I kissed her again, feeling at that moment totally and completely happy. The only thing that could have made me happier was for my parents to still be alive to meet Ella. They would love her -- of that I was certain. She was sweet and smart and determined. She was also lovely on top of it and had a good family.
Both my mother and father would approve.
Of course, their approval wouldn't be necessary, but it would make it perfect.
It was then that I wanted to set a date -- the perfect way to end the year.
"When do you want to get married?" I asked, taking both her hands in mine and watching her face to see her response. "Should we do a June wedding and be traditional? Or do you want fall colors? Maybe a winter wedding in good old California?"
Ella shrugged. "I don't know. What do you prefer?"
"I thought a bride would be excited about planning her wedding."
She exhaled. "I was excited when I was engaged to Derek, and look where that got me?"
I frowned. "Ella, I want you to be excited for our wedding. What's holding you back?"
She hesitated. "We've only known each other for a short time, when you add it up. Maybe a longer engagement is wise -- to make up for it?"
I couldn't help but feel deflated at that, thinking she'd be as eager as I was to set the date.
"You feel you need more time?" I said, sitting back, unable to keep a slightly sour note out of my tone. "I'd marry you tomorrow."
She squeezed my hand. "I don't mean that," she said softly. "I've decided. I want to marry you. I'm just trying to be smart instead of stupid, like the last time I got engaged. It's just, isn't there some kind of traditional time period before you get married after you get engaged? Three months?"
"People get married in Vegas on the spot," I said. "There's no limit that I know of."
I shook my head, feeling the great evening sour right in front of my eyes.
I knew she was right. Both of us had made mistakes with our last choice of potential marriage partners. She was only trying to be rational about it, but at the same time, her hesitation made me feel a sense of gloom.
"But if you insist," I said, not willing to give up and let the evening deflate. "Three months wait would bring us to April and an Easter wedding sounds good to me, if you're going to make me wait." I gave her a crooked smile.
"Josh," she said and leaned in closer. "I love you. I want to live with you the rest of my life. We can wait three months to make sure all the plans are in place and it's perfect. That's all."
"I know," I said and kissed her softly. "I shouldn't be like that, but I want us to get married -- soon. As soon as we have it all figured out. Location. The wedding dress. Food. Music. You know -- everything both of us thought we'd be doing a year ago."
She leaned closer and kissed me. "Are we each other's consolation prize?"
"No," I said and cupped her cheek. "They were door number two. We're the real prize and thank God for jaywalkin
g and the twist of fate that meant we found each other and finally picked the right door."
Then I kissed her with passion, my emotions getting the better of me. She kissed me back with just as much intensity. When the kiss broke, we looked in each other's eyes meaningfully.
"Easter sounds like a perfect time for a wedding," she said and smiled. In her eyes, I saw warmth and real happiness.
She had become everything to me. She was my heart and I didn't want to even imagine her being unsure or unhappy about our relationship.
"An Easter wedding sounds perfect," I said. "What do you say we have it in LA and make my little brother happy?"
She smiled. "It would make him happy, wouldn't it? He seemed so eager to have you or any of the brothers move to California. I think he's lonely."
"Losing Terry was hard on him," I said. "Losing his father and his best friend and bandmate in the same year was too much. I think it made him grow up a bit. He's always been one of those guys who never took anything seriously -- except his music. Losing Mom, then Dad and then Terry..."
"I can't imagine it," Ella said softly. "I never had siblings, and so I'm really happy to inherit a bunch of brothers."
"They're a great group," I replied, smiling at the thought of them. "You can expect to be spoiled and treated like a princess for the rest of your life."