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Rolling my eyes at her, I push her toward the kitchen and then head to the front door. Easton’s eyes track my every move as I approach him.
The corner of his mouth lifts. “You look better,” he says, a gravelly sound to his voice. My thighs clench together instantly.
“What do you mean?”
He shoves his hands deeper into his pockets. “You’re not as pale as you were earlier.”
“That’s because I ate my weight in brisket after we spoke.”
He laughs before reaching for the front doorknob, directing me outside. I lean against the railing of the wraparound porch, feeling the cool breeze blow through my hair and nip at my skin. But then the heat of Easton’s body comes near again, and suddenly, I’m nervous.
“Well, that’s easy to do with Melvin’s brisket,” he replies, peering out at the yard beside me.
“What are you doing here, Easton?”
He sighs, taking his hat off and tossing it onto the railing. “I want to finish our conversation from earlier.”
“There’s nothing more to discuss. I’m handling it.”
“Well, what if I told you that I had an idea?”
I glance up at his head. “Is that why your hair is a mess then? Because you’ve been thinking too hard?”
He glares at me while trying to fix his unruly hair, but there’s no helping it. “Can you be serious for a moment, please?”
I cross my arms over my chest and twist to face him head-on. “Fine. Continue.”
He shoves his hands in the pockets of his jeans again, flexing his forearms as he does, but I try not to focus on how his veins pop out and the way his muscles shift under his skin.
These hormones sure are wild already.
“Look, I’m having a bit of a work problem and you’re…” His eyes dip down to my stomach as he chooses his words carefully. “You’re expecting a baby that’s going to need medical care, right?”
“Yes…”
“You’re so close to finishing nursing school, Lennon. I know you said you weren’t sure if you were going to drop out and get a job, but then what?”
“That’s for me to figure out, Easton.”
“Not necessarily. I know a way that you can stay in school and not stress about having this baby, and I can show my boss that I deserve to work close to home just like the other guys in the company.”
“Wait—what?”
He waves me off. “I’ll explain more later, but for now, I just need you to agree to marry me.”
My mouth falls open, followed by a maniacal laugh. “Easton! You can’t be serious!”
“Oh, I am dead serious.”
My laughter dies when he doesn’t join in. We stand there in a stare-off until the silence becomes unbearable. “This is absurd. I can’t even remember the last time you and I hung out by choice, and now you’re suggesting we get married?”
“Look, I know that came out of left field…”
“No, Easton—that came from outer space! We’ve gone from being best friends to barely speaking for nearly ten years, and now you think marriage is a good idea?”
Groaning, he tosses his hands in the air while fighting to keep his voice low. “Do you really think I’ll let you face this alone, Lennon?”
I glance at the window of the living room, making sure that Nora and my mom aren’t eavesdropping on us. “Well, I don’t know how to answer that, Easton.”
