Page 79 of Forever Flirting

Alex was in heaven.

If it had been the old him about five years ago, he would have been panicking and extremely nervous, having told someone how much he cared or having popped the question… but not now.

Now, knowing that he was going to commit himself to Everly, that they were taking the next step together at building a future together? He was so happy, so content and peaceful.

This was everything he could have ever dreamed of – and not only did he think she was amazing; he was head-over-heels in love with her… and she would be such a wonderful step-mother to Caleb.

It was terrible that he would still have to leave to head back to Afghanistan, and wished he could be here more, but maybe he could find an assignment stateside, making it easier to travel… or he could consider leaving the Air Force.

He swallowed nervously.

That was nothing he’d considered before – but it was actually ‘on the table’as a distinct possibility. He would never pull Caleb from Mallory, nor would he ask Everly to give up her practice…

No.

He would have to bend, moving and changing, in order to find his place – and thankfully nothing had to be decided right now, because she was an independent person.

… And Mallory seemed to be willing to work with him, making this possible this week for him. It had been short notice, but knowing that Wednesday was his grandmother’s bingo night with Everly – he’d asked Mallory to watch Caleb for a few hours so he could indulge the two women and get a kick out of seeing them play competitively.

He knew his grandmother had been with Everly to play bingo… and knew she would work the crowd, harass the other winners, and flirt with several of the men there, because she had fun doing it. Everly was another matter, and he was curious to see how she acted, wanting to know more about her, and just to spend time with her.

… His fiancée.

Last evening, on the way to his grandmother’s, they stopped by the mall and ran inside about twenty minutes before the stores closed. He put Caleb on his shoulders, practically jogging inside, because he was going to put a ring on his girlfriend’s finger.

Alex laughed softly at the memory, tucking his arm behind his head where he lay in bed beside Caleb, who was nearly snoring. Deep, steady breaths as his son slept was a beautiful thing to hear, and would have to hold him over until he came to visit again.

They’d run inside the mall, hurrying to the nearest jewelry store, and ended up settling on a pair of simple wide gold bands. He wanted to get her an engagement ring, but she had insisted that it would be an ordeal with having to put on and take off gloves all day long repeatedly… and ended up finding an anniversary band to ensure that his girl had something shiny to be proud of.

It was probably a good thing that they had selected the rings together, because he would have picked a large solitaire, because that was what he thought most girls wanted – but not his Everly. She was practical and didn’t feel like she needed to compete with anyone except herself… and he liked that about her.

He had both bands here, and had glided the diamond anniversary band onto her finger, kissing her, as they’d informed his grandmother this evening.

His Nana had been so happy, she’d actually gotten teary-eyed and emotional… and told them both not to wait for their happiness. Neither said anything, but that simple statement echoed in his mind.

He wanted to give Everly the wedding of her dreams… and she suggested differently. She suggested eloping or just going to the justice of the peace. They had agreed to talk about it later on.

Rolling to his side, he opened the velvet box and slid his ring on his finger again, looking at it and feeling the cool metal against his skin… only to see his phone light up next to him where it was on the charger.

I’m so happy…

I keep looking at my ring and thinking about us.

Alex dialed Everly immediately.

“Hey…” he said tenderly.

“Did I wake you?”

“No, but you should probably be asleep,” he countered, smiling and understanding how she was feeling. “I can’t sleep either. So, you really like your ring?”

“I love it.”

“I loveyou,” he countered, smiling. “And I understand, because I was laying here anyway, and trying on my wedding band one more time.”

“How does it look?”

“Like it belongs…”

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