Page 41 of Accidentally Engaged
“Because you love green things—and I love you.”
She nods, looking at her hand. “You know this is real, right? Permanent? You can’t make offers like that and get out of them.”
“That’s exactly why I made it. I want to be ‘stuck’ with you. Bound to you. Betrothed, engaged, partnered with, married! All the synonyms. Want me to go on? I’m pretty sure there’s a thesaurus somewhere on this campus.”
I love her laugh, and I love it more now, because there is a note of happy freedom and incredulity in it that I haven’t heard before.
“No need to go raid the library. But I do believe I was promised a spot on a potting shed table?”
“Bent over it or up on top of it?” I ask in a low voice, more sure than ever that this is the right woman. Who else could I cry with, make the most poetic vows of my life to, laugh with, make stupid jokes with, and also be incredibly deviant and horny with?
My wife. My future bride.
“I think you’re my best friend,” I say when it clicks.
Chloe laces her fingers through mine and nods, excitement in her eyes, lips slightly parted in awe. “Yes! That’s what that feeling is. But not only your best friend.”
“God, no. That’s like, level one. Love of my life is level two.”
“What’s level three?”
“I don’t know,” I muse as we meander towards the potting shed down the path. “Wife and mother of my children?”
“Mmhm. Hey, if we have a daughter, can we name her Rosemary?” Chloe twists the circlet of herbs on her finger.
The little girl in pigtails and purple sneakers. Rosemary. She has a name, and it cements into my heart the second I hear it. My voice is barely audible as I whisper, “I love that.”
Hers is much louder as she squeezes my hand. “I loveyou.”
Notes and Hazards:
Expect the Unexpected
“Mum. I’m engaged. Properly engaged, with a doubly unbreakable vow. It was so romantic, he proposed with a ring of rosemary, and then we went to the jeweler in town—a proper goblin jeweler, Mum, and Jan Stilz made a ring for me with an emerald. I’ll send pics. Okay, love you, Mum. Love to Dad. Bye!”
“That was a message?” I look across my living room on Friday morning and see my beautiful Chloe on her phone, talking happily to her mother—or at least her mother’s voicemail.
“It’s easier this way. In a few minutes, she’ll ring me back with a million questions. Where will the wedding be, when will she meet you, when are we going to have kids?” Chloe pauses and runs a thoughtful hand over her torso. “We should have mentioned that—especially after all the seeds you’ve been sowing in this particular garden.” Her voice drops into a seductive range, and I wonder if I’m going to survive the honeymoon. This woman ignites desire in me like nothing I’ve ever known—and I’m worried if I can keep up the pace.
“I might be a lot thinner by next year,” I say, and I realize the reply doesn’t make much sense.
“I hope not too much thinner. I love you how you are!” Chloe hurries over to hug me, sighing as she’s wrapped in my arms.
“I can tell, and I’m not going to turn into a gym rat. I’m just thinking that I’m much ‘busier’ with you around. And soon, I’ll have a dog to walk.”
“Oh, yes. If there’s an Irish setter there, the experiment is valid.”
“The experiment is valid either way. I was just joking,” I hastily explain.
“I know, I know. But, um... Well. I think Liam is going to bring Kep back. Not by force. And I know what you said about the yard and all, but there’s a lovely park just a few blocks away, and there are houses for sale. They’re expanding the townhouse development, Pine Point.”
I love how this feels. It was different with Patsy. Everything wasn’t a plan made in peace; it was a push, a frustration reaction. The apartment was too small, time to buy a condo. The condo isn’t big enough for kids, not that we’re ready for kids, but let’s get a house.
The dog was my idea—and I’ve missed my Kep more than I can admit. “I wanna buy a house with you. For us and our family. And I want that family sooner rather than later. Because I’m almost forty, and God knows when my knees will go. I want to be young enough and fun enough to take our daughter to ballet or karate, or to play football with our son. Whatever. I just... Yeah. I’m happy Kep’s going to be back, but how will Liam manage it?”
“I’m not worried about the how. So, if we don’t find a dog today—”
“We’re finding a dog today. I see it. I saw it. Little red dog with long, silky hair. Tiny. An Irish Setter.”
