And she saw the scorched, untouched pile of meat. “Let me see what kind of leftovers are in the fridge,” she stage-whispered before running into the kitchen.
Owen followed her, anxious to redeem himself with some form of edible entree. She handed him a covered dish of cold chicken and he floated out to the applause of the assembled. Rachael watched the group laughing and diving into the main course, then set to making more pink lemonade. She may not be a great cook, but she could mix powder and water.
“You coming back out?” Carlie asked from the doorway.
“In a minute.” Rachael grinned, a giant mixing spoon at the ready. “Did you need something?”
Carlie glanced at their gathered friends over her shoulder then lowered her voice. “I wanted to tell you that I like him. I like you two together. A lot. Something about him and you together. It works. And I’m sorry I freaked out about it.”
Giving the mixture one last swirl, Rachael left the spoon to dance in lazy circles around the pitcher and smiled at her sister’s earnestness. “No need to apologize. He’s pretty great, right?”
“He is. You’re going to move in with him, right?”
“Yeah, I think so. Is that crazy?”
Carlie looked out the window over her shoulder and back at her sister. “You know something? I did think it was nuts. But now? I think it would be good for you. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see you crazy in love. Finally.”
Rachael hugged Carlie and swiped at her own eyes. “I cut up some onions earlier. Must be from that.”
“Sure, sure, short stuff,” Carlie went along, returning the hug. “You’re back at the office this week, right?”
Rachael cleared her throat and nodded, grateful for the change in subject. “Yes, as long as Mom doesn’t see my fresh prizefighter eye and decide to keep me away. My clients are thrilled to not have to deal with Larry anymore.”
“Larry! God. I can’t believe Mom would do that to you.”
“It could be worse, I suppose.” Carlie looked at her, waiting. “She could have hired Gina.”
Her sister groaned. “Too soon, girl. Too soon.”
Returning to the patio together, Rachael and Carlie stared in awe as more stray firecrackers lit up the sky. Owen raised his drink to the tree line. “Wait until it’s dark out! No one can see them yet!”
They ate and drank, sharing stories from their childhoods, laughing about Kim and Carlie’s college days, and talking about work and the latest movies and music. All in all, it was pretty darn perfect, considering the broken heart and black eye at the table.
After polishing off the desserts, Kim and Carlie offered to clean the kitchen, and Owen played with the dogs in the yard.
“He seems nice enough,” Rick observed.
Rachael watched the carefree Owen laugh and zigzag across the lawn. “Yes, I just wish he was the right guy for her.”
“What makes you think he isn’t?”
“A hunch. Not to mention, they’ve broken up and gotten back together more often than soap opera characters.”
Rick chuckled and sat back. “Time will tell.”
It certainly would. A few months ago, this would never have been a worry. Live and let live. But now that she knew what it felt like to be in love and to want to commit to another person, her eyes were opened to the complex problems her sister and de facto sister faced. As her brain outlined ways to integrate all of her passions—Rick, the dogs, work, and her family—she was at peace and for the first time felt like everything was going the way it should. At least in her life.
When the girls came back out, they were carrying their handbags. “Ready?” Kim called to Owen.
Owen jogged up to them. “Thanks for having us over, Rach. Rick, nice to meet you. Take care of little half-pint here.”
“I will,” Rick responded, shaking his hand. “I look forward to catching your next show.”
Rachael gave him a quick hug, then said goodbye to Carlie and Kim. “Be careful,” she called as they ran out the door.
“Yes, Mom,” Carlie called back, giggling.
Rachael smiled, glad to see her sister having fun and getting out.
“Wait!” Carlie called, reappearing in the doorway.
“What?” Rachael asked.
“You have to call me later.”
“I do?”
“Yes.”
“All right. You okay?”
Carlie nodded and ran back out the door.
Weirdness.
The sun was past its prime, promising a lovely sunset later, and they had the whole evening ahead of them.
“Another glass of wine?”
“Sounds perfect.” She smiled, accepting the offering.
Sitting on the patio, they sipped and watched the sun start to kiss the horizon.
“Want to go for a walk?” Rick asked. “I’ve got about a pound of chicken and potatoes to work off.”
She nodded, content to simply spend time together.
He took her hand and they left the dogs to play in the yard.
They walked to the end of the driveway and strolled down the wide, tree-lined street. The cicadas were calling and the streetlights were starting to flicker to life. They walked hand in hand, lazily roving the neighborhood and turning down a quiet side street.
A comfortable silence surrounded them, unbroken until they got about a block down the next street.
“Rachael, have you thought about what I asked?”
She nodded slowly. “I have.”
They came to a stop and he stood in front of her, taking hold of both of her hands. “And?”
“I love you,” she said simply, shrugging her shoulders as though that was all he needed to know.
Smiling broadly, he kissed her soft lips. “I love you too. But that’s not your answer, is it?”
“It’s the most important answer.”
A crooked smile warmed his face. “This is true.”
Rick continued walking and she stopped, frowning at the scene ahead of her. “Oh, that’s sad.”
“What?”
“There’s that house.”
The “for sale” sign had been changed to “sale pending.” Rachael sighed. “It was silly anyways.”
“Dreams are never silly, baby.”
“This one was.”
They crossed the street to look at the house that had so captivated her. The lights were on in the lower level.
“It looks empty,” he said, walking up the driveway.
Her eyes widened and she gasped, trailing after him. “Rick! What are you doing? We can’t go up to someone else’s house!”
Keeping a firm grip on her hand, Rick tugged Rachael along the path to the front door, peeking around the columns to see if anyone was inside. “If no one’s here, who will know?”
“I’ll know! And besides, they probably have one of those video doorbells. We’ll be on everyone’s social media, snooping in someone’s house, stealing packages,” she giggled. “America’s most wanted!”
“Are you planning to steal something?”
“No,” she scowled.
“I know. I’m teasing you.” Rick laughed and dropped a kiss on top of her head. “Let’s just pretend for a moment. Imagine someday we had a place like this. I’d come home to you each night.”
“Or I’d come home to you,” she amended.
He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her, looking at the front door. “Would we have a chair out here?”
“Hmm. Maybe a glider. White. That would be nice. Right there.” She stepped forward and pointed to the wider part of the porch in front of the large double picture windows.
“And at Christmas, I’d string lights along these columns.”
“And garland.” Rachael smiled, picturing snow and colorful lights reflected off the white powder in the evening.
“Someday there would be kids, and a big yellow school bus stopping out here to pick them up.”
No longer immune to that
thought, she was carried away by imagining a pair of boys running down the street. A little girl chasing after them with sparklers. Martini and Olive barking at their mischief. Toddlers running through the sprinklers in shorts and t-shirts, kids dressed up for trick-or-treating, a family building a snowman.
“That sounds wonderful,” she said dreamily.
A brief burst of fireworks pushed the vision away. Blinking back to the present, she turned to see him holding his hand out, a flat box the size of a stack of business cards in his palm.
Confused, she met his eyes.
“I lost you once because I was a fool. And last night I worried I had lost you again. I can’t keep wondering, worrying that I haven’t made my intentions clear. I am lost without you, Rachael. You are the only thing I think about. When I wake up, when I go to work, when I eat, when I get home to my empty house. None of it matters without you. I love you. You have become my whole world. I know this is fast and I know you have worries, but I will be here for you. With you. I will be your partner. I will support you in whatever you want to do. Just promise me you’ll share it with me.”
Rick opened the box and a silver key winked in the light from the window.
Confusion and blankness merged; she couldn’t give thought to what she was seeing. “What is this?”
He smiled as he picked up the key and unlocked the door, holding it open for her.
“Rick?”
He swept his arm toward the foyer and she walked in hesitantly, gaze brushing the bright floors, the creamy walls. The scents of floor and furniture polish mingled with the fresh clean air in the house. Lights were on throughout the first floor, but they were the only ones there.
Rick has a key to the house. THE house.
“When we walked through this house before, you fell in love. I saw it. I recognized it. And I wanted it for you. For Olive and Martini. For us, if you’ll have me.” Closing the door behind her, he turned her for a soft kiss, then took her hand, leading her around the staircase and through to the kitchen, where a bouquet of dark-red roses, greenery, and bursts of fresh baby’s breath sat in an elegant crystal vase. A white velvet ring box sat before it.
Oh. My. God.
She couldn’t breathe. Stunned, she peered up at him, speechless.
He crossed to the kitchen counter and looked into her eyes, her heart.
“I love you. You said you love romance novels, the grandiose gestures, the commitment. You said they don’t exist. But they do. Between us. I’m giving this to you. We don’t have to live here, but it’s yours. I can wait. I can give you time. But say that you’ll be mine?”
Tears slid down her face and she took a shaky breath, staring at him in wonder. Rick picked up the box and dropped to a knee before her, taking her hand in his.
“Rachael Eller, will you marry me?” He opened the box, displaying a perfect solitaire on a gold band.
“Rick,” she gasped.
A flood of emotions rushed through her. She turned her head, surveying all that he had done. Rachael gazed into his eyes, noting the flickers of hope and nerves. Shaking, she held out her hand, and he slid the ring onto her finger. It was too big, but she didn’t care.
“I know how important your family is to you. Charles and Carlie both gave me their blessing. Mary . . . well, she said it was up to you.” He gave her his trademark crooked smile. “Will you? Please say you’ll marry me,” he said, grasping her hands in his.
“You talked to them?” she asked wonderingly.
Rick smirked. “It wasn’t the moving company on the phone.”
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and held it. She counted to ten, and with each number, each heartbeat, she saw another aspect of him that she loved more than the last. Rachael saw what led them here, saw them now, and saw their future together.
“Yes,” Rachael whispered. “Yes to everything. To you, to this house, to our future. Yes, Rick. I want it all.”
He stood and scooped her up, kissing her with all the passion she could dream of. And more.
It felt right.
Look out for Book 2
Coming 2022
Thank you for reading Animal Attraction.
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About the Author
Kathryn Halberg is the contemporary romance author of Animal Attraction, the Eller Series #1, and the upcoming sequel Hidden Agenda, The Eller Series #2. She is a weaver of words to help you feel connected to the world around you. Often found with a large mug of coffee in one hand, her nose is perpetually buried in her laptop or smartphone, working round-the-clock in social media, reading, or writing. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, and a Master of Business Administration from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Kathryn resides in Ohio with her husband, their houseful of boys, and her lone female companion, an elderly dog named Chelsea Bell.
Connect with her: KathrynHalberg.com
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