Chapter 14

Colin POV

The next day, I walked into the Hartford Country Club and was seated at a table waiting for Rory's parents. It didn't take long for the three of them to arrive, and that made me nervous. Well, more nervous than I already was. When I was them approach the table, I stood up to greet them. "Colin." Christopher said, shaking my hand.

"Sir." I said. He made his way to sit down and I turned to greet Lorelai and Luke. "Lorelai, Luke. Thank you for coming." I said.

"Colin, how's our girl?" She asked me.

"She's good. Working too hard, in my opinion." I said.

"That sounds like Rory." Lorelai said, sitting at the table with Luke on one side and Christopher on the other.

I sat back down in my chair as our waitress came over and got our drink orders. When she walked away, I turned to the three people that could essentially crush my future with Rory. "I want to say thanks for coming. I know that might seem a little out of left field, but it means a lot to me and if Rory was here, she would say the same. I want you to know that I love Rory with all of my heart. I have for a long time." I said. "I know that this time last year, things were a little rocky and that this might seem fast but I can assure you that it's not. I've loved Rory since I first met her. I know that she's loved me for nearly as long. I want your blessing. I want to propose to Rory. I want to marry her. I want to have a family with her." I said, before I sat back in my chair and waited for their answers.

Luke was the first to speak. "I understand you asking Lorelai and Christopher here today. But why me? I'm not Rory's father. I'm barely her Step-father." He said.

I turned my head to look at him. "That's bullshit and you know it. Yes, Christopher is her father but so are you. If you were to ask Rory, she'd tell you the same thing. She's told me about the years before she and Christopher got close. She told me about her childhood and the Chilton years. The mashed potatoes when she was sick. The coffee cake on her birthday. You mean the world to her. In her mind, she has two dads. To her…you were a father to her way before you ever started dating Lorelai." I told him. I glanced at Lorelai out of the corner of my eye and saw that she was wiping some tears from her eyes.

"Thank you, Colin." Lorelai said. I looked over at her. "You just confirmed what I already knew deep down. You are perfect for my baby. I know everything that's happened. I know the whole story." She said and my eyes widened. "But I want you to know that you have my blessing. I give it to you without any doubts, which is a lot better than I ever gave Logan." She said.

"Thank you, Lorelai. It's means so much to me. I know that you had your doubts when Logan asked for your blessing, but I hope that you can see how much I love her." I said.

She nodded. "I do and I'm so happy that she has you." She said.

Luke cleared his throat. I could see that he was fighting with his emotions from what I'd said about how Rory feels about him. "I'm with her." He said, reaching for Lorelai's hand.

I turned to look at Christopher. He was the wild card. It could go either way with him. He'd been all for Rory reconciling with Tristan. But Rory and I had thrown a wrench in his and his mother's plans for Rory and Tristan. "My mother won't be happy about this." Christopher said.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "No offense, but it's not about her. It's about Rory. It's about Rory having every bit of happiness that she deserves. Rory does a lot for this family. Despite the fact that she's good at it, she never wanted to be a lawyer. But she did it because she knew that it would make you and your mother happy. Did you know that when she and I first met up at Harvard, she cried on my shoulder for hours because she wasn't sure if she'd make a good lawyer, but she said that she was going to give it her best shot because she didn't want to be a disappointment." I told him. I could see the look of shock on his face at this information.

He leaned back in his chair with a smirk on his face. "I might have underestimated you." Christopher said. "My daughter's happiness means everything to me. Despite the way that certain things have played out over the last year, you're the one that she has chosen to be with. I can't stop that. Rory's an adult and she can make her own decisions. She's been doing that for a long time…as she likes to remind me. The one thing that I will say, is that you better treat her right. It's not just her that's involved. If things don't work out, your still tied together because of the merger." He said.

"Is that all that matters to you?" Lorelai snapped at him. He looked over at her. "The stupid family business? You didn't used to be like this. You used to actually carere about the people around you...not just about business deals."

"All I'm saying is that I want my daughter to be happy...I just don't know if Colin is the right guy for her." Christopher said.

Lorelai glared at him. "You know, when I called and I set up this lunch, I was already nervous...you guys are her family and you mean the world to her. I came here really hoping to get everyone's blessing...but my proposal is not contingent on it." I told Christopher, standing up. I turned to look at Lorelai and Luke. "Rory and I are heading to Australia next week. A little R&R, act surprised when she calls to tell you." I told them and they nodded. Then I turned to Christopher, "If you and Francine keep pushing her, your gonna lose her and it won't be because of me." I told him before I turned and walked out of the Club.

Walking into Rory's condo, I walk into the kitchen and grab a beer out of the fridge and head to the back porch. I sit down in a deck chair and think over the things that were said during the lunch that got cut short because of Christopher's attitude about my relationship with Rory. I was however fortunate that Lorelai and Luke had given me their blessing. I knew that would mean more to Rory than having Christopher's. Now I just had to plan out the actual proposal.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of a car door closing. I stood up from the chair that I'd been sitting in and made my way inside the house. When I walked into the kitchen, Rory was sitting her stuff down into one of the bar chairs. "Did you have court today?" I asked her, taking her appearance.

"Not really. It was just a mediation." She told me, making her way into the kitchen to make coffee.

I nodded. "Did it go well?" I asked.

"It went about like I expected. There were a few things that still need to be negotiated on but overall it went as I expected it too." She said, starting the coffee pot.

"Well that's good then." I said.

She looked up at me from the coffee pot and smiled at me. "What should we do for dinner?" She asked me.

"What sounds good?" I asked her.

She put her finger under her chin as if she was thinking. "Can we get Indian?" She asked me.

I gave her my trademark smirk. "Do we get to burn the house down afterwards?" I asked.

She laughed. "It's not that bad." She said.

"Do you want to change before we go?" I asked. She shook her head. "Alright then, let's go." I said, opening the front door and waiting for her.