Hammer winced at that. “Okay, first we’ll adopt the dog and I’ll ask her to officially move in with me. Then I’ll convince her to marry me.”
“Why wait?” Storm asked. “If you’re already all in why don’t you just ask her right now?”
Dante nodded. “He’s right. Kali is a sweet little thing. I don’t think she’ll want to move in with you without a ring on her finger. She seems the traditional type.”
They were right. Hammer knew he should just ask her and get it over with, but the truth was there was a little part of him that was afraid she would say no. She loved him, but what if she said it was too soon? They hadn’t been dating for very long, and he didn’t know what he would do if he asked and she refused him or asked him to wait.
Oblivious to the turmoil going on in Hammer’s head, Dante looked around the yard just as Hunter had. “This is a good idea for you and Kali. I think it’s pretty damn sweet that you are giving one of those puppies a good home. Seems to me you will already be building a family together, why not make it official?”
Before he could respond Storm nodded toward the side door of the gym that lead out into the yard. “Heads up, Hammer. Looks like your lady has come to see what you built for her.”
The men quickly left, gathering up the rest of the crew that had helped with the construction. They murmured a greeting to Kali as they passed her and went inside. Hammer had left Kali at his house, still snuggled in bed when he’d headed out that morning. She’d left her car at his place before they’d gone to the wedding, and he had wanted to get a good start on the fence before she came into work. Now that the fence was done, he didn’t know what to say.
Hell, a man like him shouldn’t be embarrassed by anything, but the surprise and love shining from his lover’s eyes had him wanting to fucking blush, if such a thing were even possible after all he’d done in his life. The way Kali looked at him made him feel ten feet tall, like he could do anything, and he wanted to…for her. When he realized he loved her, he knew without a doubt he would kill to keep her safe.
Building a fence wasn’t even a drop on the scale of things he would do for her.
Kalista looked around the large fenced in area with wide eyes, hardly believing what she was seeing. Jared had gone with her to play with Ranger over at the rescue center last week, but a part of her had never really believed he would actually build her a play area for the puppy if she adopted the pup. She should have known better. Jared always did what he said, and he never lied to her. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked over at him. She wanted to laugh at how uncomfortable he looked standing there, but she couldn’t. Not when he had done this for her.
“Jared?”
“Hi, baby.” He hooked his thumbs into the front pockets of his jeans. “You’re here early.”
“I came in early to meet the girls for lunch. How…you did this for me?”
“Well, other people can bring their dogs out here the play, but yes, I told you I would build this for Ranger. I thought we could make a play area for him over here. We could add some equipment and—”
He was cut off as she flung herself into him arms. He picked her up, holding her to him as she peppered his face with kisses. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“If this is what I get for building you a fenced in area, just wait ‘til you see the one I’m planning at home.”
She froze, her jaw falling open as she watched his own muscles working in his jaw as he clenched his teeth. Uncaring that her feet were dangling off the ground she reached up to stroke his face with her hands, soothing his muscles.
“You’re building me a fence at your house?”
Hammer set her down slowly, then rubbed a hand over his shorn hair. Fuck, this wasn’t going as he had planned. He couldn’t seem to get the words out that he wanted to say. “I thought it would be good if we had one at the house. I thought we could, you know, both adopt Ranger.”
“You mean like share him? Like joint custody?”
“Sort of,” Hammer said as he hooked his thumbs back into his front pockets. “It wouldn’t really be like that if you just moved in with me.”
Kalista’s breath caught as she stared at him. He was asking her to move in with him? Joy filled her, but a part of her heart ached at his offer. Jared had said he loved her, but what happened if that changed?
“Kali, I—”
“There you are!”
Both she and Jared turned as the deep booming voice sounded from the doorway leading into the gym. A large barrel-chested man walked out, lumbering forward with a wide grin on his face. The man looked to be in his late fifties, but despite his age he was in good shape and carried himself like a prize-fighter. His nose had obviously been broken several times, giving him a rough look, which didn’t seem to fit with the bright orange polo shirt he was wearing with khaki pants.