I was glad he didn’t question me, didn’t ask me if it was too soon, if I was certain I wanted to make this kind of commitment to a woman I hadn’t known long. But he didn’t.
“I’m going to have a sister-in-law.”
“Yes. And you’ll be there for her if she ever needs to go to the hospital and I’m not there.”
The affection in his expression increased. “I hope that never happens, but if it does, I’ll be there. I’ll even get her some ice cream if she wants it.”
“Good.” I smiled.
“And I’ll die for her.” He turned serious. “The way you would die for my wife.”
I held his gaze for a while, knowing that was his way of giving his approval, of giving me his blessing. “Thanks, man.” I extended my hand.
He shook it before he pulled me in for a hug and a pat on the back. “So, what now?”
“I guess I’ve got to get her a ring.”
“Yeah. Pretty important.”
“I could cheap out and give her my diamond.” I held up my hand and looked at the flawless skull diamond on my finger, one of the few diamonds on earth that possessed this unparalleled clarity.
“I don’t think that’s cheap by any means.” That what he’d done with his wife.
“I just think she’d want something else. But I’ve never asked, and I can’t ask her.”
“Too bad you can’t ask Damien.”
“I could ask Anna, but Damien might kill me if I go near her.”
“Yeah,” he said quickly. “Don’t do that. Just pick her out something. She’ll love whatever you get her.”
I shook my head. “My baby is no average woman, so she can’t wear an average ring.”
He uncapped the bottle and took a drink. “As interesting as this is, I’ve got a workout to complete.” He walked around me. “Let me know how it goes.”I walked in the door and set the plastic bag on the kitchen island. “Baby, what are you doing?”
The faucet was running, and she rubbed the sponge over the dirty plate. “Dishes.”
“And what did I tell you about doing the dishes?”
She ignored me.
I came around the island, seeing her balance on one foot. I moved my chest into her back and turned off the faucet.
“Ugh,” she said under her breath. “Let me do something.”
“You can do the dishes all you want when that cast is off.” I picked her up and carried her to the couch, where her glass of wine sat along with her blanket. I set her down, ignoring the irritated look on her face. “I picked up dinner. Thought we could take a break from cooking.”
She continued to look mad.
“I went to your favorite place…”
She tried to keep up her annoyed expression, but that didn’t last long. The corner of her lip upturned slightly, the excitement in her gaze impossible to conceal.
“That’s my baby.” I walked back into the kitchen and plated everything before I returned.
Her favorite dish was gnocchi with alfredo sauce, a carb-filled meal that she usually denied herself, but once it placed in front of her, she couldn’t ignore it. She stabbed the pasta with her fork and dragged it through the sauce before she placed it in her mouth. “Oh man, that’s good.”
I got a salad because I’d been eating too much lately. I spent most of my time on the couch with her, so I wasn’t as active anymore, not like I was when we had sex all the time.
“How was your day?”
She never mentioned her family after the incident with Damien. It was obvious she didn’t want to think about it, didn’t want to address it at all. She’d made her speech because her emotions were at their peak, but now that a week had passed, she was herself again. But she probably thought about where her relationship with her brother stood.
They hadn’t spoken as far as I could tell. “Fine. Saw Balto today.”
“How is he?”
“Same. An asshole.”
She swatted my arm. “Your brother is not an asshole.”
“Oh, that’s right. I’m the asshole. We’re twins…so it’s easy to get confused.”
She chuckled slightly. “You aren’t an asshole either, babe.”
Babe. She hadn’t called me that in a long time. It was nice to hear it again, to hear the nickname wrap around me possessively. “I told him we were engaged.” I hadn’t told anyone else, like Steel, because it felt separate from my professional life. I probably wouldn’t even tell them if I were married, just to protect Catalina.
“Yeah?” She finished her bite then looked at me. “What did he say?”
“He was happy for me.”
“Oh, that’s good. I wasn’t sure how he’d feel about me.”
I rolled my eyes. “You slapped him once, a long time ago. And he probably liked it.”
She smacked my arm again. “Heath.”
“What?” I asked playfully. “I know I do…”
“Being your woman is one thing. But being your wife…that’s different.”