Out of Her Comfort Zone(2)

She frowned, and then remembered. “Right. It’s September again. I have to decide whether to renew my tenant’s lease.”

He clicked the screen dark and rolled onto his side. Head propped on a hand, he searched her eyes. “I thought you moved in with me 21 months ago.”

“Exactly right, of course. But if I want my condo back, I have to give the tenant at least two months’ notice.” It was an easy decision. Things had been going well with Elliot for months; they hadn’t even fought in more than half a year.

But he frowned. “So, time for a change?”

Emily’s body went from giddily drowsy to panic in less than half a second. Was he unhappy and she hadn’t noticed, again? That’s what they’d fought about the last time. She swallowed, hard. “Change?”

Elliot swiveled upright, his feet on the floor. He hadn’t tanned in years, yet there was still a slight line from his bathing trunk from summers past. She reached out to trace it. He couldn’t be dumping her, could he?

“We need coffee for this.” Slipping on his cotton yoga pants, he stretched to standing.

Coffee? Not wine? Or a shot of tequila? Emily sat up, shuffling her hands through the tangles in her hair. This didn’t sound like a break-up. Coffee was for Sunday mornings, just them, shouting out something worthy they’d read in the papers. She loved how he still got paper newspapers on Sunday.

Wait. If not a break-up, then something else? Something permanent?

She crunched her legs, squeezing them tight to her and resting her chin on her knees. Was she ready? Was two years enough? Was this a forever thing? Was anything a forever thing?

Her heart pounded, yes, yes YES. Ready, ready, READY.

A smart businesswoman, she’d always done her due diligence. She knew all about Elliot, from his past to his potential, and while different than hers, they meshed. They did. And like a good businesswomen Emily knew when to take a measured risk. Marrying Elliot would be the least risky thing she did all year.

And, to be honest, she had thought he was on the verge of an escalation. He was a little on the romantic side, though, so she didn’t expect any action on that front until the winter holidays. Perhaps he was jumping his gate, a pre-emptive bid.

Could it be the idea that she’d move back into her condo that set him off? She couldn’t believe it. He was even more due-diligence than she. It was his job, as one of the most successful venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, but it was also his way in life. No way a phone message could have derailed his careful planning.

Or could it?

She scooted off the bed to pull on some clothes. She absolutely was not having any sort of “change” discussion in the nude. Who knew, coffee might be thrown. Stranger things had happened.

As she stepped out of the bathroom, though, Elliot reappeared, near-panic on his face.

“The store didn’t deliver today, and I’ve looked all over.” His face looked thunderous, but with panic.

“We are out of coffee.”

****

The industrial-design coffee shop north of

Market Street

was half-empty for once. As usual, along with the croissants and coffees, Emily took her first sip as Elliott pulled out his phone and set it to voice-block, some sort of white noise that made it hard to remotely record voices. It was habit; he had so many confidential meetings in public places. She was so comfortable with it she usually didn’t notice. This obviously wasn’t going to be a classified conversation, anyway, since he hadn’t asked her to shield her mouth with her hand.

After some small talk that made her more nervous than their first date had, he set his coffee down, half-finished, and reached into his pants pocket. His bare forearm flashed blond. A classic surfer dude, he’d surprised her that first time in bed by being such a natural blond all over. He’d had his hair dyed, but black over blond, not the usual reverse.

He put his hand flat on the table. Halfway down his pinkie rested a lady’s ring. “I want to make our merger permanent. Marry me?”

“It’s beautiful.” She couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice.

“I know, it’s a ruby. My grandmother was kind of eclectic too.”

“No, I love it. And wow, something from your family. It’s perfect.”

“I didn’t think you wanted a huge rock. Your hands are so delicate. And all that blood-diamond talk.”

“You listened.” She loved that about him. She loved him.

“Here.” He turned his hand. The ring slid off his finger and landed in his palm. He lifted his hand to her. His hazel eyes held far too much worry. Her heart ached for him.

How could he doubt? She hadn’t wanted a gorgeous guy, just a smart, responsible one who listened. Elliott exceeded all expectations, plus he made her laugh. And whoever had taught him it was all right to have emotions and maybe even talk about them sometimes was an angel.