She knew how impatient he could be, so she simply patted his hand and gave him a serene smile. “We’re too close to the opening to deal with moving. Personally, I don’t think I could handle it.”
“O-kay…then what if we didn’t do that just yet,” he said slowly. “What if we…I mean…what if you and Jonah…moved into my cabin?”
“Excuse me? How could we…?”
Reaching over, he took her hand in his even as he kept his eyes on the road. “First of all, you know the cabin has three bedrooms. It’s one of the largest ones in our section.”
“I know that, but…”
“We saw over the last several days that we function well as a family. The kids get along as well as kids are going to get along. They have their moments, but that’s natural, right? No one gets along one hundred percent of the time.”
“I know that, but…”
“You already have a lot of your stuff in storage, and so do I. But for now, we can make the cabin our home. Ours. And once the resort is up and functioning, we can see about renting a bigger place. And in the meantime, we’ll meet with the architect working on the other house so you can have an input into the design.”
“Connor…”
They were coming up to a rest area, so he pulled in and parked before facing her. “Don’t you get it, Lex? This isn’t a fling and this isn’t temporary; this is us working toward our future. I wouldn’t build a house that was for us without giving you the chance to say anything about it. It’s going to be our home. Yours and mine. A bedroom all for ourselves far away from the kids, a big backyard, a basketball hoop in the driveway…I want it to be our dream home.”
Tears stung her eyes—something she was really starting to resent—even as she smiled at him. “I…I don’t know what to say. There’s not a thing I’m bringing to this relationship. The house…I’m not contributing to it, and that just feels wrong.”
He sighed loudly. “There’s no scorecard, okay? No one’s keeping track, and I don’t care about you contributing to it monetarily. What you’re going to contribute is worth so much more.”
His hand held hers tightly, imploring her to understand what he was saying.
“You’re going to make it a home, Lexi. You’re the one who is going to be at the heart of it. We’re going to build it together and fill it with love and laughter, but you, my beautiful girl, are what’s going to make it the place we all want to come home to.”
Oh, wow…
“Tell me you want this,” he pleaded quietly. “Tell me we’re going to get back to the resort and can pack up your cabin tonight. It doesn’t have to be everything, but it can be a start. I want to go to sleep beside you every night after we kiss our kids goodnight. And I want to wake up every morning and share the chaos of getting both of them ready for school. I want a life with you, Lexi. If I thought you’d say yes, I’d marry you tonight. I’d drive us to get a marriage license right now and go to a justice of the peace.”
Now her tears fell. “Connor, you never said…”
“I tried not to say the word marry or marriage because I didn’t want to freak you out, but the reality is that it’s all I want. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. And I think we’re finally at a place where I know I can say it without scaring you.”
She nodded, studying their hands. When she looked up, all she saw was love.
“We can plan a wedding,” he went on. “Anything you want. I want to be the one who makes all your dreams come true. So if it’s a big wedding you want, we’ll do it. If you want small and intimate like Jayce and Kelsey’s, we’ll do it. If you want to get on a plane and fly to Vegas and get married by an Elvis impersonator, we can do that too.”
They both laughed softly, and the moment was so damn perfect.
“I have a ring,” he admitted a moment later. “I swore I was going to wait for the perfect moment, and I hate that I don’t have it with me right now.” His expression grew serious again. “I love you, Lexi, and I want to spend the rest of my life proving that to you.”
Reaching up, she caressed his jaw. “You don’t have anything to prove. It’s in everything you do every single day. The way you care for me and Jonah? It’s so much more than I ever expected.”
“He’s an amazing kid, and when the time is right, maybe we can talk about me adopting him. I want to be his dad.”
Her heart melted. Leaning in, she pressed her lips to his, kissing him with everything she had, proving to him how much she loved him.
When they broke apart, it seemed like there were suddenly a million things to talk about and plans to make, which is what she told him.
“We have a train to catch,” he said with a small laugh.
“I know. But…just know we’re not going to have it all settled tonight. I know you’re impatient…”
“I am, but I get it. I’m just glad that we’re moving forward. I love you, Lexi.”
“I love you too.”
