She was right, I needed to just get my point across the best that I could and see what she had to say about the entire thing. It was a scary moment for me, but being with Eden made it more bearable.

I looked her deep in her chocolate-brown eyes and just let my heart do the talking. “Edie, when I first saw you in the airport after all of that lost time the only word to describe what I was feeling was stunned. I had instilled it in my brain that you weren’t ever going to return to Cottage Grove. I wanted to believe in my heart that someday you would but it just wasn’t logical thinking. Then I found out what had happened between us so long ago and that it was nothing that we each intentionally did. You have the best heart and are the absolute easiest person to fall in love with. I know we each need to work on our communication, because it’s been twice we’ve missed out on open opportunities but I’m not letting it slip by once more. Eden Nicole Richardt, would you do me the extraordinary honor of becoming my wife?” I pulled out the black velvet box, cracking it open to reveal the diamond solitaire engagement ring. Her eyes glistened with tears and I had one more thing to say before she revealed her answer. “I know that it was Norah who wrote the letter that was the deciding factor of your return home, she’s much smarter than me. But if I had known that was all it took I would’ve done it years ago. Norah is so much more than my amazing daughter now; in my eyes she was my saving grace. She wanted her dad to be reunited with his first and true love and she set out to make that happen. She definitely had more guts than me.”

The tears began rolling down her cheeks, so I took my hand that was entwined together with hers and swiped it across her skin trying to clean off the salty droplets, still awaiting her answer.

“Baylor, there is no question in my mind. I would absolutely love to marry you,” I was ready to celebrate and lift her high up in the air but she continued on with a bit of hesitation, “as long as you’re all right with me not having a job for a while. I have some money saved up but I’ll need to sell my condo. The last thing that I want to become for you is a burden.”

“Baby,” I started, keeping my eyes locked on hers, “you could never ever be considered a burden to me. It wouldn’t matter to me if you never worked again, but with that being said, I know how much you valued and loved your job, which is why I secured you an interview at a station in Eugene. It was a bit presumptuous of me and while it’s only part-time starting out, it could eventually lead to a full-time position. Now, they are a much smaller station and aren’t as prestigious or well-known as the station here, but with you possibly on their team some big opportunities could arise.”

Eden paused a moment to bring one hand to her chest and braced her head with the other, “I can’t believe this is all happening and you are going to such great lengths for me.”

Wow, she really just must not get it. “There is absolutely nothing that I wouldn’t do for you.”

A glimmer appeared in her eye and an evil smirk on her face; I was beginning to rethink the exact way I put that statement but in the end it wouldn’t have made a bit of difference. It was true, there wasn’t anything that I wouldn’t at least attempt to do for her.

“You know,” she said, “I may take you up on that because I just may have an idea up my sleeve…” She wouldn’t elaborate further on her phrasing so I had to drop the subject for a while.

I took her hands in mine and helped bring her to her feet from her sitting position. “Let’s pack up your desk so you can show me your bed,” I winked and in that moment she was complete putty in my hands. The same level of desire that I was feeling was reflected back to me tenfold from just the glint in her eyes.

She looked around and picked up a small trophy in the shape of a microphone and a picture of her and a blonde woman, which I would assume to be Julia, opened her bottom drawer to yank out her purse, then turned to me, slinging it over her shoulder and slamming the bottom drawer closed with her foot. “I’m done.”

I gazed around the mostly empty space that she called her office and realized that she really didn’t have much in there, especially for as long as she had worked there. “That’s all you have?” I questioned.

She took one last glance around, making sure she had collected everything, and shrugged, “I just never felt the need to clutter my desk, so yeah.”

As she drove us to her condo she took a little extra time showing me her favorite hangouts. The coffee shop she would frequent most mornings and where they knew her name and drink order by heart, the local music store in which during her early days as a radio DJ she would broadcast live from inside. She even took me down Broadway Street and showed me some of the best bars that she and Julia would make appearances at on Saturday nights. Eden was taking a chance and leaving behind a huge portion of her life; after college all of her adult life was spent learning the ins and outs of this beautiful city. I needed to consider myself a lucky man and count all of my blessings that she was taking such a giant leap just to be with me. If that didn’t tell me that she loved me, then I didn’t know exactly what would.

Once we arrived in front of her condo and she pulled into the driveway she sat there a second with the biggest smile on her lips, holding her hand out to admire her new piece of adorning jewelry. She was practically glowing and was the most breathtaking woman I’d ever seen.

“What is it, sweetheart?”

“I’m just so happy,” she announced and made a little wiggling movement in her seat.

I leaned across the console in the car and grasped her chin with my fingers, directing her head until her eyes were trained on me. “I’m glad, so am I. Norah will be extremely excited, too.”

I noticed the telltale sign of a tiny bead of tears welling up in her eyes, “I’m going to have a daughter?” she said as if she had just come to the realization. I had no doubt in my mind that Eden would be a terrific mother for Norah, it was just the type of woman that she was. Norah would be absolutely thrilled to actually have a positive female figure in her life, paying attention to her, unlike her own mother.

As we made our way towards her front door I heard the yapping of a little dog even before the white head poked out from in between the blinds. Just as soon as Eden’s key hit the lock, the dog’s head disappeared and its faint whimpering started to build until it was a full blown howl.

Eden just barely inched the door open and a little fifteen pound dog darted out and started spastically circling our ankles. “Petunia, settle down,” Eden said in a soft tone and bent down just in time to catch the white Westie in her arms. “Baylor, meet Petunia,” I leaned forward to let her sniff my hand before I began scratching behind her ears. “She’s only a bit rambunctious when I first get home. Within a few minutes she’ll have worn herself out and you’ll find her in her bed passed out for a nap. Isn’t that right, girl?” She cooed.

After Eden gave Petunia a minute of attention she bent over to let her down and straightened back up again. “So,” she said, slapping a palm on her hip almost as if she was a bit nervous. “This is my home, well, for now.”

I wiped my hands down my pants to try and dry my sweaty palms and walked further into the room so I could take it all in. The room was immaculate and decorated with rustic colors of gray and teal. She definitely held a woman’s touch and my house, our house, could use some sprucing up.

Our house.

Our house would soon be comprised of three people, two adults and a child. And adding a new dog to the mix, it would be absolutely complete. My breath became staggered as I tried to process everything that was occurring. Did I want this? One hundred percent yes but, truth be told, I was a bit nervous as well—not enough to end up in a panic attack but enough for me to break a sweat. Before when Eden and I were together there was always that looming expiration date. And now that it’d progressed to what I hoped in my heart was forever, would things still feel the same?