“I’ve been thinking.” He sits up straighter, resting his forearms on top of the table, his hands clasped together. My gaze settles on those big hands of his, wishing they were touching me right now. “Maybe we should get married right away. Like before the end of the year.”
My mouth drops open. “Wh-what?”
The proposal was sweet. I know he meant every word. But get married in the next five weeks? That sounds…
Impossible.
“Something small. Maybe up in the mountains? At one of the resorts? We could have a winter themed wedding, or a Christmas one.”
“Eli…”
“And we could find our own place to live around here. Caleb will understand. Maybe he could even move in with Gracie and you could move in here with me. Wait i
t out until I know what I’m doing with the NFL or whatever.” He shrugs, seemingly brushing it off. The NFL draft was the most important thing to him, and now he acts like it’s not his number one focus. “And once we know what’s happening, we’ll move to wherever we need to go and begin our life together. As a family.”
My heart feels like it just cracked open, I’m so overwhelmed. “Is that what you want to do?”
“More like is that what you want?” He leans over the table, his expression earnest. “I just want to make you happy, baby. That’s it. I love you. And now that you’re back in my life for good, I’m going to do this right.”
“What if you don’t get into the NFL?” I ask, my voice low.
“Then I don’t.” He shrugs, seemingly unbothered. “I’ve got something even more important happening this summer, if you didn’t already know.”
Eli grins and I can’t help but smile back.
“You’ll get drafted,” I tell him, my voice brimming with confidence. “I have faith in you.”
“At least someone does.” His smile doesn’t fade. In fact, it seems to grow even bigger and I bask in the warmth of it for a bit. “I refuse to do wrong by you, Ava. I’ve made enough mistakes to last a lifetime. I won’t do it again.”
Emotion sweeps over me, making my eyes sting with tears and the next thing I know, I’m crying. Eli leaps out of his chair and comes to my side of the table, nudging me over so he can settle into my chair before pulling me into his lap.
He’s big and warm and when his arms come around me, I sink into him. My face is pressed against his neck and my eyes are closed. I breathe him in, trying to control the gentle sobs making my entire body shake.
“Baby, please don’t cry.” He sounds in agony as he runs his hand up and down my back in comfort. “Seriously, I hate seeing your tears.”
“Why?” I ask, my lips brushing against his neck.
“They make me wanna cry too. Plus, when you cry it feels like I hurt you.”
I pull away so I can look into his eyes. “I’m not crying because I’m sad. I’m happy.”
The relief on his face is brief. “Then why are you crying? Why do you look like I just kicked your puppy?”
“I’m—overwhelmed.” My smile is tentative. “Our whole lives are going to change.”
“And that’s okay. I’ve got you.” He settles his hand on my stomach, caressing me there. “I’ve got this little nugget too.”
“Little nugget?” I rest my hand on top of his, smiling. “I don’t know how I feel about that nickname.”
“My nugget likes it.” He kisses me, his lips light against mine. “I still can’t believe it.”
“Believe what?”
“That we’re having a little nugget.” He kisses me again, murmuring against my lips, “A baby Bennett.”
“Aw, I like that. Better than nugget.” The tears start again and he wipes them away with his thumbs. Kisses them away when they keep coming. We’re like this for long minutes, totally into each other. So into each other, we don’t even realize someone has entered the apartment until we hear voices.
“Oh my God, so I guess you two are back together.”