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On a sigh, Jim said, “Me neither. I didn’t want to leave things like that between us.”
Smiling now, Elle said, “I thought about going over to your place, but I didn’t know if you were headed back to work or not.”
Looking a little relieved now, Jim said, “I didn’t mean to offend you earlier.”
“We never discussed it. You had no way of knowing. I’m just generally freaked out and I took that out on you. I’m sorry,” Elle said, feeling another wave of guilt.
“Neither of us has any idea what we’re doing. It’s absolutely fine. We should probably discuss our thoughts on the whole issue though. We clearly don’t entirely agree.”
“Could I have a hug first?” Elle asked anxiously.
“Come here,” Jim said, pulling her into his arms.
Elle snuggled into his chest and closed her eyes. Feeling a small wave of relief wash over her, she said, “Do you want to come inside or did you have somewhere else to be?”
“Nowhere else. I doubt I’d be able to focus even if I tried.”
Extricating herself from his arms, she moved to unlock the door.
“So I told Sara,” she said. “I swore her to secrecy since I figured you’d probably want to talk to Deacon and Chris about it yourself.”
“At least for now, my work schedule won’t have to change all that much. I’ll just need to accommodate your appointments and stuff, right?”
“I think so,” Elle said. “You were right though. Neither of us have any idea what we’re doing.”
“Are you planning on telling your family soon? Or did you want to hold off on that?”
Elle unlocked the door and set her purse and the vitamins on the kitchen counter. Moving to the couch, she flopped down and said, “My mom will be over the moon about it. It’s my dad I’m bit worried about. I was going to phone them and get it out of the way, then maybe we could drive up this weekend.”
“We can do that,” Jim said. After a short pause, he said, “Unless you really think your dad will shoot me. In which case, I’ll be happy to video chat.”
Elle smirked and said, “I think he’ll have it together by then. I can almost guarantee he’ll be stoically silent except for the occasional comments on marriage.”
“For what it’s worth,” Jim said. “I’m happy to go along with any decision you make with respect to getting married. Your dad’s threats at gunpoint notwithstanding, if you change your mind, let me know.”
“Thank you for saying so,” Elle said as she reached for his hand. “I still feel like I did the other night, but if that changes, you’ll be the first to know.”
“It seems much more real now,” Jim said quietly. “All of it does.”
Nodding, Elle said, “I know.”
Curling into his side on the couch, she sat there for a few minutes letting it all sink in. She smiled when she felt the brush of his lips against the crown of her head.
“I’d like it if you’d let me help you with expenses, Elle. I’m not trying to insult you or suggest that you can’t afford it. I’m just saying that I can. Easily. Please let me do this,” he said.
“I have no issue sharing the financial responsibility. We will share it, though.”
“Understood,” Jim said. Clearing his throat, he said, “I am going to set up a small trust fund if you don’t mind.”
Realizing how nervous he sounded, Elle wrapped her arm around him and drew him to her for a hug, saying, “That’s a great idea, Jim.”
It was so easy to see him as this larger-than-life put-together person. He seemed to know what he was doing at all times. There was always a plan. It was a little unnerving to see him vulnerable.
“Thanks,” he said. “Did you want to tell everyone right away?”
“I swore Sara to secrecy. I figure that buys me two days max. I kind of felt I had to tell her. Otherwise it would be strange that I stopped lifting things.”
“Yeah. I’ll talk to Chris and Deacon tomorrow about it. I’ll e-mail my mother about it later tonight.”
