Page 49 of Bear

I brushed a tear from my eyes and nodded. What could I even say to all that?

“But I never forgot about you, Alexandra.” He shook his head. “Lexie. I never forgot about you. I had a trust set up in your name, and every year I put half of my earnings from the club. Ask Blade, he can get you access to it. It should be enough to give you a jump start on your business. Or whatever you want.”

Bear made a choking sound. “Half?”

He shrugged. “It’s not as if I needed it.”

I was stunned. Might have been nice to know when I couldn’t afford the deposit for a nice apartment and had to move into the sketchy—

Deep breaths. Moving forward, not backward.

“Thanks. Maybe I can finally get a catering van,” I said, smiling at Bear.

“Or three,” he mumbled.

I scrunched my eyes. How much money were we talking? Not that it mattered. I would have rather had a dad. But knowing that he had thought about me and had done something to support me was more than I had before I walked in here.

A bell rang, signaling our time was almost up.

“Thanks for coming, Lexie. Having you back in my life means a lot. I made mistakes. I see that now. But I’m going to make them better. You’ll see. Bear, have Mav get in touch with the lawyer.”

“You got it, Prez.”

I smiled at my boyfriend. Old man. Co-guardian. All the titles. So much had changed since I’d met this man in the cart corral of Costco. I wondered if anyone had ever had their wedding at Costco? It would be an exclusive, members only event. I snickered and Bear raised an eyebrow.

I waved a hand in the air. “It’s nothing.”

I stood up and waved goodbye to my father. It had been a nice visit, better than I had thought. And maybe I’d come back for another one.

Bear’s hand warmed the small of my back as we walked out of Central Prison.

“Come on, Pixie. Tell me what was so funny back there.”

I sighed. “Fine. I was thinking about having our wedding at Costco.”

His mouth dropped, and I laughed again.

“Wedding? Are you proposing to me, baby girl?” he asked, wiping a bead of sweat that suddenly appeared on his brow.

I shrugged. “Seems like I’m always the one that has to make the first move.”

Bear laughed. “Well, I’m all for any move that ends with you tied to me in every way possible.”

My heart exploded as I leaned into his side. I finally had the life I’d always wanted, full of friends, family, and a forever kind of love.

***