“Then why do I own it alone?” I sniff into my shirt cuffs. “Haven’t I done enough alone already?”
“Oh, couch girl, I didn’t think—” He rakes his fingers through his hair. “I thought it would be reassuring for you, for our future.” His voice thickens, and he pulls me into his arms.
As always, I go willingly.
“You are all the assurance I need. Don’t make me own anything alone,” I plead. “I want to share everything with you—our home, our life, our future. I just don’t want to be alone anymore.”
He hugs me tight and flops onto the couch, taking me with him. “I’m so sorry, babe. I didn’t think this through.” Pressing gentle kisses on my forehead, he says, “When Henry asked whose name to make the deed out in, your name slipped off my tongue.” Pulling me away from where I’m hiding in his chest, he holds my face with his hands. “I want to give you the world, Rose, and all the happiness that exists.”
I hold his gaze with my blurry eyes. “And you do by just being you.”
He lifts my chin up and kisses me softly, sighing deeply.
“I promise to share everything with you. I’ll ask Henry to include both our names on the deed.”
“Thank you.” I return his promise with a kiss. “I love you.”
“And I you.”
I lie peacefully in his arms until I remember something.
“I also have something for you,” I whisper and pull out a check from the back pocket of my jeans.
“What is this?” His body tenses beneath me, and it’s his turn to be the recipient of an unwanted and unhappy gift.
“M-my contribution,” I stammer as his narrowed eyes bore into me. I have never seen him look at me with so much—is it anger? “Toward the…house?” I ask because suddenly I’m not sure. Zander never talked about the cost.
Isn’t it natural for me to pay for some part of it?
“This is too much,” he says, and in this very moment, his voice sounds unfamiliar to me. This is the voice he uses at work. For the first time, he doesn’t feel like my fiancé or boyfriend or friend. He sounds like my boss.
“It’s…all my savings.”
“And you’re giving it to me?” His voice and face remain impassive.
“Zander.” My scalp prickles with unease. I don’t like this side of him one bit.
He sighs loudly, as if he doesn’t know what to do with me.
“Rose,” he finally says in a voice that he reserves exclusively for me.
Thank God.
“I don’t want this. It’s the same as you not wanting to own the house alone. I want to make a place for you and our family. I want to do this for you. I have to do this for you.”
“Okay,” I acquiesce. When he says it like that, how could I not agree?
“Thank you. I can’t take any more emotional discussions for today.” He strokes my cheek with his fingers. “I would just like to enjoy some time with my girl here and later make love to her in our new bedroom and christen our bed. Do you have any objection to that?” He raises an eyebrow at me playfully.
I giggle. “None.”
“Good.” And just like that, my smiling, affectionate fiancé is back.
“How long will the flowers bloom?” I ask, looking at the colorful blossoms.
He grazes his long fingers over my arms, and the simple act gets me going. I can’t help but think about all the things those fingers can do. I release a sigh, and Zander chuckles. His hands rest over my wrists, where I’m sure he can feel my rising pulse.
“Are you ready to go to bed?” he whispers in my ear.