Chris
Chris
If he were one of the other Chrises, he wouldn’t be sweating through his shirt from the thought of asking his girlfriend to marry him. Not that he had any doubt in any way, at all, about Everly being the woman he wanted to spend every day of the rest of his life with. His nerves didn’t stem from uncertainty about her; it was more whether he’d gauged her readiness.
Over the past year, she’d worked hard to manage her anxiety in new ways, pushing herself, learning new strategies, and communicating with him on what worked. She’d had a few visits with a therapist, and they’d even gone together once. He hadn’t realized, until he was talking to a stranger, how freeing it could be to unload the weight of his past and talk about how to achieve the future he wanted. With Everly. Part of her still struggled with the concept of marriage. It scared her. Given her parents’ unconventional, back-and-forth union, it was no surprise the relationship left invisible marks around Everly’s heart. But as with her dislike of birthdays, he hoped to change her mind.
She stared at him, her gaze narrowing. “Why do you look so nervous? You’re never nervous.”
She knew him well. And you know her well. Quit stalling. He handed her the next present. Mac, one of their two cats, strolled into the room and stroked his way past Chris’s leg before abandoning them for his food bowl.
“I’m not nervous. I just want you to like everything.” And for you to say yes to being my wife.
Everly squeezed this present, a smile on her face, and he realized—she was enjoying this. The woman who hated birthdays was having fun. And it fucking thrilled him. He had no idea before meeting her that someone else’s happiness could directly impact his own.
“It’s soft.”
Chris quirked one brow, making her laugh. “Open it.”
She pulled at the paper, tugging it away from the Care Bear he’d made. Dropping the paper, she let out a little sound of delight and hugged it to her chest. “Oh my God. You got me a Care Bear?”
He tugged it from her grasp, turned it so she could see. “Not just any Care Bear.”
The bear itself was a soft shade of pink and its belly had hand-stitched question and exclamation marks, little swirls, and a few clouds. Chris lifted the bear’s bottom paw so she could see the stitching that read: WORRY BEAR .
Everly sucked in a breath, grabbed the bear from him, and looked closer. “You had a Care Bear made for me?”
It was the closest to yelling he’d ever heard from her, and he didn’t know whether to laugh or… well, worry.
“I did. It’s Worry Bear. When you’re anxious, you can squeeze him, punch him, whatever.”
She stiffened, frowned at him. “Why would I punch him?”
Chris shrugged. “I feel better after using the punching bag at Rob’s gym.” His closest friend owned several gyms around California. Chris, his brothers, and sometimes their girlfriends worked out there. Everly and her best friend, Stacey, Rob’s girlfriend, had done a couple of kickboxing classes there last year.
Hugging him tightly, she rocked back and forth. “I will not punch him, thank you very much. He’s perfect. I love him.”
“Me. You love me. The bear is just a side perk,” he said, his nerves dialing down a touch. Okay. This was going better than anticipated. He was working his way up. Should he have started with the ring?
Before he could second-guess himself, Everly’s stomach growled loudly. His laugh was cut short by the buzzer announcing a visitor. Everly froze. He swore.
“I didn’t invite anyone over. In fact, I gave strict instructions for everyone to stay away,” he told her, getting up to see who was there.
“You didn’t have to do that, babe. It’s already the best birthday I’ve had.”
He detoured, coming back to take her face in his hands and kiss her, ignoring the buzzer for a few extra seconds. Long enough to have her clutching his biceps with one hand, the bear trapped between them. When he pulled back, her gaze was hooded. She licked her lips, unfurling the sharp thrum of desire inside of him. He took a deep breath, swallowed his irritation over the interruption, and went to see who was there.
Tapping the intercom, he asked, “Who is it?”
“It’s Jess and Grant,” the couple called in unison.
Shit. Everly’s parents. They knew his intentions; had for some time now. They were over-the-top supportive, but he hadn’t told them today was the day. Everly groaned, fell back on the couch.
Despite his own frustration, he laughed, buzzed them up. “Come on. They love you and just want to see their daughter.”
She folded back up, crossed her legs on the couch, and held the teddy bear in her lap. “Right. That’s all they want.”
Chris opened the door before they could knock. Jessica, dressed in her usual yoga pants and tank top, her long, dark hair tied into a braid, knocked him back a step with a hug, the gift bag she was holding hitting his back. When she moved around him, Grant used his free hand to shake Chris’s, then followed his wife, sometimes ex-wife, into the apartment.
“There’s our girl,” Grant said, holding out a large spray of sunflowers. “These are for you. Our sunshine.”
Everly got up off the couch, leaving the bear behind, and hugged her dad, then her mom, before taking the flowers. “Thank you. These are beautiful. What are you guys doing here?”
Grant hooked a thumb toward Chris. “This guy said you didn’t want to come over for dinner tonight and we couldn’t not see you on your birthday. Look what happened last year.”
Not exactly what I said. It’d been more like, “We’re having a dinner for Everly’s birthday. Very low-key but we’d love if you joined us.”
Shaking her head, Everly went around the corner to the kitchen. They all followed. “Last year had nothing to do with not seeing you guys. And this year has been wonderful so far. And it’s not that I didn’t want to come for dinner. Grace and Noah offered to host a while back and I’m positive they invited you.” She sent Chris an appreciative glance as she pulled a vase from under the sink.
“Of course,” Chris said. “We’d love to have you join us.”
Jessica waved her hand through the air, dismissing the third invitation he’d extended. “It’s fine. We’re seeing you now. We don’t need to crash your party. Your father has a dinner meeting tonight and I’ve got art class,” Jessica said.
Everly’s shoulders stiffened, and he knew she was wondering why they’d complain about her not being around for dinner when they were busy anyway.
“It’s nice that you stopped by,” Everly said. Chris didn’t feel the same. He should have gone with the ring first. Giving it to her after seeing her parents might not go like he hoped.
Jessica set the gift bag on the counter while Everly arranged the flowers. “You okay, Chris?” Everly’s mom eyed him closely like she could read him.
His wide smile probably didn’t put anyone at ease. “I’m great. Get you two something to drink?”
“Oh no. We’re good. We’re actually heading to couples’ yoga. You two should come with us,” Jessica said.
Chris and Everly said no thank you at the same moment. He caught her gaze, winked at her.
“You brush it off but you two aren’t new anymore. You need to work on a relationship by trying new things,” Grant said.
Jessica wiggled her shoulders. “And posi—”
Everly’s finger darted out, pointed straight at her mother. “Do not.”
Her mom mimed zipping her mouth closed while her father just laughed. Yeah. He was going to have to wait a beat after they left to ask Everly his question.
“Have you eaten?” Everly asked. He knew her well enough to know her tones, her subtle cues. She didn’t want to share what he had in the oven.
“We’re good,” Grant said. “And it smells like your guy has something baking for you.” Checking his watch, her dad stood up. “We need to get going or we’ll be late. Let’s go, Jess. We love you, honey. We’ll have dinner soon. The four of us.”
They both hugged her, said goodbye to Chris, and left. When they did, Everly leaned against the door, looking at him with a small smile.
“I earned cinnamon buns, right?”
Chris grinned. “And more.”
She laughed. “Food first. More after.”
Okay. Back on track.
Walking to him, she put her arms around his waist, hugged him like it gave her strength. Like just that one little thing helped her reset. That’s what it did for him. He kissed the top of her head then gave her a little nudge toward the couch.
“Here’s to no more surprises,” she said as she walked away.
Shit.