Three Rules I’d Never Break by Remi Carrington

Chapter 27

Eli walked into the store, tapping out his knock as he did. “Hey, beautiful. How was business today?”

I took the time to appreciate this man who called me beautiful as he strolled up to the counter. Not only was he gorgeous; he was mine. There had been no mention of marriage, but forever seemed intertwined with many of our conversations.

“Pretty good. I have a shipment to unpack, but I’ll deal with that later. In ten minutes, I’m going to flip that sign, and we can go.”

“Since you said you had something important to discuss, I thought maybe we could go out to our favorite oak tree at Granddad’s place.”

“I’d like that.” I’d gotten word back that the house needed a new foundation. This was the perfect opportunity to get Eli’s input about possible changes to the floor plan. I had a few ideas.

He picked me up and kissed me, chuckling at my surprise.

“A customer could come in!” What I said didn’t match what I did. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I kissed him again. “You’re in a good mood.”

“Yep.” He set me on my feet. “And I’m curious about what it is you want to discuss. Should I be concerned? Is this a ‘we need to talk’ sort of thing?”

“I think you’ll like the conversation, but I don’t want to talk about it here.” With my back to the door, I patted his chest. “I do have one ‘we need to talk’ topic.”

“Uh-oh.” He lifted his eyebrows.

“Why did you tell Tessa our secret knock?” I’d thought about it so many times but hadn’t asked. I wasn’t mad about it. The whole knock thing was funny, but it was our knock. I didn’t want the whole world knowing about it.

His eyes narrowed. “That was weeks ago. You’ve been stewing about this for weeks?”

“Stewing isn’t the right word, and stop trying to change the subject. I thought it was our secret.”

“I was extremely distracted when Tessa asked me about the knock. I didn’t exactly tell her what it was, I just responded with ‘The E?’ And she figured it out.” He grinned. “When Tessa and I got in trouble as kids, my mom would put us in time out in separate rooms. I’d be in my room, and Tessa had to sit in the sewing room on the other side of the wall. We’d tap out secret messages to each other.”

“Secret messages?”

“Kinda. Mostly we’d just call each other names in knock code. Dork. Nerd. And other words I won’t take the time to tap out now.”

“You are a dork.”

He nodded. “But I’m your dork, and that makes me happy.”

“Me too.” I pulled out of his arms and flipped the sign to closed. “I’m ready.”

“Perfect. We’ll pick up Sherlock on the way to Granddad’s place.” Eli pushed open the door. “Don’t forget to set the alarm.”

“Right!” I ran back and punched the code into the keypad. “Now I’m ready.”

We stepped out onto the sidewalk, and he locked the door before clasping my hand.

While I was a tad nervous about asking Eli to help me decide on the new floorplan for the house—only because it sounded suspiciously close to a proposal—I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to make the house perfect for both of us.

* * *

Eli parkedbeside his granddad’s house.

“We aren’t at the barn.” I unbuckled my seatbelt and looked around.

He shook his head as he got out of the truck. “Figured we’d take the mule instead of riding horses.”

The mule? In my vision of our perfectly romantic evening, a mule didn’t seem to fit. “Um . . . he keeps it here?” I didn’t even see a fence.

“He uses it to get around the property.” Eli opened the garage and pointed at a beefy looking golf cart. “The Mule.”

“Oh! I was picturing the donkey kind of mule.”

He laughed. “Nope. This will get us there quick, and it’s easier to take Sherlock along.” He reached into the bed of the truck and lifted out a cooler and a blanket.

“You brought a picnic.” I’d been so focused on talking to him, I hadn’t even thought about eating.

“I did.” After setting a cooler and a blanket in the back, he lifted Sherlock onto the seat.

I climbed in and pulled Sherlock into my lap. Talking about the house under our big oak tree would be even sweeter.

He took a different trail than we did on horseback, and it was a matter of minutes before he parked near the tree. “Let me lay out the blanket. Then I want to tell you something.”

I set Sherlock in the grass. “Stay close, buddy.”

He ran off after a butterfly.

“Do you mind if I tell you my thing first? Please.”

Eli grinned. “Of course. Flip over that corner, will you?”

I smoothed out the other end of the blanket and sat down.

After he’d gotten the other side of the blanket how he wanted it, he stretched out and laid his head in my lap. “What’s up?”

“I heard back about the house today. They will be tearing up the existing foundation and starting over.”

His brow furrowed. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not. Not at all.” I ran my fingers through his thick brown hair. “This means I can make a few modifications to the house plan. Like adding another garage bay and making room for a large work bench and tool chests.” Gazing down at him, I waited for a response.

His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed.

Had I pushed too far? I hadn’t expected silence as an answer. “Or we could leave the garage as it is and put in an outbuilding if that would be better. There is plenty of space for that.”

He pulled my hand to his lips. “We?”

“I want your input on the plan. Help me decide on the layout of our dream house.”

Sherlock bounded up, running right over Eli.

“Whoa, boy.” He shifted to a sitting position. “I love the idea of adding another garage bay. And the floorplan you had was great, but I’ll give it some thought. For me, my dream home needs one thing.”

“What’s that?”

Eli shifted to one knee as he reached into his pocket. “Psst, Sherlock.”

That puppy sat up on his haunches beside Eli.

“Shasta Delaney Carter, I’ve rehearsed this question a hundred times because I knew nerves would make it hard to say what my heart wants. Will you make my dreams come true and be my wife, my lover, and my forever?” He flipped open the ring box in his hand.

Sherlock barked, still posing in his often-used begging stance.

“Yes! Oh my gosh, I almost don’t know who to hug first.” I shifted to my knees and kissed Eli.

As Eli slid the solitaire onto my finger, Sherlock licked my face.

“Sherlock and I are both very happy with your answer.” Eli sat down and pulled me into his lap. “I love you, Delaney.”

I’d heard those words from him many times, but they sounded sweeter today. “I love you too.”

Sherlock pushed his way into my lap and licked both our faces.

This was my family.

When another butterfly flitted by, Sherlock ran off in pursuit.

Nestled in Eli’s arms, I leaned my head on his chest. “The day of the fire when you came up behind me, I knew what home felt like. I’d worked so hard to build that house so I could have a home, but . . .”

His arms tightened around me.

“It’s not about the place. It’s about who is there with me. Home is about feeling like I belong and feeling cared for, and with you, that’s always true.”

“That’s true for me too. Wherever you are with me, that’s my dream home.” He kissed my forehead. “I have champagne in the cooler, but I’d have to let you go to get it.”

“It can wait. I’m enjoying this, and Sherlock looks like he’s in heaven.”

“We might have trouble getting him back into the Mule.” Eli toyed with my hair. “When would you like to get married?”

With Eli, there was no concern about being engaged for a long time without a wedding date. He wanted to marry me.

“That’s a hard question.” I laughed at his surprised reaction. “One part of me wants to go find a judge right now. The other part of me wants to plan a wedding and walk up the aisle with butterflies dancing in my stomach.”

“Let’s have a wedding. I want to stand at the front, holding my breath as you make your way toward me. How long will it take to plan that?”

If I had no other commitments, I could plan it in a matter of weeks, but running a business meant I wouldn’t have as much time to plan. “Four months?”

“January sounds like a great time for a wedding.”

“Make sure your parents are okay with that, and that you can get leave.” I ticked through all the people I needed to talk to about marking off those days.

“My parents will be there no matter what day we choose. What about your parents?” Eli brushed his whiskers along my cheek.

“I’ll call my dad tonight. You can meet him over the phone. I’m not even sure how to get in touch with my mom.” Mixed emotions about my complicated family prompted tears.

“Do you want her at the wedding?” His voice was soft.

“As crazy as it sounds, I do. But I won’t be crushed if she’s not there. The day is really about us . . . and our future.” I patted his chest. “Now that I’m not thinking about those stupid rules, I don’t feel like I have to prove anything to my mom.”

“Speaking of those rules, please . . . pretty please will you model the merchandise for me after the wedding?”

“Eli darling, I already know what I’ll be wearing the first night of our honeymoon. It won’t be my flannel nightgown.”

He danced his eyebrows. “Let’s revisit the idea of finding a judge right now.”

Shaking my head, I poked him in the side. “You have to be patient.”

Eli and I stayed wrapped in each other’s arms as the sun sank toward the horizon.

Then I scanned the small meadow. “Where’s Sherlock?”

Eli stood and whistled. Grass rustled as the puppy made his way back to the blanket. “It’s getting too dark for you to wander. What about a treat?” Before walking toward the Mule, Eli stopped near the trunk of the tree and reached up to where a large branch met the trunk. Twinkle lights came on. The lower branches were filled with them.

“I’d meant to turn these on earlier. In case you haven’t figured it out, I came over here earlier to set up our spot.”

“This is very romantic. I guess that means you didn’t ask me just because I brought up changing the plan for the house.”

“No, I’ve had the ring a while. In fact”—he shook his head—“I’ve just been waiting until the timing felt right.”

“What? You can’t start to say something and not tell me.”

“Look, Delaney, it’s not that important. Let’s just enjoy tonight.”

“Okay.” I nodded, but whatever he didn’t say was going to keep me awake tonight and distracted when I really wanted to be basking in the romance and starlight.

“While Sherlock enjoys his bone, we’ll eat and sip champagne under the lights.” He lifted the cooler out of the back. “You’re still thinking about it, aren’t you?”

“You don’t have to tell me.”

He laced his fingers with mine. “I had the ring in my pocket when I went into the store that day. I’d just bought it.”

My chest tightened, constricting my airflow. “Eli, I’m sorry.”

“That’s all water under the bridge.” He brushed a tear off my cheek. “I didn’t even mean to bring it up, but I wanted you to know that there is no impulse in my question. I didn’t ask because you called it our dream house. I’ve been planning tonight for a while. When you called and said you had something important to talk about, it made it easier to get you out here without giving away my surprise.” He softly and slowly danced his lips on mine. “But when you said you wanted to add another garage bay, then I knew I was in love.”

I pulled him in for another kiss. “I didn’t grow up with surprises. Not the good kind anyway. You have spoiled me with fun surprises. And I love it.”

“I have another surprise, but you’ll have to wait.” He emptied the cooler and ripped the foil off the top of the bottle.

“I don’t know why you decided to talk to me and why you didn’t lose interest once you did, but I think it’s because we were made for each other.” I handed Sherlock a bone while Eli uncorked the champagne.

“Yep. We are. And you’re prettier than all those other girls.” He winked as the cork popped.

* * *

Eli pulled into his parents’driveway, then clasped my hand. “I hope you like this surprise, and if you don’t, please remember that I did it because I love you.”

“Now I’m scared. What did you do?” I slid out of the truck.

Sherlock ran toward the door, yipping excitedly.

The door opened a little, and Sherlock bolted inside. Eli shifted behind me and pushed the door open the rest of the way.

A smiling face peeked around the door.

“Dad!” I launched into his arms. “You’re here.”

“I’ve missed a lot of things, Delaney, but this wasn’t going to be one of them.” He held me close a second then stuck out his hand to Eli. “It’s good to see you again, and I can’t thank you enough for inviting me.”

“See you again?” I looked from my dad to Eli.

“You know when Dad and I went fishing not long ago? That was a cover. We did go fishing, but I drove up to meet your dad and tell him that I wanted to marry his daughter.” Eli kissed my head. “I knew you missed him and thought this might be a good time for a quick visit.”

My dad wiped his eyes. “There is a roomful of people eager to congratulate you. Come on in.”

I hugged Eli as my dad walked around the corner. “Thank you for this. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

“If you haven’t figured it out, I’ll go to great lengths to make you happy.”

“I am happy. I don’t need anything else but you.” I kissed his cheek. “We’re probably making them antsy.”

“Yes. Be prepared to eat. I think my mom cooked enough for an army.” He led me into the living room.

Heart-shaped balloons were dotted around the room. The table against the wall was covered in food. The best part of this surprise filled the living room—the smiling faces of my friends and family, his and mine.

His mom hugged me. “I’m so happy he found you.”

Tessa nudged her way in. “My turn.”

Laughing, I wrapped my arms around her. “You knew. That’s why you’ve been so busy.”

“I’m a horrible liar. So, I avoided you.” She pulled Eli into the huddle. “I’m so happy for you both.”

Joji and Clint grinned as Tessa stepped back.

One by one, our friends and family hugged us and congratulated us. I’d never felt more loved.

Cami walked up with Harper in tow. “I just knew y’all were perfect for each other.”

Eli pulled me close. “And you were right.”

She glanced around the room. “Who’s next?”

Poor Tessa. She was the last single one in the group. Cami would try to play matchmaker, but I wasn’t sure who could sweep Tessa off her feet.

One thing was for sure, I didn’t want her meeting some stranger and leaving Stadtburg.

“Cami, I think you should revel in this win for a while.” Eli tugged me toward the corner. “I’m glad you liked this surprise.”

“I love it.”

Matthew Gallagher called for everyone’s attention. “Does everyone have champagne?” He pointed toward Eli and me, and Patsy handed us each a glass. “Please join me as we lift our glasses to Eli and Delaney. May your love be unending, and I hope all your sons look like me.” He flashed that signature grin. “To happily ever afters.”

We all raised our glasses.

Then I added a toast of my own. “To good guys.”

I’d found the best one of all.