n

n

nChristian was quick to backtrack when he saw the look on Avery's face but she shook her head. The same general air about her as before was back. The one that didn't make sense.

n

"I always thought it would be nice to raise my kids with Angelo's like we were raised together. But considering he can't even get a girlfriend I'm starting to think that's a pipe dream. Maybe I'll have better luck with Ness.

"

nRelief flooded through him.

"It's not a terrible idea then?

"

n

"Not at all. I just…don't know if that sort of thing is possible for me any time soon. You know I have things I need to do. I'm not sure how long they'll take but they need to be taken care of before I think about starting a family,

" Avery said tiredly.

nShe had alluded to something like this before without going into specifics. When he asked her to move in with him she said she had things to do and that she couldn't be what he wanted her to be.

nHe supposed she did have to go out of town every so often. That would make it difficult to be a mother. He didn't mind! He could wait until she finished whatever obligation she had. All he wanted was to be with her in the meantime and know she was never going anywhere.

nMost people didn't have kids right when they got married anyway. His parents had waited nearly five years before they had him.

n

"I don't care what you have to do or how long it takes,

" Christian insisted.

"I just want to be with you. You make me happier than I thought anything ever could, Avery.

"

nAvery smiled brightly at him but her eyes were almost unbearably sad.

"I feel the same way about you. If I had things my way we would be together forever. That would be the most wonderful thing in the world.

"

nThat was all the invitation he needed. She loved him and she wanted to be with him on a permanent basis. Why shouldn't he propose? He had waited long enough to settle down and live a normal life. If they both wanted to be together so badly there was no reason they shouldn't be even if they did have to put off kids.

nChristian thought that part of her hesitation might be a fear of losing her family again. Her dad had been the only biological relative she had after her mom left.

nHe wanted to prove to her that he wasn't going to go anywhere. Ever. That she could depend on him. He couldn't think of a better way to do that than by becoming her family sooner rather than later.

nThat conversation got the wheels in his head turning. If he was going to pull this off he would need to talk to Vanessa. She would know what sort of ring her best friend would want, wouldn't she? Women tended to talk to each other about these sorts of things.

nWhen would he get the chance to talk to her on her own though? Usually, he only saw her when Avery was around. He didn't have her number either.

nIt turned out Christian was in luck because Vanessa was behind the counter the next day when he went down to Carmine's for lunch. She smiled at him.

"Hey, Lover Boy! Tough luck running into me instead of Avery. She was behind the counter less than twenty minutes ago.

"

n

"Actually, I was hoping to have the chance to talk to you.

"

nHer face went slack with surprise.

"For real? What do you want to talk to me for?

"

nChristian lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper in case Avery could somehow overhear from the back.

"I figured a woman's best friend is the person to ask about ring ideas.

"

nVanessa nearly squealed but managed to clap her hand over her mouth before any noise came out.

"Christian! A little warning would have been nice! This is a top secret operation that can't be carried out here. Give me your number and I'll text you later to hook you up.

"

n

"Sorry!

"

n

"Don't apologize. I've been waiting for this! I'm going to have so much fun as the maid of honor.

"

nShe took down his number then resumed speaking at normal volume to conduct the rest of his transaction as if they hadn't done anything suspicious at all. She shot him a wink on his way out the door and he tried not to die of mortification. There was nothing wrong with asking your girlfriend's best friend for proposal help.

nThe problem would be more with her other best friend. The one that didn't support their relationship because Avery had things to do. As long as he let her do them he didn't see what the problem was. She did say that Angelo was overprotective though.

nChristian had wondered more than once if some of that overprotectiveness might stem from Angelo having some sort of feelings for her but he had been watching those two every time he saw them interact and didn't see infatuation on either side. They seemed more like siblings than anything.

nNot having support from her brother figure was less than ideal but what was he supposed to do? If he talked to Angelo about this beforehand he might ruin the surprise.

nHe was going to have to talk to him afterward. One way or another they needed to clear this up because if he knew Avery she wouldn't be satisfied unless Angelo was the one to walk her down the aisle.

nIt was important that Christian did this right. Being with Avery was important but her happiness was even more so. He didn't want her halfheartedly. He wanted her all in. She shined so brightly when she dove headfirst into things.

nLater that night when she was deeply absorbed in cake decorating videos online he texted Vanessa about ring ideas and she had a lot of advice to offer. Everything from how Avery wanted a purple stone rather than a diamond because that was her favorite color to how she liked halos of little diamonds but didn't want a traditional shape for the main stone. His head spun as he tried to make sense of it all.

nIt took a bit of searching but he managed to find something online that fit the rather unique specifications Vanessa had laid out. The amethyst in the center was shaped like a triangle and had a halo of diamond chips with more on the platinum band itself.

nChristian ordered it for in-store pick up. He would have to take care of that on his own this weekend when Avery was out of town again.

nThe ring was only one part of the proposal though. What could he do that would make Avery feel special? Something that would make her happy but wouldn't make it completely obvious what he was trying to do beforehand.

nShe was a creative person. He could do something related to that but what? Creativity had never exactly been his strong suit.

nThis was clearly a case of opposites attract. Avery was everything he wasn't. At least she seemed to enjoy his stable, predictable nature (old hero work aside) and thought he was funny. Otherwise he would have nothing to offer her. She had chosen to be with him despite everything she had going on and all of her reservations about the future. He wasn't about to let her down.

nWith how much she loved cake decorating videos he thought he might have an idea. He would have to time things just right but he should be able to pull it off. All he had to do was convince some romantic cake decorator to help him out.

nWhere was Christian supposed to find one of those? Let alone one that would guarantee Avery would watch the video. He was going to have to send a lot of private messages to those cake pages she followed, wasn't he? He would do it to make her happy but it might take some time.

nNo matter. He wasn't in a rush. They had been together less than a year but he knew she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. When you know, you know.

nHe had known there was something special about her before he even knew her name. So many months of hopeless pining and the perfect woman for him was right in front of him all the time. He really owed Liam for giving him the shot of motivation he needed to ask her out.

nAvery had changed his life. Given him something to hope for beyond making it through another week of fighting villains and endlessly helping people. The time had come for Christian to live for himself.

nNot only himself though. For her. He would do anything to make the woman he loved happy. He wanted to bring her the same sort of peace and contentment that being with her brought him. He only hoped he was up for the task.

n