moved to the pocket that held his gift for Piper. “I just want to love her for the rest of my life. I want to be the father I’ve been raised to be, and I want to be the husband your daughter deserves. I just want your blessing to do that.”

Blake looked to Cooper before looking back at Erik. He then started laughing and said, “I thought y’all were already married.”

“We are, but I want it to be for the rest of our lives.”

Blake crossed his arms, his brows coming together as he looked deep into Erik’s eyes. “So when you married her three months ago, you didn’t feel this way?”

“No, sir.” Blake’s eyes narrowed as Erik continued. “I didn’t know what I had in front of me. I didn’t know that I was married to the most spectacular woman ever. The one with the kiss-me grin and flighty way of life. She may not have it all together and she may change her mind more than she changes her underwear, but together, me, her, and now Dimitri, we have it all, or at least I think we will. If you’ll give me your blessing and she’ll have me, too.”

Erik could see that Blake was still confused and maybe a little mad but that didn’t keep Erik from going on. “I’ve messed up and I intend to make it right. I apologize for the pain I’ve put her through and I promise I’ll never do it again.”

He could see Blake’s hesitation and Erik held his breath as his stomach dropped. He wanted to do right by Piper, and asking for her hand seemed like the right step to take to make things right between them. Not only would it help with her dad, but it would also make her feel like she was special enough to have a man ask for her. Erik meant what he said and he intended to stay true to those words.

They both didn’t have it together, but together they had it all.

Looking back up at Blake, he found him nodding his head as he said, “I have no clue what has been going on, and honestly I don’t want to know. You know, Rowan and I consider you family and we know Piper loves you, so yeah, you have my blessing to marry my daughter again.”

Blake was quick to grin as Cooper laughed beside him, but all Erik could do was try to catch his breath.

One step down, a billion more to go.

“I won’t let you down, either of you,” Erik said earnestly.

Cooper grabbed Erik’s shoulder and smiled. “You haven’t let me down yet.”

They shared a long, loving look and at that moment, Erik’s only wish was that he could be half the man Cooper was, because then Erik knew he would be the best damn dad imaginable, and a devoted husband, too.