Page 63 of Betting on Lizzie

Kate hung up, and Lizzie received a text a minute later.

“Hey, buddy,” she said to Charlie. “Wanna go check out your new place? If it’s as great as Kate says, I’ll do whatever’s necessary to buy it for you. For us.”

Charlie plopped onto the floor, tired from the walk. Lizzie logged into a real estate site and searched the address to take a quick peek at the photos. It did look perfect—a cute little rambler painted light blue with white trim. Tons of room, both in the house and out, but not too far from town. Her commute to the bar would only be fifteen minutes.

She loaded up Charlie and headed to her potential new home. Kate was already there, standing next to a third car in the driveway. Shoot. Was that her competition? Didn’t matter. She came ready to deal.

“The other interested party is here,” Kate said in greeting.

“If I want it, I trust you to get it for me,” Lizzie said. “Let’s go.”

Kate had a weird smirk on her face, but Lizzie figured that was just her Agent Kate persona.

When they entered, she was unprepared for what she saw. Ben, holding a bouquet of flowers, stood next to Maya in the middle of an empty room. Lizzie looked to Kate for an explanation.

“This man has made an offer but insists he’s willing to make a deal with you,” she said.

Well, that made no sense and only added to Lizzie’s confusion. “What? How’d you get here? Whose car is out front?” Lizzie asked.

“It’s Maya’s,” Ben said. “We didn’t want to tip you off.”

Lizzie huffed. “Y’all know I don’t like games. Or surprises. What’s goin’ on?”

Ben passed the flowers off to Maya and approached Lizzie. He took her hands in his. “Kate said you would love this house,” he said. “I know it’s early. I know it’s crazy. But I don’t care. I want to buy it either for you or with you.”

He wanted to what? Buy her a house? Her brain broke.

“I’m no good at nuance,” Lizzie said. “Whatever’s happening here, you’re gonna have to spell it out.”

“I love you, Lizzie,” Ben said, grabbing her shoulders. “Is that direct enough? It’s only been a few weeks, but that’s all I needed to fall head first in love with you. I love that you’re tough and opinionated, selfless and passionate. I love everything about you.”

“So you want to move in together?”

“Yes,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a little black box.

Before she could completely freak, he opened it to reveal a pretty opal set in white gold. “It’s not an engagement ring,” he spit out quickly. “Your sisters said if I did that, you’d run for the hills and never come back.”

“You talked to my sisters?” She looked at Kate, who shrugged and backed away slowly. Lizzie rolled her eyes. “Well, they weren’t wrong.”

“Think of it as a promise ring. Or a ring that says we’re a couple. A ring that means I have a man who cares deeply for me and wants to be with me.”

Lizzie touched the ring carefully, as if it might burn her, then watched it go blurry as tears welled. Other than her father’s heart attack scare, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d cried. Happy or sad tears. These were definitely the joyful kind, which scared her. Charlie sat beside her, and she laid her hand on his head to ground herself.

“I want to move forward with you,” Ben continued. “Buying a house is a big step, and I don’t want to rush or push you. I just want you to know how serious I am and that I’m not going anywhere.”

Lizzie’s throat tightened, and a few tears escaped. The last two weeks without him had been unbearable. She’d wanted to call him so badly. The flood of emotion could only mean one thing. Lucy was right. She was in love with Ben.

“I missed you.” She had to choke out the words. Still holding the ring box, he moved in closer and put his hands on her hips.

“I missed you too. Let’s do this. Let’s commit. Whaddya say?”

Charlie let out a single bark as if he had his own answer, which made everyone laugh. Lizzie nodded, unable to speak past the lump in her throat.

“Is that a yes? Are you serious?”

“Yes. Yes,” she finally got out. “Why not?” She shrugged, and he smiled. If he read her as well as she read him, he would know that her heart was about to break wide open with happiness and that she was still too vulnerable to say so.

Kate and Maya inched up behind them, both wiping tears of their own.

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