"Are you sure I shouldn't wear a suit? I feel like I should wear one," I say to Ashlynn as she rolls the sleeves of the black long sleeve shirt she picked out for me.
"You are meeting a little girl, not a business partner," she smiles and her hands cup my cheeks. "You need to look like a dad, not a lawyer."
"I've never felt more terrified in my life," I admit and lean down to rest my forehead against hers.
"It's okay to be scared. I'll be right by your side," she comforts me. "Besides, you get to meet a beautiful little girl today that you want to have as you daughter. It's okay to be scared about becoming a parent."
"Do you think I'm ready for it? You know, parenthood?" I ask and she lightly presses her lips to mine for a few moments.
"I think you are completely ready, you just need to trust yourself," she states. "There's still time before everything finalized as well. Right now you are just meeting her."  It's nearing the middle October and I've never had such a calm period with my business. I have a feeling that it won't last like this for long, but I'm taking it while I can. Everything in regards with Lily's adoption has been going smoothly. I'm going to announce it to my siblings tonight, seeing as I kept pushing it off. "Why are we all in your office?" Vince asks as he lays on the couch. I can see dad roll his eyes but not say anything. Jenna takes a seat in the chairs and her hand instinctively goes to her stomach. She's a few months pregnant now and she has a small baby bump. "Oh sorry I'm late!" Ashlynn runs into my office, almost tripping over her own feet. "I got caught up with some cleaning." "It's fine," I tell her as she walks over to me. I lean down and kiss her cheek as she grins up at me. "Hello? You gonna answer my question, or are we just going to sit here?" Vince speaks up."You're an annoying prick, you
Ashlynn's POV: I'm scared. I never really communicated with Lily, but with what Gage asked me today, I need to get to know her better. Today has just been a day full of shocks. He loves me. Gage loves me. I was not ready for him to say that. I'm not mad, but boy was it surprising. I can feel my cheeks heating up just thinking about it. Goodness! Maybe the shower is too hot actually. I've been standing under the burning water for more than a few minutes by now. I step out of the shower and wrap a towel around my body and my hair. I go to my room and look through my clothes to figure out what to wear. If I'm meeting Lily I don't want to be wearing a dress, what if she wants to play? I need to find a nice pair of pants. I know Gage is going to dress down, so I will a little, but not a lot.I finally pick out a pair of black jeans and I find a cute white top, and I pair it wit
"Gage you took soooo long!" Lily exclaims, dragging out the "o" in so as Gage walks in with Reagan and Charolette. "I drew something for you. Look!" "Thank you Lily," Gage says as he takes the drawing of the dog Lily made. "Can I talk to you for a second?" "Uh oh am I in trouble? Are you not gonna come back? I promise to be good." Lily says and you can see the worry in her eyes. Her bottom lip starts to quiver as she holds back tears. "Come here," Gage says and squats down so he's closer to Lily's level. Lily jumps off her chair and runs into Gage's arms. She wraps her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. Gage holds her tightly and closes his eyes. "You've done nothing wrong Lily." "Are you gonna leave me?" Lily whispers and Gage pulls apart from the hug and grabs her small hands."I'm not going to leave you Lily," Gage says. "I've been talking with Miss Reagan and Miss Charolette a lot about you
Gage's POV: "Are you sure this is what you want to get Lily? I mean I'm sure she'd appreciate a dinosaur puzzle or something," I say as Ashlynn walks down the pathway of kennels. The dogs are all coming to the fence and sticking their noses through the little holes. "Oh I definitely want to get her a dog," she responds. "The only question is which one?" I groan as she goes up to a fence full of little puppies. I'd rather have a dog than a puppy. She grins as she squats down, putting her hand against the fence so they can all smell it. After she plays with them for a few minutes she continues walking but she abruptly stops. A large dog is sitting in the corner of his kennel, his head is downcast. "Oh goodness he's adorable," Ashlynn sighs as she goes to the fence. She makes some noises with her tongue, which gets the dogs attention. "Hi buddy, come here." The dog hesitated before it came to the fence and quickly
"Gage, where's Ashlynn?" Lily asks as I drive towards the hospital. Today is the day that I get to take Lily home. We just left the orphanage, all her belongings are in the trunk and she's strapped in to her booster seat. "She has to do some work, but we'll see her later," I tell Lily. "Where are we going?" Lily asks. "We're going to see my grandma, your great grandma," I tell her. "She's sick so she has to stay with the doctors to get better." "That's sad," Lily says and her bottom lip pouts slightly. "Can we get her a present? Presents always make me feel better." "You can pick out anything you'd like," I say, turning right. "Gage," she says and I glance in the rear view mirror to see her looking at her lap. "Are you okay Lily?" I ask and she nods her head slowly."Since you adopted me you said I was a part of your family," Lily says quietly. "You are Lily," I tel
"Dad, hurry up! She'll be awake soon!" Lily rushes me as I stack the pancakes on the plate. "I'm going," I chuckle at her impatience. It's been almost two years since I've adopted Lily. Today is currently Ashlynn's birthday and she's turning twenty-six. We've been dating for two years, but I've really wanted to propose to her for a while. Lily decided to concoct a plan because Lily has a gift for Ashlynn too. "Finally, lets go," Lily says as she holds the papers in her hands tightly. I grab the breakfast and we head up to my room. Ashlynn is curled up on the bed with Loki and Thunder. Thunder is another dog, Lily somehow convinced me that Loki needed a friend right before her first Christmas here. But now the damn dogs love to sleep in my room."Loki, Thunder," I whisper and the two dogs look over at me. I pat my leg and they both jump off the bed. Good, I didn't want them begging Ashlynn for her food. "Thank god she's s
Ashlynn's POV: "I'm nervous," I admit as Alex and I are behind the large doors. "Believe me when I say Gage is too," Alex responds. "He's been paranoid for the past week." "I'd never leave him, he shouldn't be worried," I respond. "And he'd never leave you, so you shouldn't be worried," Alex replies. "It is normal to be nervous on your wedding day, hell I was shaking." "Is it scary to be in front of everyone?" I ask. "When you see Gage it'll seem like it's just the two of you in the room," Alex tells me. "This day is going to go just as you want it to.""I'm sweating," I admit. "The music needs to start." "Patience is a virtue," Alex teases and I can't help but smile. "Shut up," I mumble and Alex just chuckles. "Thank you for doing this. Ya know, walking me down the aisle." "I'm honored you asked me to. You're like my little sister Ash
"Morning angel." Gage mutters against my cheek before he placed a soft kiss against it. "Morning." I reply with a smile. "It's your turn to give Addie a bath." "I think it's your turn." Gage replies as he buries his face into his pillow. "Gage, get your ass out of bed. We have places to be." I say and push the blankets off of me. Lily's dance competition is today, and since it's Sunday it's starting at ten. We have to be there earlier to make sure Lily is ready for when she needs to go on stage. "I'll be getting Lily and Roland ready." I tell him. "If you're not out of bed by the time I'm done showering, I'm literally going to kick your ass." "Yeah, yeah." he mumbles and I just roll my eyes before I go to the bathroom. I set the water to the temperature I want it to be at before I get in. I turn my back towards the shower head and close my eyes as the water hits my body. After a moment I open my eyes