Chapter Thirty-seven

Charlie

I pace back and forth on the front porch, swatting away bugs. Owen ran to Walmart to get a pregnancy test. I don’t feel pregnant. Not at all. I have zero symptoms, and while many women can go through the whole nine months without “feeling pregnant,” I know I wouldn’t get that lucky.

Still, we want to be sure.

I chugged a big glass of water when he left, and now I really have to pee. Headlights illuminate the street and I hold my breath, hoping that truck belongs to Owen. It doesn’t, and it goes right past our house. Getting close to needing to do the potty dance, I decide I’m going to give Owen five more minutes before going to the bathroom. Luckily, he pulls into the driveway only a minute later.

He stands outside the bathroom door, waiting for me. The test said to wait a few minutes until you check, but I look at that baby right away. The control line pops up first. I watch, waiting for the second line. I don’t see one, so I set the test down and pull my pants back up. After washing my hands, I open the door and Owen picks the test up off the floor.

“You’re not pregnant,” he says after looking at the test for a good minute. “Is it weird I’m a little disappointed?”

“No.” I move next to him and hook my arm through his. “Because I am too.”

Owen sets the test down on the counter and wraps one arm around me. “This isn’t the first time we’ve thought you might be pregnant. We had a few scares there in college.”

I nod. “I remember those. And seeing the negative was such a relief. But now…now…” I trail off and shake my head. “I shouldn’t want to be pregnant. We’re not married yet.”

“Yet?” He raises his eyebrows. “Are you proposing? Don’t spoil my surprise. Though I do want a hint so I can get my nails done beforehand.”

I laugh and look up at him. “You really would have been happy if I were pregnant?”

He brings his head down and kisses me. “Yes. I love you, Charlie. So fucking much. You know I meant it when I said I’d go to the courthouse and marry you right now if that’s what you want.” He takes my hand and leads me into the bedroom. He pulls me into his lap and sits on the bed. “Until then, though, we can practice for when we really do want to have a baby.”

“Didn’t we get enough practice in this morning?”

He laughs and kisses me. “You can never be too prepared, you know.”

“You actually can, though. You need to save it up and not deplete your sperm count.”

“So romantic.”

“I know, right?”

We fall back on the bed, and it only takes a minute of Owen kissing my neck while rubbing my back to get me in the mood. After sex, we shower and then finally go downstairs to finish in the kitchen. We both have to work in the morning and go up to bed. I snuggle close to Owen, feeling like I’m where I’m meant to be.

With him.

Together.

In love.

*

“I’m running a little late,” Owen tells me. “Go ahead and start dinner without me.”

“Okay. How late are you going to be?” I shut my office door and get into the elevator. I was at work late tonight too. It’s seven-thirty and I’m just now leaving. Dad scheduled meetings with clients today, and our last one didn’t start until seven. The entire client meeting was bizarre too, and after talking about nothing that had to do with what the client wanted to hire us for, he left.

“Maybe an hour or so. It’s been really busy at the bar all day.”

“Well, that’s always a good thing.”

“Yeah. It is. Are you heading home now?”

“I am. I’ll see you in a bit then. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

I end the call and walk down the block to my car. My new car, which I bought only a week ago. It’s a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and I love it. The four-wheel drive will come in handy in the snow, that’s for sure. Summer is just now coming to an end, and while I’m not looking forward to the cold, Midwest winter, I might be a little excited to try out just how well the Jeep handles.

Owen’s truck is in the garage when I get home, which surprises me. Maybe he and Logan drove together to work? They’ve done that in the past, though it doesn’t really make sense since we live on opposite ends of the town. The house is unlocked too, but when I step inside and go to turn on the lights, nothing happens.

“Owen?” I call, reaching into my purse for my phone to use for light. He doesn’t answer, but something shuffles inside the house, and flickering light pours from the screened-in porch. “Owen?”

Breath hitching, I slowly walk through the house and peek into the screened-in porch. Owen is in there, looking out at the fountain. Several candles are lit, and there’s a little table set up with dinner.

“What is this?” I ask, a smile coming to my face.

“Surprise.” He strides over and pulls me into his arms.

“Owen! This is so sweet! Is that—”

“The fancy pasta you like? Yes, it is.”

I lean up and kiss him. “I love you.”

He gives me a wink. “I know. We should eat before the food gets cold.” He breaks away only to come right back. “Fuck it.”

“Fuck what?”

“I was going to wait until after dinner, but I want to ask you now.”

“Ask me?”

He drops down to one knee and pulls out a ring. “I love you, Charlie. I’ve always loved you and I always will love you. Will you marry me?”

I bring my hands to my face, tears filling my eyes. “Yes!”

He takes the ring from the box and slips it on my finger. It’s a perfect fit. It’s dark in here, so I move closer to a candle to look at the ring. It’s gorgeous.

“This whole thing was a set-up!” I whirl back around. “You saying you’re working late and that bullshit meeting at work.”

“Yeah.” Owen smiles and takes me into his arms again.

“My dad was in on this!”

“He was. And he’s probably waiting for you to call him so he can act like he had no idea.”

“Oh, Owen!” More tears fill my eyes, and I hold onto Owen as tight as I can. This time, I know there is no letting go.