“I’m sorry?” Mr. Bradley asked, his eyebrows rising.

“I didn’t ask your permission to date your daughter because it’s not up to you. What happens between Willow and me requires the consent of two people: Willow”—I held up one finger and then the second—“and me. You’re not in that equation.”

“I’m her father!”

“Yeah, you are, which is why we’re having this conversation. She loves you, and the rift between you two is ripping her apart.”

“She knows how to repair it.” His voice dropped to a hiss.

“By choosing you over me.”

He raised a single eyebrow, confirming my statement.

“If you continue that ultimatum, you will lose her.” I said it softly, making the guys in the back lean forward.

“Hardly. She knows I’d do anything to protect her, even fight her for her.”

“She will choose me, Mr. Bradley. And sure, partly it’s because she loves me as much as I love her. But mostly, it’s because I won’t ever make her choose.”

His features slackened.

“I don’t need to control her to love her. I don’t conquer my own fears that way, and I’m so sorry if you do. I only came to tell you that she loves you and she misses you. And I hope you come to your senses soon, because there’s nothing on earth that would make me walk away from Willow. I’m hers until she decides otherwise, not you.”

Anger sparked in his eyes, and the color not only returned to his cheeks but flared.

“I’m glad we could have this conversation.” I pushed off the counter and headed toward the door, only to pause and look back at him, my thoughts tripping over something he’d said. “If you want my intentions, here they are. I’m going to marry your daughter. Then I’m going to spend every day of my life making her as happy as possible. But when I ask her to be my wife, you won’t know. I won’t ask your permission because she’s not a piece of property, and I won’t respect your tradition because you don’t respect that it’s really her choice. And if she says yes, you’ll only know if she tells you. You’ll only know if we get married if she chooses to invite you. You’ll only know if we have a child if she deems you worthy to know, worthy of being in her life.”

He turned a mottled shade of red, and I knew I’d passed the do-not-cross line a while back, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.

“You’ve raised two amazing, independent, intelligent women, one of whom owns my soul. Two women you should be incredibly proud of. I just wish you would be.”