“Thank you. He was.” I shake Declan’s hand and watch a small smile tug at the corners of his mouth as his wife hugs their daughter. He pulls me against him. “If you break her heart, I will kill you,” he whispers, and I look up at him, wondering if he realizes how fucked up those words are today. But then I think about if the roles were reversed and that was my daughter. “I’ll protect it with my life,” I tell him just as quietly. “Good man.” He pats my back, and I’m pretty sure I just got Grace’s dad’s blessing.
