He pressed her palms together and trapped them against his chest, pulling her so close there was nowhere else to look but right into his eyes. “I made some plans. Since you’re so fond of them.”
The hopeful tilt of his growing smile had the corner of her mouth climbing up too. She leaned into him. “Really?”
He took a breath, as if still contemplating what he wanted to say, but then his words tumbled out in a flurry. “I sold my house in LA. I didn’t really like it anyway, and I’m hoping we can pick out a new one. One you’ll love so that when we’re there, you’ll never feel out of place or invisible.”
“I don’t…” She blinked behind her glasses. “I don’t understand.”
“Your dream is to teach and have a family. My dream is to act and help you fulfill your dreams. I figured, if you agree, we’ll stay in Allentown during the school year. I may have some small events or jobs here or there, but nothing that I have to be away from you for long periods of time or that you won’t be able to travel with me when you have days off from work.”
He was speaking so fast, it was hard to get it all into her head. “What about your movies?”
“I’ll film during the summer so you can be with me in LA. At least for a few years. When we have kids, we could make new plans. Rearrange the schedule.”
“I…uh…what?”
He bent his knees so she’d meet his eyes. “I was thinking two, but if you want more, we can talk about it.”
“Chris, I…what the fuck?”
A big burst of laughter erupted from him. “I love it when you curse. You never do, and it sounds so filthy coming out of your mouth.”
“You want kids with me?”
“Of course. Eventually.” He shrugged. “If you’re okay with that.”
“And you want to get married.”
He grinned. “I figured you’d want to do that first. Since you’re big on following the rules and all.”
She swallowed, her heart fluttering, her stomach flip-flopping. “I can’t believe that you want all those things.”
“I want you. And I want everything you want. Including blue-eyed babies who can quote the Brontë sisters and who will be the stars of their third-grade plays. We can have a house on each coast, summers in LA, the rest of the time here. What do you think?”
She blinked.
“I realize this is a lot of information, but I want you to know that I will not give up or settle. You’re it for me.”
Still trying to fully comprehend what Chris had said as he gently stroked her knuckles with his thumbs, she stared at him.
“Bronte, I really wish you’d say something here.”
She blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “I’m surprised they let you in here without a badge.”
He turned her hands over and kissed both of her palms. “I was aiming for something about us.”
She tried to come up with any reason to turn him away. Her fears and insecurities had taken over in California, and she’d thought their lives were just too different. Then she’d spent nights alone in bed, assuring herself she had made the right decision, but none of those mental lists and supposed rationales made her happy.
Because, as Chris waited for her response with a tender gaze and patient smile, she knew there was no textbook for this, only her instincts. And from the first second she’d laid eyes on him, she had loved him.
She was in love with him. Overwhelmingly, irrationally, madly in love.
She skimmed her hands up the planes of his chest until she hooked them around his neck. “You’d be giving up an awful lot.”
Chris wrapped his arms around her waist. “I’d be giving up everything if I lost you.”
She smiled, pressing a kiss to his lips. “CJ Cunningham living here in Allentown?”
“Reminds me of a song.”