“Just ask her,” Abby orders.

I stare at her and then raise my brows.

She frowns and replies. “Well, why the hell not?”

Things between Finley and I were going great and then life happened. Mom getting hospitalized, even though she’s fine now, was a shock. Other than needing to be on a blood thinner for the next six months or so, things have gone back to normal for her.

She spent a few days hanging out at Finley’s place right after she was discharged, mainly so she wouldn’t kill my dad for hovering over her. Finley took my mom staying with her in stride. In fact, they were cackling like old girlfriends by the second day and now when my mom wants to get a hold of me, she calls Finley.

Then, to save money, Fin decided against spending Christmas with her parents in Texas. She wasn’t homesick but she couldn’t hide how much she missed her family. The look on her face when her parents, aunts, uncles and cousin showed up to surprise her was priceless.

She went from shock to happy and then to panic at trying to figure out where everyone would sleep in less than a minute. Together, we figured out temporary sleeping arrangements for everyone and the rest of their visit went off without a hitch. It was plain to see how much getting to spend the holidays with her family meant to her.

That was a month ago, a month of me sleeping here each and every night. A month of swinging by my house every day to drop off the trailer if I had it; and to repack my overnight bag. We’re close, closer than ever but there’s this wall I can’t break through.

“It’s not like I can ask her to move in with me. She loves that house and isn’t going to leave it.”

“Call it something else. Say you want to take things to the next level and see if she gets the hint and asks you to move in with her.”

I lean back into my chair and look up at the ceiling. “Last thing I want to do is pressure her if she isn’t ready.”

“You’ve never been one to beat around the bush, Noah. Why don’t you tell her what you’re feeling?” She asks.

I tip my head back to meet her eyes. “Would you believe me if I said I’m scared she doesn’t feel the same?”

Abby’s eyes bug out. “Don’t be insane. She loves you.”

Her words should ease my concerns but they don’t. I can’t imagine my life without her. I’m impatient for it to begin. I want it all, marriage, a family, and to grow old together.

She’s still struggling with so much. All I can do is wait even though it’s the last thing I want to do.

“Want me to drop a hint?” She asks after a bit.

“What kind of hint?” I counter.

“I can play dumb and ask when you’re moving in for good or if you’ve put your house on the market yet, something like that,” she answers.

I have to admit, it’s not a bad idea. “Do you think that would work?”

She shrugs but does it with a catlike grin. “Have I ever failed?”

I grin back and she stands. “You call Jon and meet him for a drink. Knowing you and how quickly you’ve been dashing home after work each day, it’s probably been ages since you’ve gone to happy hour.”

“It has been a while,” I admit.

“Call Finley and tell her I’m swinging by for a visit and that you’ll be late,” she tells me, still ordering me around.

It’s my turn to stand, pulling my phone from my pocket as we walk together from my office to the main door, waving at Justin as we pass him.

“Hey baby,” I greet when she answers.

“Everything okay?”

She’s not used to me calling after work, normally after popping by my house, I head right to hers.

“I’m going to be late tonight if that’s alright.”

“Oh,” she hesitates before saying, “of course.”

“Abby stopped by here and plans to head your way. If you don’t want company let me know and I’ll tell her another night.”

“Don’t be silly. I’d love to see her,” she says, her voice lighter than moments before.

I smile at Abby and lift my head. “She’ll be there in a few then.”

She doesn’t reply and I pull my phone from my ear to make sure I didn’t drop the call. When I see I haven’t, I ask, “Finley?”

“Where are you going?” Her question is whispered; so quiet I need to strain to hear her.

“I’m going to meet Jon for a drink,” I reply.

“Jon?” There’s a relief in her tone.

“Want me to ask him if Em and him can come over for dinner sometime next week?”

“I’d like that.” The worry from her voice is now gone.

“Consider it done,” I promise. “And, I won’t stay out too long, just a drink.”

“Don’t worry, Abby will keep me company.”

“Alright baby” I answer. “I love you.”

“I love you too Noah.”

After I hang up with her I give Abby a hug goodbye.

“I’ll call you and let you know what she says,” Abby shouts as she walks away.

Staying in front of our office, I wave as she pulls away and then I call Jon. “Feel like a drink?”

“Trouble in paradise?”

“The opposite,” I reply.

“Why aren’t you heading to Finley’s?” He asks, surprise coloring his words even through the phone.

“I’ll tell you over a drink, unless tonight isn’t good for you?” I ask belatedly.

“Tonight is perfect. I was on my way to an empty house and leftovers.”

“Where’s Emily?” I ask, moving toward my truck.

“Some book club but they should call it a wine club because all they do is drink and gossip from what I hear.”

“Jesus,” I laugh, picturing Emily drunk.

“Tell me about it,” he laughs.

As I start my truck I reply, “I’ll see you in five and you can.”

I beat him there and order a drink for each of us.

“Hey man,” he greets, sitting on the stool next to mine when he shows up.

“Thanks for meeting me,” I say, pushing his drink toward him.

“Always got time for you man,” he answers, before taking a drink.

“That means a lot to me.”

“So, are you going to ask Finley to marry you?” He asks, surprising me.

“Someday, I hope. Right now I’d be happy with moving in together,” I admit.

“You thinking about selling your place?”

I shrug, and then lean forward against the bar, my hands circling my glass. “I’m not attached to it the way Finley is to her place.”

“So why are you here drinking with me and not there with her?” He asks.

“I’m too chickenshit to ask her how she feels so Abby’s over there right now doing it for me,” I laugh.

He rubs my back as he laughs with me. “Fucking Abby. That girl is a riot,” he wheezes.

I hold up my glass in a cheer. “Here’s to hoping Finley wants to live with me too.”

“She will,” he replies, touching his glass to mine. “I’m sure of it.”

“That makes one of us,” I joke.

Truth is, tension coils from my gut outward to each of my limbs. Before Jon got here, I was staring at my phone like a teenager. Even now, I want to check it which is crazy because I know my ringer is on.

“Want to come over for dinner next week?” I ask.

He nods. “She’s a damn fine cook. I’ll have to check with Em on the day but I’ll say yes anyway.”

“You tell me the day, we’ll make it happen.” I assure him.

We finish our drink, and then another before Abby calls.

Jon takes one look at me and says, “Fill me in tomorrow.”

I give him a grateful nod, slip some bills across the bar top before answering her call. “How’d it go?”

“I asked her when you were moving in and she dropped a plate, breaking it.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” I mutter, pushing open the door of the bar. “What happened after?”

“She said you two haven’t discussed anything like that.”

I inhale, pressing the button to unlock my truck.

“I asked her why not,” Abby rushes on.

“And?” I ask, when she doesn’t say anything else.

“I think she’s waiting for you to bring it up,” she tells me.

“And if I do, you think she’d say yes?” I ask, crossing my fingers and toes and anything else.

“I do,” she admits.

With a grin I gaze out my windshield. “I better go then.”

“Good luck bro, not that you’ll need it,” she teases.

Every light between the bar and her house is green. By the last light, the one closest to her neighborhood, I feel the weight of all my hopes pushing me along.

The lights of her house greet me. She’s in there, waiting for me.

“Still up?” I shout, after letting myself in the front door.

I shrug off my coat and toe off my boots.

“I’m in the kitchen!” she calls back.

I lock up and then move toward her only to find her leaning against the end of the hall before the entry to the kitchen and den.

“God, you’re beautiful,” I say as soon as I’m close enough to reach her.

“Shh,” she replies, not fighting me as I pull her into my arms.

I kiss her, planning for it to be a simple hello. It becomes something entirely different and seconds later I have her pressed up against the wall, our bodies colliding with intense need.

She pulls at my clothes, I tear at hers. A month after our relationship went physical, she went on birth control. It’s given us the freedom to be spontaneous. This feels like something else, something more.

“I’ll never stop wanting you,” I groan, my hands moving over her, trying in vain to touch all of her.

“Noah,” she cries, clutching me as she comes undone.

I follow her, spiraling down after her.

Still breathing heavily, we stare at each other.

I push her hair back from her face and grin at her. “Hello.”

She bursts out laughing and tucks her face into my neck. Scooping her up, I carry her into the den, careful not to trip with my pants halfway around my ankles.

I set her on the sofa and rearrange my clothes, watching as she straightens hers. As soon as we’re both fully dressed, I kiss her again, this time the gentle hello I originally intended.

When I pull back I say the words that have been eating away at me. “I don’t want to live out of an overnight bag any longer. I want to live with you Finley.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, you want that too?” I confirm.

She presses her lips together and nods.

“I want to sell my place,” I tell her, raising my eyebrows.

“I know a Realtor,” she says without hesitation, biting her lip.

We both grin at each other and I kiss her, pushing her onto her back on the couch as I do.

Lifting my head, I gaze down at her. “I’m paying for the new windows.”

She blinks at me and then asks, “What?”

“And I’m building you a garage,” I add.

Her arms coil around my neck. “Is this your idea of pillow talk?”

“And the roof,” I answer before kissing her.

She giggles throughout and I’ve never been happier.

“When do you want to move in?”

“Is tonight too soon?”

God, her smile, one look at it and I feel invincible.

“How should we celebrate?” I ask, kissing her neck.

“I have a feeling we already did,” she jokes.

She’ll learn I’ve barely started our celebrations.

“And a hot tub,” I say.

She blinks. “A hot tub?”

“Yep, after I put in a back patio,” I say.

She shakes her head. “You’re crazy.”

“But before all of that, I’m buying you a ring,” I murmur.

She goes stock-still.

“Fin?”

She doesn’t reply.

“Finley, say something,” I plead.

“Do you mean a wedding ring?” She asks, her voice a whisper.

“I do,” I confirm.

“Really?”

Sliding my hand up into her hair, I pull her lips down to mine. “I’ve never been surer of anything.”

We kiss and she melts into me, trusting me, believing me, knowing that I’d never lie to her.

When I lift my head, breaking our kiss, she wipes tears from her eyes.

“I love you,” she murmurs.

“So you’ll wear my ring?” I confirm.

With her lips pressed together, looking like she’s holding back a fresh wave of tears, she nods.

“I love you so much Fin,” I murmur, kissing her temple. “And, I’m only catching up. I’ve watched you work so hard to transform this place. You have me now.”

She reaches up to cup my cheek, her eyes wet. “I’ve had you from the start, from day one.”

“And you always will,” I promise.

Her face goes soft, dreamy like. “I believe you.”

“You better.”

Then she giggles. “A hot tub?”

It’s my turn to laugh. “Damn straight.”

Sitting back, I pull her up with me.

“You wait here,” she says. “I have something I think you’ll like.”

She returns, this time with a plate. I missed dinner, and she had made my favorite.

Taking the plate from her, I set it on the steamer trunk. “Did you eat?”

“I did, with Abby,” she replies.

“I’m lucky she didn’t eat it all,” I joke.

She sits next to me, retrieving my plate and setting it on my lap. “Now eat.”

* * *

“How soon will you list it?” My mom asks.

“Abby’s here with me now, taking pictures. Then I’m heading home to Fin,” I reply.

“We love Finley for you Noah. She’s a great girl.”

“The best,” I correct her.

“You waited for the right one.”

“I did.” I nod my head, even though she can’t see me.

“When can we come over?”

“Give us the weekend for me to unpack,” I plead, hopeful that she isn’t already on her way to Finley’s.

“I suppose,” she mutters.

I catch Abby’s eye and say, “Thanks Mom.”

Abby waits nearby and watches as I hang up.

“Any bets on whether she’ll give you the weekend before she descends?” She asks as I slip my phone into my back pocket.

“I’m not taking that bet,” I mutter. “How long do you think it will take to sell?”

She frowns. “Sales slow down during the winter months but with that garage and how well the place will show, I’d be shocked if it doesn’t sell fast.”

That’s great news, I think to myself.

Our conversation on splitting things was frustrating. She seems to think putting the windows and a garage in is too much. I haven’t told her I’m going to replace the siding yet. I figured it’d be better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

“I’m all done here. I’ll have the listing up by morning,” Abby replies.

We walk out together. She’s blocked me in so I sit in my truck and wait, watching until my path is clear.

This place is empty now. We didn’t need to hire movers. Between Jon and my trucks and the trailers, it only took a couple of trips to get all of my things to Finley’s.

We’re putting my bedroom set in the master since it’s nicer. Her TV is going there and, since mine is bigger it’s going in the living room. Her bed is going in one spare room and my spare set is in the other.

She has enough kitchen things to serve a battalion so Gideon took mine. We split my living room set between her office and the third floor.

Fin was hanging up my clothes in our closet when I left. I told her to leave it. Each shirt she pulled from a box she stroked with gentle care. With one of my shirts still in her hands, I wrapped my arms around her middle and held her back to my front. She leaned back into me, holding my arms to her with one hand and lifting the hanger to the rod with the other.

I kissed the top of her head and left her to it. When I get back to the house only the kitchen light is on downstairs. I go straight upstairs and find Finley working in one of the spare rooms.

“You could have waited for me to help,” I greet.

She lowers her hammer. “I wanted to surprise you.”

“You like them?” I ask, nodding my head toward the black and white prints.

They’re hockey themed close-ups. One is an extreme close-up of a puck, its shadow gray against the ice. Another one is hovering at an angle over what would be the blue line if the print were color. There’s one of the sharpened blades of a pair of skates and the last one of the goal net.

“I know nothing about hockey but they look cool,” she says, her eyes taking them in.

“Nothing about hockey,” I grumble making her giggle.

“I’ll take you to a game someday,” I promise.

Her brows come together. “Could we watch one here?”

I cross the room and help her hang the last print. “In bed.”

She swats at my stomach. “How do you manage to make watching a hockey game sound dirty?”

“It can be the first thing we watch in bed.” I grin waggling my brows.

“Right now?” She laughs. “Is there even a game on tonight?”

I doubt she has a hockey package on her cable plan. That’s another thing that will be changing.

“Let’s call it a night and see what we can find?” I suggest.

She looks around the room, her eyes round. “There’s still so much to put away.”

“It’ll all still be there tomorrow,” I counter.

Her drive and focus are one of the things I love most about her. She has this inner strength that won’t quit, it’s what led her to coming here. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t overdo it.

“Tonight we’re going to bed early,” I say, my tone non-negotiable.

She stops looking around at the boxes we’ll still need to unpack and focuses all of her attention on me. “Are you tired?”

I dip my head and kiss her, lifting her as I do.

When I break our kiss to gaze down at her I mutter, “Not tired.”

She wraps her arms around my neck and smiles. “I can see that.”

I set her down and turn her toward the door. With my hands on her shoulders I follow her to our room.

“Will we need snacks and drinks?” She asks. “If you want, we can make a picnic of it.”

Once we’re in our room I spin her to face me and kiss her again. She looks adorably confused when I lift my head and start walking her backward to the bed.

As she lies back on it, I pull my shirt off. Leaning over her, I make quick work of undoing the buttons of her flannel shirt. Opening it, I lower my lips to the swell of her breasts.

“This is an interesting introduction to hockey,” she sighs, her fingers threading into my hair.