Page 8 of Donut Overthink It

He nods. I place my forearms on the table and lean forward. “Is everything okay with the two of you? Did something happen …?”

“No, no, no. Nothing like that.” He waves a hand in the air, but I don’t believe him. “It’s just. I wanna … God, I didn’t think this would be that hard to say.” He lets out a long breath. “I wanna take our relationship to the next level.”

I arch a brow. “What do you mean next level? What’s left? You guys live together.” He and his girlfriend have been living together for eight years now.

He lifts his hands and rubs them together nervously before reaching into the inside pocket of his suit jacket. He pulls out a white velvet box, and my eyes widen in surprise when he opens it. “I wanna marry her.”

I stare down at the yellow oval diamond before my eyes meet his again. “I’m ready, Aiden. I’m ready to start a family. Well, we have Olivia, but I want more. You know?”

I slowly lean back in my chair as I rub a hand over my unshaven face. More? I’ve never wanted more with a woman. Not by choice anyway. But Trent and Evelyn have been together for almost nine years, so I can see where they feel it’s time to take that next step. “How does she feel about this?” I ask.

He closes the box and places it back in his suit pocket. “I haven’t told her. I want it to be a surprise.”

“She hates surprises,” I remind him.

“I know.” He sighs heavily. “But I want to do it right. I want to propose …”

“What aren’t you telling me, Trent?” There’s more to this story. Why push for marriage all of a sudden?

His shoulders slump. “We got into a huge fight last night.”

Here we go. “Over what?” I knew he had been lying. What surprises me is that she didn’t mention it this morning when I spoke to her.

“Over us. Our life. Or lack thereof. I want all of her. I want her to have my last name.” My chest tightens at his words. “More of my children. She told me that wasn’t a possibility. And that I knew that from the beginning. I argued that things have changed now, and that we are adults,” he says frustrated. “She told me to get the hell out. When she woke this morning and found me in the spare room, she came in there, still pissed and asked me why I stayed, ready to throw my ass out on the front lawn. I told her that I’ve reminded her over and over that I’m not going anywhere. And that I was gonna continue to prove it.”

“So you went and bought a ring today?” I ask, trying to figure out where this is coming from. I’m just not getting it. Evelyn is right; he knew she wasn’t able to give him more.

“No. I bought this ring three years ago, Aiden.” I blow out a long breath. “I’m ready,” he says, pointing at his chest. “But I can’t do it without your help.”

I’m not the kind of man who falls in love, but that doesn’t mean I don’t believe in it. And I believe that everyone has a soul mate, and I have no doubt that Trent is Evelyn’s. And he’s such a great father to Olivia. They’re lucky girls to have him in their life.

I nod. “I’ll talk to her.”

“Really?” he asks excitedly. “When?”

“Today,” I answer, already pulling out my phone.

CHAPTER TWO

HADLEY

I LOOK UP AT THE CLOCK AND SEE it’s a quarter till four and I’m still not done with the papers Aiden gave me to do. But thankfully, for some reason, he hasn’t returned to the office today. He sent me a text when he got out of court and said he wouldn’t be in for the rest of the day. I took that as a sign God was looking out for me.

I lean back in my chair and close my eyes, imagining Aiden and me having sex on the floor in front of a fireplace, like what happened in the book I read last night, but I just don’t see it. That’s not what comes to mind when I think of sex with him. I don’t see his large hands caressing me gently or his lips kissing my breasts tenderly. I see him bending me over his desk, one hand spanking my ass while the other grips my hair as he tells me what I did wrong.

I clear my throat and try to ignore the throbbing between my legs. It’s been way too long.

My cell dings as it sits on the corner of my desk, and I open it up to see it’s my date for tonight.

Nate: I need your address.

I send him a quick reply with my information, and I see the dots jumping around immediately.

Nate: I’ll be there at eight.

_____________

Finally, I shut the lights off in my office at seven fifteen. Carrying all the files down the hallway, I make a stop at Mr. Kyle’s office and place them on his desk. He sometimes beats me here, when I’m late, and I learned real quick that he doesn’t like to hunt things down.

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