Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
T wo nights later, Aiden had forgotten June completely. He had forgotten everything in light of what he was about to do.
“What’s wrong?” Erica had been speaking, he now realized. She stopped short and stared up at him, her expression a mix of worry and accusation. It wasn’t like him to be so tuned out.
Now or never, Aiden, he lectured himself. Reaching out, he took her hand in his. “How long have we been together now?”
“Two years,” she said. The hint of awareness began to spark. She knew him too well to not understand what was coming.
“Two wonderful years,” he agreed. “We match in all the ways, and I love you, E, so much that…” he should have planned the speech better, gone for something more flowery and heartfelt. Too late now. He got down on one knee and pulled out the ring. “Will you marry me?”
She stared at him, blinking for so long that he began to fear she might say no. “Yes, of course yes,” she said, putting an end to his misery. She took the box, opened it, and gasped at the ring. “It’s huge.”
“I was paying attention all those times you told me what you wanted,” he said. He reached to put it on her finger, but she bypassed him and put it on herself. Then, catching sight of him, froze.
“Sorry, I got too excited.”
“It’s okay,” he said, working to tamp down his disappointment. It was silly to be so old fashioned about something so small and inconsequential. He stood and brushed his knee before leaning forward to give her a kiss. She still stared at her finger, a vague smile on her face.
“You know what this means, don’t you?” she asked.
“We’re getting married?” he tried.
She rolled her eyes. “We need a house.”
“Eh,” he stammered and she looked up at him, frowning slightly.
“What?”
“It’s just…my loans are so overwhelming. I’d hoped to make some headway before we added a mortgage.”
“Aiden, we’re almost thirty. It’s pretty ridiculous we don’t own a home already. I know you like to tread carefully, and I respect that about you, but, sweetie,” she grasped his biceps and gave them a squeeze, “it’s time.”
“You’re right. Let’s do it.” He paused. “How do you do it, though? Do we call a realtor, what?”
“Well, I was thinking. Wouldn’t it be amazing to build our own house? Then we could have everything exactly the way we want it. It could be new and perfect.” She elbowed him. “Tell me that doesn’t hit your perfectionist, germaphobe sweet spot.”
“That part definitely sounds good, but isn’t building a house sort of all consuming and stressful? I’m not sure I have room in my life right now for more stress.”
“Leave it to me. I’ll handle everything, as I always do. Being organized and detail oriented is kind of my thing,” she said. It was true and one of his favorite things about her. Erica was the type who never forgot an appointment, never left a t uncrossed or an I un-dotted. It was what made her an amazing accountant.
“Can we actually afford this, though?” Aiden asked, uncertain all over again.
“I’ll run the numbers, but I’m almost positive. Come on, between the two of us we make a pretty good living.”
“But my loans,” he began. Erica gave his arm a squeeze, cutting him off mid-sentence.
“Everyone has loans, Aiden. If no one who had loans bought houses, no one would buy houses,” Erica said. “Honey, I know it’s scary, but you’ve got to take a leap sometimes.”
Aiden thought proposing to someone was a pretty big leap, but he didn’t say so. They had been engaged less than ten minutes, not exactly the time to start things off with a disagreement. He squeezed her arm and kissed the top of her head. “You’re right, I know you’re right. And you’ll probably have to remind me a few more times because…”
“Because you hate change and are risk averse, but that’s exactly how I love you,” Erica said, wrapping her arms around him and giving him a tight hug. He eased his arms around her and hugged her in return. They continued on that way, stumbling slightly, their progress impeded by their cozy new position. Erica buzzed happily over their upcoming house purchase. Aiden listened with half an ear, nodding at the appropriate times. There was a part of him that shared her excitement, but the other part of him was a tiny bit dismayed. They had just gotten engaged. Shouldn’t her excitement be for that instead of the price of land?
On the other hand, it was their future she was talking about, their future together. Everything was on track and going exactly according to plan. Aiden was certain her excitement for the house was part of her excitement for their new life together, as husband and wife. Erica was a pragmatist; it was part of her charm. Later, once she had a chance to think about everything and categorize her emotions, she’d be more excited about their engagement, he was certain. In the meantime, he’d be excited for both of them. He was getting married, just shy of thirty, exactly as he’d always planned. Life couldn’t be sweeter. He kissed the top of Erica’s head again and made himself listen as she discussed ranch versus two story layouts.