Chapter 58
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Easton
“Good luck,” Decker says, stopping at his door.
A grueling seven-day away stint sucks. I’ve never been so happy to be home.
“She already said yes,” Foster says, climbing the rest of the stairs.
“Not for real.” The ring box in my pocket burns a hole in my pants. I want that other ring off her finger and this one on.
“Well, if she needs proof you love her, I can tell her about the three hours we spent looking at rings.” Foster groans like he did every five minutes when we were in the jewelry store.
He and Hayes kept leaving the store, coming back with a pretzel, then a sub, then cookies that they wouldn’t share even when Decker said his blood sugar was low.
We just all told him he was a grandma.
But it was worth it because I have the perfect ring now. I just need to make sure Hadley says yes.
I mean, I’m almost one hundred percent sure she’s all in. We’re in the process of her adopting Tanner after all.
But there have been many men in my shoes who were certain the woman they love was going to say yes, only for them to try to figure out how they can return the ring. So I’m going to be on guard until I hear her say yes.
I open the door to the condo, expecting to see Tanner waddling toward me. He’s almost one now, and my mom says he’s just like me, can’t stop moving. He’s about ready to climb over the hexagon thing, I swear.
But there’s no Tanner. The entire condo is clean, his high chair sitting empty in the corner.
It’s early enough that he should still be up, and naptime is long gone.
I walk across the condo to the guest room that is pretty much our room now and peek inside.
Our bed is gone.
And someone painted the walls a denim blue.
Tanner’s crib sits against the blue wall, and now there’s a reading chair in the corner.
I step inside to what is now a true nursery. Tanner’s name is on the wall, and he has his own bookcase filled with books.
“Am I in the wrong condo?”
I pull out my phone and drop my bag on the floor.
Where are u?
The three dots appear.
Home.
Where am I going to fuck you tonight.
***
There’s no bed in our room.
Yes, there is.
I glance back at Tanner’s room.
What game are you playing?
You’re a smart boy, figure it out.
I look at my closed bedroom door and toss my phone on the table.
She better be in there. Then I figure if she is, I need to be prepared.
I did the public proposal once. This time, it’s just us. I intend to confess my love and the fact that my life is nothing without her.
I get the ring box out of my pocket and open the door, freezing in place. “Fuck…”
Hadley is propped up on my bed with my jersey on. Her legs are bare and crossed, the buttons on the jersey undone to the valley of her tits. I’m pretty sure she’s not wearing anything underneath.
“Forget the ring.” I toss the box behind me and jump on the bed.
She laughs. “You like?”
“Daddy likes a lot.” I climb up the bed and go to kiss her, but she puts her hand on my lips.
“No daddy stuff…”
I nod. “Okay.”
“And what did you just toss away?”
My hands slide up under the hem of my jersey, and as predicted, she’s naked under it. “What did I do to deserve this?”
“East,” she says, inching up to see what I tossed.
“Oh, it’s nothing… just…”
Shit, my dick is about to fuck up this whole thing.
“Give me a second.” I slide off the bed, grab the box, and come back over.
“When you tell this story to the girls, be sure to tell them how distracting you were. I had a whole speech planned out, and now all I can think to say is marry me and wear my jersey for the rest of our lives.” I open up the box.
Her left hand goes to her mouth. That ring is still there. To everyone besides our friends, we’ve been married and in love this entire time.
But that ring represents everything fake.
“I have a ring.” She lifts her hand and shows me.
“No.” I place the box down and slide the other ring off her finger, flinging it across the room.
“East!”
I take the new ring and hold it to the end of her ring finger. It’s bigger and more sparkly than the first. “Will you marry me?”
“I thought I already did.” She grins at me.
“You know what I mean.” I push the ring past the tip.
“You didn’t have to get me a new ring.”
She doesn’t say anything as I slide it on her finger.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Of course it’s a yes. Did you have any doubts?”
“Not after what I came home to. You did this all while I was gone?”
She nods. “It’s time that Tanner has his space and we have ours. Since we’re in this for the long haul.”
I sit up and stare at her. “You have no idea how hot this is.”
“I hope I do, but you’re still clothed.”
I grab the back of my shirt and yank it off. She laughs, and her fingers go to the buttons on my jersey.
“Jersey stays on.” I tackle her to the mattress.
How fast life changes.
In less than a year, I went from a single bachelor to a family man, and I wouldn’t change a damn thing.
I push up on my elbows. “I love you.”
She places her hands on either side of my face, her eyes on me. “I know.”
“And?” I tickle her, and she squirms in my arms.
“I love you too,” she says.
There’re no sweeter words.