Emmett had faced a lot of things in his life—fights that left him barely standing, betrayals that cut deeper than any knife, and nights that stretched too long with nothing but his own thoughts for company.
But this?
This was different.
Standing outside Cassie’s father’s house, hands shoved deep in his pockets, he felt a rare kind of nervousness settle in his chest.
Cassie had told him over and over that this wasn’t necessary, that her father didn’t expect some formal declaration.
But Emmett had spent too much of his life avoiding responsibility, dodging the things that mattered most.
He wasn’t about to do that now.
Taking a breath, he knocked on the door.
It took a few moments before the heavy wooden door creaked open, revealing Robert Lancaster—Cassie’s father.
The man had a pre
