“This looks like her,” he says, a smile tilting his lips.
“Yes, sir. I asked her what she wanted” is close enough to the truth. “The one she picked was smaller. I thought it needed to be bigger.”
“Good choice.” He closes the lid and hands the box back to me. “So, Reagan knows your intentions?” Does good choice mean he approves? Not that it matters, but it would make the next sixty or so years easier on everyone.
“She does. In fact, we put an offer in on a house yesterday. Well, I did, but she approved. Her eyes lit up as soon as we pulled into the driveway.”
“Where?”
I go on to tell him it’s not far from Ridge’s place. “Look, I respect you. Both of you,” I say, turning to look at Ridge. “I don’t know how to say this without being a dick, other than to tell you I love her. We want this, and nothing anyone says will change that.” I wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans. I mean every word, but it’s still nerve-wracking standing up to her father like this. He stares at me, then looks over my shoulder to Ridge.
“How long you think we should make him sweat?” he asks, grinning.
“Wait. What?” I ask, looking back and forth between them.
“Come on, Tyler, I’m her father. I pay attention. You all have been dating for months. We all knew this day would come.”
Well, shit. “So does that mean we have your blessing?”
“I thought you didn’t need it?”
“I don’t need it. I want it.”
He nods. “You have it. Her mother’s too.”
“Thank you.” I turn to look at Ridge. “How bad do you need me today?”
“Why?”
“Reagan’s off today.”
He laughs. “Go. I expect you back here tomorrow.”
“With bells on,” I tell him, walking toward the door.
“And try to tone down that smile, will you?” he calls after me.
“Nope, you can thank your sister for that one!” I yell as I push open the door and jog out to my truck.
* * *
Me: You still at your place?
* * *
Reagan: Yeah, I actually just got off the phone with the doctor. They had a cancellation
today and worked me in.
* * *
Me: What time?
* * *
Reagan: Ten thirty.
* * *
Me: I’m going to run home and change. I’ll be at your place soon.
* * *
Reagan: Everything okay? Why aren’t you at work?
* * *
Me: I’ll explain when I get there. Love you, Reags.
* * *
Reagan: Love you too, Ty.
* * *
By the time I change and make it back to her place, it’s just before nine. Reaching across the seat, I grab the flowers I picked up for her, then head up the steps. I knock once, and she’s opening the door. “Good morning, beautiful,” I say, pulling her into a kiss.
“It’s been what? Two hours since you’ve seen me?”
“Too damn long,” I say, offering her the flowers. “For you.”
“Okay, what’s going on?” she asks, already suspicious. It’s then that I realize we may have been dating, but not the right way. Sure, we spent a ton of time together, and I fell in love with her, but I never got to do these kinds of things for her. Something as simple as bringing her flowers. I make a mental note to bring them home for her more often.
“I want to go with you. Ridge gave me the day off.”
“My brother, the workaholic, gave you the day off?”
“Yep. Of course, that was right after I talked to both him and your dad about us getting married.”
“Today? You did that today? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Well, I was planning on talking to Ridge. Your dad just happened to be there.” I go on to tell her about our conversation and that we have both of their well wishes. “So…” I reach into my jeans pocket and hand her the ring box. “I thought you might want to start wearing this.”
“Hey, I thought that was in my dresser?”
“I took it with me today. I wasn’t sure if I would need it to prove to Ridge how serious I was about us.”
“Did you?”
“Don’t know. I used it anyway, not willing to take any chances. Your dad thinks it looks like you. I told him you picked it out.”
“This is happening?” she asks, her smile bright despite the tears in her eyes.
“We are happening. I told them we put an offer in on a house too.”
“Tyler,” she scolds, slapping my arm playfully. “You should have told me.”
“It just sort of happened. It’s out there. I’m sure your parents and brother will be calling you. I thought we could maybe call mine later today or stop by and tell them the news.”
“We can do that.”
Taking the box from her hands, I pull the ring out and slide it on her finger. “My wife,” I say, bringing her hand to my lips and kissing over the ring.
“We’re getting married,” she whispers.
“Yes, so we better start planning. You want a big wedding or small? Destination? Anything you want, we’ll make it happen,” I tell her just as my cell rings. Fishing it out of my pocket, I see it’s the realtor. “Hello,” I answer.
“Tyler, hi, this is Sasha. Calling with good news. The family accepted your offer. We just need to know the name of your lender to send the information over to them.”
“Perfect. I’m off today, so I’ll take care of that. I’ll email you the details.” Sliding my phone back into my pocket, I look over at Reagan to see her watching me intently. “We got the house,” I say calmly. My girl jumps and wraps her arms and legs around me, holding on tightly.
“I can’t believe this. It’s all happening so fast. This is crazy. Are we crazy?” she asks through her laughter.
“I’m crazy about you,” I say, before kissing her soundly.
As I lie here in bed, wide awake with Reagan sleeping next to me, I can’t help but replay today in my head. Although I didn’t need it, I’m relieved to have both Ridge and her father’s blessing. Her mom called, and she’s thrilled as well. We stopped to see my parents after her appointment, and they too were thrilled and claimed to have seen this coming.
The appointment went great. They’re guessing that she’s around four weeks along by her numbers. The doctor said the first trimester is the most crucial as far as ensuring the pregnancy is viable. Reagan was worried about her endometriosis, but the doctor assured us everything looked fine. We go back in four weeks unless we need them sooner. We haven’t decided when to tell our families about the baby. I’m leaving that up to Reagan. She’ll know when she feels ready to tell them.
I made it to the bank to start the loan process for our home. The loan officer says as long as the home passes inspection and appraisal, which he assured me the house was listed below market value, we should be closing in thirty–forty days.
Just before she fell asleep, Reagan asked me how I felt about getting married at our new house. The backyard is beautiful and perfect for a wedding. She wants small and intimate, and soon. She wants to do it before she’s showing. I told her to start planning it. I’m going to call the realtor and get her to take us back into the house for measurements and things, so Reagan will have everything she needs to plan the big day. Hell, I might even ask the owners if we can have the wedding there, since the bank sent over our approval letter this afternoon. They know we’re serious, especially if we want to get married there. I don’t want to wait until the closing to get married.
There is so much bouncing around inside my head I can’t seem to shut it off. Reaching for my phone on the nightstand, I make a list of things I want to do and check into. Satisfied I won’t forget anything, I place my phone back on the nightstand and cuddle up with my fiancée. Her slow even breaths eventually lull me to sleep.
Chapter 15
Reagan
* * *
I’m not sure how he did it, but the loan officer pulled off a miracle. The loan on the house closed in exactly thirty days, which was yesterday. The wedding is in two weeks, and today we have our eight-week appointment. I’ve been lucky so far, no morning sickness, unless you count being queasy. I’m not throwing up, so I’ll take it. I’ve had some cramping, but no spotting, which my doctor assured me over the phone was completely normal. I will admit I’m a little uneasy. With each passing day, I love this baby more and more, and I’ve not even met him or her yet. The thought of losing this pregnancy is a constant worry. Tyler does his best to soothe my fears.