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I sat back, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I’m trying.”
“I know.” She placed something on my knee, and I opened my eyes. Shit. The ring. I’d forgotten about it last night. “I went into your room to do a load of laundry and found this. I didn’t think you’d want Alexa to find it.” She paused, and I turned to face her. “Don’t waste a lot of time waiting for the perfect time. Do it when it feels right.”
I stared back at the ring. It felt like a beacon on my knee. I wanted nothing more than to give it to her. But I wanted the moment to be something that she would cherish for the rest of her life. And with all that we had going on, nothing felt like that moment.
“Drake, why don’t you take a walk, clear you head? Just take some time to breathe.”
My head was a mess. Maybe some normalcy would help clear it. But I couldn’t leave Lex. I stood and gave Mom a kiss on the forehead. “Thanks.”
Walking into the house, I found Lex in the kitchen sifting flour. I slipped my arms around her waist.
“Hey.” She sweetly greeted me with a kiss.
“Hey, how are you doing?”
“Good. Better than I thought I would be. I’ve been baking to help with the church cookie walk this week.”
As I stared into her gorgeous eyes, I didn’t see any signs of distress. Lex squeezed me tighter. “I promise I’m doing okay. I mean I’m not to the point where I want to stay at our place by myself, but they didn’t get to me. And we’ll just have to be smart while we figure this out.”
My phone vibrated in my pocket, but I didn’t take it out. Lex raised an eyebrow. “Check to see who that is. Make sure that you’re not missing something.”
I checked my phone. It was from Moochie.
Moochie: Impromptu card night at my house. You in?
I must have taken too long because Lex asked, “What is it?”
“Just Moochie wanting to know if I’m going to play cards. I’ll let him know I’m not coming.”
One of her eyebrows raised. “I think you should go.”
I gawked at her. “I’m not going.”
“Oh yes, you are.”
There were times I thought she was certifiably insane. And the determined look on her face had me stopping this in its tracks before it started. “Lex, last night someone tried to break into our house.”
“Tried. They didn’t. And I’ll be here with your parents tonight.” She took a step away from me. “Drake, you need to go. I’ll be fine.”
It was then I realized it wasn’t me she needed to convince. I saw it in her eyes. There was some fear there, but she was trying to face it, to believe the words she was telling me.
“Okay, how about a compromise. I’ll play a couple of rounds of cards, but I’m not staying late.”
Leaning up on her tiptoes, she gave me one of those sweet kisses I could never get enough of. “Good. Have fun. Win lots of money.”
“I will, baby. Love you.”
“Love you, too.
I grabbed my keys and headed out the door. As I walked to my truck, I got another text from Moochie.
Moochie: You coming?
Me: I’m on my way.
Moochie: Good. Bring beer.
* * *
