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“My weekend might be ruined,” Annie said. “I have no idea how Chris will take the news. Dave and Justin are going to tell him.”
“No idea,” Katrina said, shrugging. “I don’t need to know the details. Less is more. As long as I don’t have to tell him, I’ll go along with the program.”
“Me, too. I don’t need to know anything. I’m beginning to believe in the old saying, ignorance is bliss.”
***
Annie had showered and changed and put the baby down for a nap when Chris returned from looking at property that morning.
“One morning out with the agent and I think I found our house.”
“Really? Wow, that was fast!”
“I brought you flyers about it,” he said, spreading printouts on the kitchen table for Annie to see.
“Oh! Is it a new build?”
“No, but just about, three years old, turnkey, original owner getting a divorce. It’s got everything you asked for, sweetheart. And everything I want. It’s on ten acres of high and dry land, hence the price tag. It’s on Old Cypress Trail. Justin takes it to the clinic every day, so we’ll be on his way to work. What do you think?”
“It’s certainly convenient, but what about for you? How long will it take you to get to work?”
“The studio office where I’ll be is halfway between Saint John’s Parish and New Orleans, so that’s what, forty minutes? I can handle that.”
“When can I see it?”
“I told her we could meet her there again at two, on our way to Bayou Cottage. What do you think?”
“We can do it. The baby will be up in half an hour, and we can shoot over there. I’m excited!”
He grabbed her in a bear hug, rocking back and forth. “Marry me, baby. Make me an honest man.”
Her heart skipped a beat. Was he really proposing? Where was the ring?
“Are you serious?” she asked, wondering if this would be the one flaw she’d find in the man, a lot of lip service and no engagement ring. She didn’t want a repeat of Steve, where they had just fallen into each other. No. He needed to prove to her that she was worthy of a plan.
“Dead serious.”
She held out her left hand and wiggled her fingers at him. “Prove it,” she said, winking.
He stopped with the rocking and nuzzling and looked at her hand and then into her eyes. “Isn’t the house enough?”
“Sorry, no. Not enough. I want a proposal with you on one knee, and a ring and an engagement party. I want everything with you that I didn’t get with the last one.”
Stunned, he examined her, wide-eyed. “You got it, babe. I had no idea you’d want a ring.”
“Well, now you know,” she said, looking at him sidelong. “You might have thought you were getting off easy with me.”
“I might have, but that’s okay. You are easy,” he said. “You want what you want, and I don’t have to guess. I’m thrilled with that. We will go ring shopping next weekend, since it looks like I might buy a house this weekend.”
After baby Stevie woke up, they drove over to the house, and the moment Annie walked through the door, she was sold. The high ceilings and tall windows appealed to her, and the view of the surrounding land was beautiful.
“Look! They have horses,” Annie said. “Is there a barn?”
“They have a run-in shed, no barn,” the agent answered.
“We’ll have to take care of that right away,” Chris said. Then he grabbed Annie’s hand and looked at the agent. “Sold.”
They arrived at Justin and Maggie’s place before Katrina and Dave. “Let’s wait until everyone is here to tell them our news,” Annie said.
