"Hey," I say, nuzzling her cheek with my beard. "Thinking big thoughts?"
"Mmmmm." It’s a non-answer—she didn't even really hear me.
"Noelle?" I ask, touching her chin and dipping at her knees to get her attention. "Hey."
She blinks and shakes her head. "God, I'm sorry, honey. Did you say something?"
I smile. "Just asking about the big thoughts you're thinking, down here."
She looks at the floor. "Oh, you’re done?"
"Yeah. Wanna get out of here?"
“Sounds good,” she says.
She threads her fingers into mine and we head for my truck—her salon is only a couple blocks from this build, so I've been dropping her off in the mornings and she and Panzer walk over when she's done and we go home together.
Panzer is napping on the grass beside the truck, popping up to his feet when we come out. I kneel at his side and ruffle his ears, kiss his forehead between his eyes. "Heya, boy. Take good care of our girl?"
He ruffs softly and licks me from chin to hairline in answer. I get him in the backseat, and then we get in and I head for home.
Before I get out of the new sub and onto Elk Street, however, she looks at me. "Can we go for a little drive?"
I grin and shrug. "Sure. Anywhere in particular?"
She shakes her head. "No. Well, somewhere we can watch the sunset?"
The sun is approaching the horizon, which means we've got a few minutes before the real event begins. I've learned the area pretty well since getting my own wheels, so I know a good spot north of town.
It's a short drive, and within ten minutes, I'm pulling off the two-lane highway into a small lake-side park—it’s nothing more than a parking lot and a stretch of grass with some picnic tables and coal grills, and then the rocky beach, but it overlooks the endless rippling blue of Lake Michigan. I park and we take seats on the bench nearest the water while Panzer trots the waterline, sniffing and frolicking with puppy-like exuberance.
I let her ruminate, knowing she'll open up when she's ready.
"So…" She twists on the bench and I do the same so we're facing each other, and she takes my hands. "I've been thinking."
"You're pretty good at that," I say, grinning.
She tosses her hair playfully. "I know." She giggles and then sobers. "For real, I…I guess I'm a little nervous because I don't know how to approach this."
"Sweetheart, you know that whatever it is, I'm with you and I'll support you."
She gnaws on the corner of her lower lip. "It's…it's not so much amething as anusthing." She looks at me, searching my face. "About us. Our future. And it's something we haven’t discussed yet."
My heart pounds. "Okay."
"Um. So. We've been together for over a year, and we've lived together for a few months." She halts, nerves apparent in her eyes, body language, and tone.
I lift her hands and kiss her knuckles. "Hey, breathe, baby. I love you. I'm all in, no matter what."
I may or may not have let her get out of the truck first so I could snatch the ring out of the console, because this could very well be a perfect opportunity, depending on what she's about to say.
She nods. "I know. I know. I just…" She exhales shakily. "I grew up very traditional, you know that. There's a set-in-stone order to things. Courtship, engagement, marriage, and then kids."
The ring heats in my hip pocket. "I know."
"But I…I've sort of let go of a lot of that. I…want to be married. I want to have kids."
"Me too, sweetheart." I slip my hand into my pocket and close my hand around the black velvet box.
