“Thanks to you and Jeremiah, I have less time now than I’ve ever had before, but I’m open to it. I just think that if we’re going to do it, we need to sit down and figure out exactly how.”
I waggled my eyebrows when I met her gaze as I turned to take the bowl of batter from her. “Well, I’m available now if you are. I don’t know about you, but I’m not even a little bit tired and I’m more eager than ever to get those ducks in a row, as well.”
“Is that what I am to you?” she asked, batting her lashes at me. “A duck you had to get into a row?”
I laughed and reached out to smack her butt. “A very cute duck. A beautiful duck, actually. My favorite duck in the whole world.”
“Well, at least there’s that,” she replied, her eyes alive with humor. She turned and walked to the fridge to get the condiments we’d need for the pancakes. “All jokes aside, I know what you mean. Things have been hectic, but we should’ve made time to talk about this before. If you’re serious about being available right now, then so am I. Have you managed to get some more information from Jeremiah?”
“Yep. It’s in my office.”
“Your office?” she asked, frowning at me. “Where’s your office?”
“It’s the small one next to yours.” I pointed down the hall and winked when she looked at me. “I told you I was finding it hard to let you out of my sight. If I had my way, I’d have broken a window into the walls between our offices, but I thought that might be taking things a bit far.”
“You thought right.” She shook her head, but she still looked insanely happy. “Okay, well, why don’t I take over with those and you can go get whatever you’ve gotten from Jeremiah out of your office? We’ll look it over and get started.”
“Sure thing.” I stepped away from the stove, unhooked the apron, and settled it around her shoulders once I pulled it off. “We’re keeping pretty weird hours here. You’re sure it’s not going to fuck with the work you have to get done later?”
“It probably will, but it’s only one day.” She checked her watch. “I doubt we’ll be making pancakes at four a.m. every day. If I need to, I’ll take a nap later once I’ve gotten the most urgent stuff done. It’s been bothering me that we haven’t spoken about this again, so I’d rather see what you’ve got so we can start planning. There’s no point putting it off.”
“Fair enough,” I agreed. “I’ll get it all set up in the dining room. Can I take those for now?”
I pointed at the condiments she’d taken out and she nodded. After getting out cutlery and crockery, I took it all over to the table in the kitchen.
She frowned. “I thought you were taking it to the dining room?”
I grinned. “That was before I remembered we talked about this being a family kitchen and having breakfasts in here. I’m getting a head start. That okay with you?”
“Perfect,” she replied, smiling. She got a slightly dazed look in her eyes as she looked around, holding a spatula in one hand. “You do realize this is like my fantasies while I was designing this kitchen come true, right?”
“Yep. It’s the same for me, give or take a few kids in the mix. It’s better they’re not here yet, though. They might not have liked what I’m about to do to their mother right on this table as soon as we’re done eating and planning.”
She laughed. “Yeah, it’s probably better to get that out of our systems before they’re here. There are a few other things we need to talk about before we get to that, though. Are you going to fetch the information or just stand there staring at me until sunrise?”
I sighed, smirking as I made a show of dragging my gaze all over her. “You’re naked in the kitchen, holding a spatula and wearing only an apron. I’ve had dirty dreams about this. Just give a man a minute.”
Giggling, she rolled her eyes, turned to face the stove again, and wiggled her bare ass at me. “Work first, Mr. Harris. You can have your minute once we’ve figured out what you’re doing with the rest of your life. I’m trying to be supportive here.”
I groaned, but I did what she asked and went to get the folders filled with information that Jeremiah had passed along. While I did end up eating her out right there at the table after breakfast, we also spent hours poring over all the documentation. Well into the morning, we went to sleep for a few hours before she got back to her actual work.
The next few days were bliss, but by the end of them, I also had a solid plan for my future. I’d gotten in touch with all the people I needed to coordinate with, and for the first time since I’d quit baseball, I had a reason to wake up in the mornings.
Larisa was with me every step of the way, and while there had been a long time when I hadn’t even been able to think about settling down with one woman forever, it didn’t take me very long to realize that this was living the fucking dream.
My grandmother’s ring was in my sock drawer, cleaned, polished, resized, and ready. As the days turned into weeks and those turned into months, I knew the time was coming to give it to her. Contrary to what I’d spent most of my adult life believing, the thought of getting engaged didn’t make me want to go off the deep end. If it had been with anybody other than her, I doubted I’d feel the same way, but this was her, and with her, it felt so right that I might’ve jumped the gun a little again.
But it was a risk I was willing to take. So, one Tuesday afternoon, right there in the kitchen and in the middle of an argument about what we were going to have for dinner, I sank down on one knee and held the ring out to her.
“I love you, Larisa. Will you marry me?”