I thought about asking Penny for help, but have no idea if she can keep a secret like this. So I call my mom instead.
“Hey, sweetie.” She answers the phone, and I actually feel nervous and decide to blurt it out.
“I’m going to ask Jessa to marry me.”
There’s a long pause over the phone until I hear light crying on the other end. “Oh, Aiden. I’m so happy for you.” I take a deep breath, letting out the tension of telling her. “How are you going to ask her?”
“I think simple is the way to go.”
She hums over the phone. “She loves you. It doesn’t matter if it’s just at home, she’ll be happy. Did you buy a ring?”
“I was hoping to give her Grandma Nellie’s,” I say, and my mom starts crying all over again.
“Of course, you can come and get it tomorrow. You will need to get it resized for Jessa’s smaller fingers. One of my sons is finally settling down, maybe there’s hope for your brothers.”
“Doubt it,” I say in a whisper, and my mom clicks her tongue at me in disapproval.
“I’m so proud of you, Aiden,” she says, and I have to hold back my own emotions. My parents have always been proud of me, even when I wasn’t. Even when I hated who I was and never thought anything I did was good enough. It feels like the first time I don’t need them to be proud of me. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s like Jessa’s trust and her needing me to take control has made my confidence grow even more. Not that I was ever insecure about who I am, but seeing myself through Jessa’s eyes has made me realize that I have so much to be proud of.
I’m a successful business owner, and had a great athletic career, but what matters to me most is becoming the best husband I can be.
Husband, fuck. I never thought I would think of myself in that term. Let alone be excited about it.
My mom shares more of her excitement over the phone with me. And while I don’t need my family’s approval of Jessa, I’m thankful I have it. Not that I ever suspected that they wouldn’t like her, but it’s nice to know we won’t have any issues, especially since Jessa doesn’t have much in the way of family herself.
It makes my heart hurt when I think about how displaced Jessa has been most of her life and how much I want to assure her that she belongs. That she’ll be absorbed into my own family, no matter how annoying and chaotic they can be. My brothers might drive me fucking crazy, but I wouldn’t trade them for the world.
When I hang up with mom, I make a plan, and hope to fuck that Jessa is on the same page as me.
* * *
The ring feels like it’s going to burn a hole in my pocket. We ate dinner at a beach front restaurant, and now we’re walking along the beach before we head home. Jessa’s wearing a light blue sundress, and as the day’s sun declines, it glows against her skin as we walk hand in hand.
Her hair is down and blows a little wildly around her face with the ocean breeze. I swallow thickly, waiting for the right moment.
“Oh, I spoke to the lawyer,” she says as we keep walking.
“What did he say?”
“He said I should just sell you one share and keep the rest myself.” She smirks, and I nod my head.
“How do you feel about that?” I ask, I would buy them all from her, but it didn’t sit right with me. Collin, despite his faults, wanted her to be a part of the company. He wanted her to have a piece of this company he built, and it doesn’t feel right for her to sell it to me just to put Zach in his place. One share makes me a majority shareholder and gets Jessa the payback she wants.
“I feel good. I’m never going to have a relationship with Zach, and you put so much work into making Kemper’s what it is. You should be in charge of what direction the company goes. If he doesn’t like it, he can sell his shares and find his own dream.” She says it matter-of-factly. “Also, Colleen all but said taking the high road all the time isn’t good for your inner peace.” She grins at me, and I tug her closer, kissing her senseless.
“I’m proud of you,” I tell her. Her cheeks heat as she leans forward and I kiss her again.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do all of this without you, you know that?” I wave her off and she fists my shirt. “I’m serious, you make me feel safe to say what I’m thinking and ask for what I want. I’ve never had someone who cared enough to make sure I had the things I needed to be the person I wanted to be. You gave me that.”
I blink at her and realize this is the moment. Fuck the light up sign at the end of the beach. I clear my throat and her eyes widen as I get down on one knee. Her hands hold one another against her heart as I pull out the ring and look up at her.
“Yes,” she says before I can even speak, bouncing on her heels. I laugh and shake my head.
“Can I ask first?” I smirk at her.
“Yes,” she says, and I shake my head.
“Jessa, I love everything about you. You’re the most passionate, caring, and beautiful person I’ve ever met. You’re my other half, truly. There is no better half, because only together are we perfect. You make me feel worthy and the gift of taking care of you is the best I’ve ever been given. I want to make sure you get everything in life, and that you always feel safe and loved when you’re with me. Be my wife?”
