“Look at you tidying up.”
“I’m trying,” he said. “How did it go?”
Her head went side to side. She wasn’t crying and didn’t even look as if she’d shed a tear.
No frustration on her face or in her features.
Her body wasn’t tense and she didn’t toss her purse down, but hung it over the staircase banister like normal.
“Could have been worse. My mother was good about it.”
“And your father?”
“Old-fashioned but came around. They both understand these things happen, but I drilled home that we were in love and that you weren’t going anywhere.”
“Nope. I’m not. What’s your father’s problem? He wanted you to be married before kids?”
The flush on her cheeks said he hit that one out of the park.
He wouldn’t mind seeing a ring on her finger before the baby arrived, and having his last name next to hers. That would be even better.
“As I said…old-fashioned. He’ll be fine. I don’t want you to think I expect that.”
Since she was going there, he’d take the trip with her. “Maybe I want it.”
Her shoulders dropped along with her butt onto the couch. She patted the cushion. “Sit.”
Here it comes. Should have kept his mouth shut.
“Arik. There is no reason to rush anything.”
“Seems like fate is doing it for us. You know I love you.”
“I do, but love can fade.”
“Don’t even think of that. If you do it’s like you’re manifesting it.” He shivered and shook his arms. “Do you want to make me cry or something?”
She gave his shoulder a light shove. “Cut it out.”
“It’s not going to fade. If it had, I wouldn’t have pursued you when we saw each other again.”
It was as close as he could get to saying why he ended up here.
This would let him know her reaction to it.
When she laughed, he relaxed. “We always got along,” she said. “And we were trying to find what might have been before.”
“It’s working. Nothing is guaranteed in life. I’m not going to wait until we both feel we are in a spot where we can say there is a ninety percent likelihood everything will work. It doesn’t work that way. Nothing does.”
Natalie sighed. “I know that. But there is a greater chance of things not working if we rush.”
“The little bean in there is saying otherwise. He’s on a timer if you didn’t know.”
“Are you going to push or remind me daily of those things?”
He’d be stupid to do that and risk pushing her away. “No. We have to have talks at some point. If you need to draw up guidelines and contracts, we seem to do well that way too.”
She rolled her eyes and leaned onto his shoulder. He lifted his arm and let her snuggle in. “I don’t want to do that, but I don’t want to feel the need to always lay out a plan when we are together.”
