5. Zane #3
“Yes. I know it doesn’t sound normal, and I know I’m asking a lot. But you’re the only person I could think of that I could stand to live with.”
Bliss taps those pink nails against the tabletop. “I’m not sure if I should be flattered or concerned.”
Laughing, I reply, “Definitely flattered.”
“You really don’t know me that well, though. What if I have annoying habits you haven’t seen yet?” she says.
“You and I both work a lot. We probably won’t even see each other that much.
But before you think about anything more, let me give you a tour of the house so you can see what the living arrangements would be.
” She needs to see that I’ve actually thought through the practical part of living together.
“I’m not committing to anything, but I can already tell you I would love this house because this place is gorgeous,” she says.
She stands up, grabs her plate and mine, and carries them to the door. I gather the platters and hurry to swing the door open for her to enter the house.
“Thanks.”
I walk into the kitchen, and Bliss follows me, setting the dishes in the sink.
“You’ve given me more questions than answers tonight,” she admits to me.
That’s not good. I wanted her to leave here completely convinced, not doubting me even more.
“It’s a lot to take in. I know. But maybe just think about it.”
She opens her mouth but then snaps it closed, as though she thought better of whatever she was going to say.
“How about that tour?” she says instead.
“Now that I can do.” I gesture around the kitchen. “All of this is pretty self-explanatory.”
She follows me into the living room with the big floor-to-ceiling windows that look out over the deck and have mountain views, then we go up the stairs to the loft.
“There are two bedrooms upstairs and two downstairs.” I lead her to the farthest door from the stairs and swing it open. “I thought if you liked this one, you could make it an office or whatever you wanted.”
She trails after me in the room and stops in front of the big bay window, then mutters, “Mr. Collins.”
“What was that?”
Bliss clears her throat. “Nothing. I meant to say, it’s a beautiful view from up here.”
I stop next to her and stare out the window. This room faces the same view as the back porch, and the little bit of elevation makes it even better.
“So, if we got married … this would be my room?”
“Yes! Of course!”
“Do you think it would be weird if I brought my bed, though?”
“Oh. I meant you’d probably want to use this as an office space or a craft room or whatever flex space.” I gesture to the empty room. “I mean, if you wanted to put a bed in it, you totally could. But as far as sleeping arrangements…let’s go downstairs.”
She glances around the room one more time, and I’m almost certain I see her smile, but I can’t be sure. I don’t want to get my hopes up too much.
“Okay. This other room up here, I just have a bed in it as an extra guest room. Sometimes, if people come and help with roundup, they’ll come stay with me.”
“That makes sense,” Bliss says as she follows me past the extra room and down the stairs.
I walk past the kitchen to the hallway, which leads to two more bedrooms. “I sleep in here and thought you’d want this one next to it.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Just how cozy do you think we’re going to get in this marriage?”
I smirk. “How cozy do you want to get?”
Her gaze turns murderous, and I hold my hands up in surrender. Too soon.
“Let me show you why I thought you might like this.”
I swing open the door and lead the way through the sparsely decorated room with a queen bed centered under the window. It’s a big bedroom, but that’s not what I think will catch her attention.
I push the door open to the bathroom. “You can go straight from your bedroom to the bathroom. And … Charlie renovated the bathroom for me in February. Personally, I think it’s a bit much. But my mom promised me it would be something a future wife would love.”
“I’ll be the one to determine that, thank you very much,” Bliss snaps as she marches toward the open door.
She thinks she’s being snarky, but the fact that she’s talking as though she will be my future wife? That’s the part that gives me hope.
And then she gasps. “Yes. I do. Put a ring on it. Till death do us part. The whole nine yards.” The words tumble out in a rush as she looks around the bathroom.
There’s a walk-in shower with multiple showerheads. Double sinks with a huge mirror. A stand-alone tub beneath a large skylight for stargazing. I had Charlie add heated tile floors as well.
“Even the tiles are beautiful,” Bliss says quietly.
“I was hoping you’d like it.”
And I truly mean it. I like Bliss. She’s no-nonsense but a genuinely good person. I want her to be happy. And if she agrees to this marriage, I hope she’ll be happy here.
Bliss looks at me. “You’ve made a strong case.”
“Will you think about it?” I expect her to laugh and say no immediately.
Instead, she nods once. “I’ll think about it.”
I don’t know why, but my heart speeds up. And I realize I’m actually excited about the idea of Bliss marrying me.