I Do

Chapter 10

It was a little after seven when Ethan finally woke up. He reached for his phone on the nightstand and that was when he saw Josie, whose eyelids were also fluttering open. That was when he realized his mistake. Josie had been using his arm as a pillow and his movement had caused her some discomfort. He lay back down and looked at her.

“Good morning,” he said in a soft voice.

“Good morning.”

He stroked her hair.

“How’d you sleep?” he asked and she forced a laugh.

“Honestly, I don’t know… It was more of a blacked-out state that I was in.”

He smiled at her.

“Yeah, a twenty-year-old bottle can do that to you. I think we should get something to eat, maybe soak up all that residual alcohol in our bodies.”

“So, room service?” she asked and he nodded. “Wait, did we…” she asked as she looked at their clothes scattered on the floor. “I mean, I know that we did but did we use any protection or anything?”

Ethan did not know how to answer her. It was evident that they had slept together but as far as using any condoms, he was not so sure. They had after all had almost two very fine bottles of wine. He was still trying to recall what had happened when something suddenly occurred to him. It was not just the fact that they had not used any condoms.

“Something else happened last night,” she said and he looked at her.

“I proposed to you,” he said in a low voice.

“Yeah, and I said yes,” she whispered.

He looked at her as she pulled herself up to a sitting position.

“Oh, my God…” she pulled the covers and held them against her chest. “I am not ready for that kind of commitment… I have not known you for that long…”

She got off the bed and began pacing. Ethan had never seen this side of her. The panic and uncertainty. He was used to seeing the other side of her. The other side was always on top of things. The bossed-up life. This was a whole new thing.

He got up and walked to the bathroom where he put on a bathrobe and brought out the other one for her.

“Thanks,” she muttered as she struggled to wear it while holding the bedding to her chest. Ethan found it kind of cute that she was trying so hard to cover up even though he had seen her naked time and time again. He turned around to give her a chance to put on the robe. “This cannot be happening right now. I mean, I just got started on a new career path and then there is the fact that we are just starting out…”

She was pacing up and down and he was just seated on the edge of the bed trying to figure out what would compel him to propose to her. And what would make her accept.

“Why did you say yes?” he asked and she turned to look at him.

“What?”

“My proposal, you accepted it. Why did you do that?” he asked and she shook her head.

“I don’t know. Why did you propose to me in the first place?”

He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. He had not actually thought about that but now that he was in that moment, he knew what it was that made him propose to her. He had thought about marrying her. He had thought about a future with her. He had even spoken to his brother about having children with her. Obviously, he had entertained the idea for a while, romanticizing it in his head.

“I have been thinking about it for a while. The alcohol just lowered my defenses and allowed me to be honest with myself.”

“What?” she asked and he shrugged as he got up.

“I have never lied to you and I am not about to start now,” he said in a soft voice.

“So, you have thought about me? Like that?” she asked and he nodded as he walked to where she was.

“Yes, I have and I don’t want to retract anything I said.”

“So, you do want to marry me?” she asked and he nodded.

“I do. The question is, do you want to marry me?” he asked.

Josie tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

Ethan smiled and held her face in his hands.

“Then that’s all that matters.”

He kissed her softly and stroked her cheek before he pulled away.

“Alright then, fiancé. What would you like for breakfast?” he asked, smiling.

                                                            *****

After breakfast, Ethan and Josie spent a few hours in his cabin before they joined Noah and the boys on the deck. While Josie spent her time with the kids, making their version of art, Ethan got on the phone with his jeweler. He had every intention of making the engagement official and that meant ensuring that he did everything by the book. He would have preferred having a special piece crafted at Second Chance but he knew that there was no way the ring would get to him in time. So, instead, he called his friend who had a jewelry shop right in Los Angeles. He knew exactly which ring to get and thanks to their tour at Second Chance, he knew exactly what ring size she was. He could almost picture the look on her face when he gave her the ring and he couldn’t wait to see it.

                                                            *****

For the remainder of the cruise, Josie had done all she could to not think about the fact that she was now engaged to Ethan Beckett. She had barely wrapped her head around the fact that they were dating and suddenly, there was this other major life event that she also had to get used to. Noah’s kids were a great distraction but she could only spend so much time with the kids. After all, the cruise did eventually have to come to an end and as they drove home from the marina, Ethan held Josie’s hand in his.

“So, we never talked about where we were going to go after the cruise,” he said and she shook her head.

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, we are engaged now and I have a stupid, large house that is way too much house for just me.”

Ethan raised her hand to his lips and planted a soft kiss on her knuckles.

“So, what do you say?” he asked and she shrugged.

Josie shook her head.

“I don’t know.”

“How about we do this, let’s go over to my place and figure out if we want to keep it or simply buy a new house.”

She looked at him and raised an eyebrow over the other.

“What?” she asked. “Why would you want to do that?”

“Well, that is my house and I would love for you to make it a home but if you would feel better getting a fresh start in a new house, then I am all for it.”