Which told her what he really thought of everything.
“Yep. You did. You say you want me to live with you. That you want us to be a family. Well, families talk about where they are going to plant their asses.”
“Did you just swear?”
“Yep. I might do it again. I cannotbelieve you not only looked at a house without me, but bought one. One that I would never, ever be able to afford.”
“I can. And if I told you I was going to do it, you’d tell me no. You’d find every reason to talk me out of it.”
“That’s right. Because decisions like this have to be taken together and you didn’t do that. You took it upon yourself to do it on your own. That isn’t showing me how much you want us to be a couple. That you want me to be part of your life. That’s showing me you think you can control it all and decide on your own.”
He threw his hands up. “Seriously? Any other woman would be jumping for joy over this. You can do whatever you want in the house. I saw the way you were looking at everything. I’ll make changes.Wecan make changes. It’s perfect. I’ll have an office away from you. We’ll have plenty of space for ourselves and not get on the other’s nerves. The baby can be close by for as long as we want.”
He’d put a lot of thought into this, she could admit. Too bad he had shared none of it with her.
“How long have you been considering buying a house?”
She got it. There were just over three months left at his rental. Property wasn’t easy to come by on the island. Unless you had a big budget.
Which he did.
“Not long. I’ve been keeping my eyes open but only reached out to Stella when I saw that listing last night.”
“Why didn’t you tell me last night?”
“Because it never hurts to look and you would have found reasons for me not to. Or told me to wait. I got it under asking. I’m good at negotiating.”
“I don’t even want to know those details.”
It’d only stress her out more.
“You’re really upset over this?” he asked.
How could he not understandanyof this?
“Yes!” she shouted, her fists clenched. “Arik. Buying a house is a big step for a couple. You say you want us to be one, but you’re acting like you’re single. Don’t you see that?”
It was as if it finally dawned on him what she was saying. “I guess. I didn’t think. I thought you’d be happy that I was taking care of this. That it was another step showing I wasn’t going anywhere. Putting down roots with you.”
“I know you’re not going anywhere,” she said. “Because of the baby alone.”
“Don’t go there again,” he said. He walked away from her, was slamming around in his bedroom and came out with a ring box in his hand. “If you’re going to give me shit over the house, I might as well ride the anger and give this to you now.”
Her eyes dropped to the opened lid, a massive diamond sitting in a band covered by more.
“Are you kidding me?” she asked.
He grabbed her hand and jammed the ring on her finger. “No. I told you I love you. That I wanted to marry you.”
“And I said I needed time.”
“A ring on the finger isn’t marriage. It’s another sign of commitment and when you’re ready, I’ll ask you, but for now, take the symbol.” He all but threw her hand down, not even giving her a chance to look at it on.
Not really romantic of him but oddly, understandable. She was hitting him with a lot of stuff.
He was doing the same to her.
Still didn’t make her feel any better about any of what was going on.
