All I Want Is You Page 8

  “What can I say; I’m afraid of what Ash would do if I dared cut it.” Eli smiled at his dad and was warmed by his answering smile. It felt like they were taking tottering, uncertain baby steps, but still, steps forward just the same.

  “That would be cruel thing to do, Doc. I love your hair the way it is.” Ash came and took his hand. “Ready?”

  “Yeah, I’m afraid if we don’t say something soon Gareth will bounce through the ceiling.” Eli took the glass of champagne that Gareth handed him and a flutter of excited anticipation had his blood racing. This was it. “Everybody, Ash and I have something we want to say. If we could have a moment of your time.”

  “You’re doing it again,” Ash said in a whisper and with a squeeze of his hand as Eli’s family turned toward them. Aunt Barbara looked more than a little curious and she kept casting Gareth suspicious glances.

  “Doing what?” Eli asked.

  “Bouncing on your toes.”

  Eli planted his heels on the ground, battling a blush, and Ash chuckled. “What is it?” Eli’s mom asked with a mystified look. “What has you both so worked up?”

  “Well,” Eli glanced at his fiancé and saw the same excitement in his green eyes that Eli felt himself. “Today Ash proposed and I accepted.”

  “And since I’m not one to be patient with the idea of a long engagement look for a wedding invite for this summer,” Ash added. He lifted his glass to offer a toast when the room erupted in excited babbling and they were swarmed under by Eli’s mom, Aunt Barbara and Gareth offering their congratulations. Jabbers scrambled up, baying, and it took a bit before everyone calmed down enough to be heard.

  Eli looked over at his dad who had remained by the CD player when everyone else had gathered around them. He wasn’t looking at them and Eli couldn’t read his expression. Eli’s heart shrank into a tight ball. Not again. He didn’t think it was asking too much, too soon to have his dad be a little happy for them. He tried to suppress the bitter emotion, not today, he wouldn’t do this today. Despite his internal vow, he couldn’t seem to stop himself from caring.

  His dad stared down at the glass in his hand, then stepped forward and raised it. “I’d like to propose a toast,” he said with a gruff voice, first meeting Eli’s gaze, then Ash’s as silence fell across the room. “To Eli and Ash, congratulations.”

  He paused and Eli held his breath, as hope sprang up, beautiful and terrible. His chest ached while he watched his dad struggle to find the words to say. He hadn’t really believed his mom’s excuse, that his dad had been nervous. He realized now that it had been the simple truth.

  “I know we haven’t agreed on just about everything, but this, this makes me happy. Ash, you’ve got yourself a good man. Eli, I’m proud of you. I always have been even if I haven’t always showed it. And I see that you’ve found someone who fits you, just I’d found someone who fit me. You keep on taking care of each other.”

  Eli’s eyes stung as he held out his own glass. His dad looked back at him, his gaze softer than Eli could remember and for a moment it was just the two of them in the room. A smile touched Eli’s lips as he found his own voice. “Thank you, Dad.”

  “I think we can all drink to that,” Ash said and took a sip of the champagne as the room erupted once again.

  IT WAS late by the time they got back to the cabin, loaded down with presents, and still riding the high from the day. Ash swore that he’d lost some of his hearing when he’d called his sister Katie to give her the news. She’d shrieked loud enough to break the sound barrier. He was half surprised that his mom and Melanie hadn’t heard it all the way down in Georgia.

  They set the packages on the table and Ash contemplated starting a fire as Jabbers came in to curl up on his bed. The beagle didn’t waste any time. He laid his head on his paws and closed his eyes with a little sigh. Ash chuckled and rubbed his ears. “You wore yourself out, Jabbers my man.”

  “I need a few minutes to unwind.” Eli poured himself a glass of wine and held up the bottle with a questioning glance at Ash. “Or else I’ll never get to sleep.”

  Ash could use a little himself. It had been a good day, a long day and he wanted to ask Eli how his conversation had gone with his parents. “Yeah, I could use a glass.”

  Eli poured a second one and then headed out onto the porch. Ash swore the man must be half polar bear. The temperature had plunged over the course of the evening. Only Eli would find it relaxing to hang out on the porch on a night like this. Ash followed to where he stood by the railing and passed his hand down Eli’s back over the fall of his hair.

  “So, how’d it go?” He asked, accepting his wine glass and slipping an arm around Eli’s shoulders.

  “Good. It’s a fresh start, something we’ve all needed. I think my parents and I have a new appreciation for each others’ emotional state. And we’ve promised to keep working on it. It’ll take time, and I’m sure we’ll get prickly and defensive at times, as Mom would say, but I think we’ll work through it.” Eli took a sip of his wine. “This is very different from what I expected this visit to be like. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

  “Good.” Ash moved his arm lower and slipped his hand into Eli’s pocket for warmth. “So, what do you think of a small wedding, just family and our closest friends? We could have it behind the Hermitage.” It was beautiful in the back yard, with its white birches and the view of the valley. “I don’t really want anything fancy.”

  Eli leaned his head against Ash’s. “Early summer before it gets too hot?”

  “You’re not going to be able to talk me into having it any later.” Ash brushed his lips along Eli’s jaw as they looked out at the spill of blue light from the moon and the fanciful shadows it cast among the trees.

  There was a cold crispness to the air and the scent of wood smoke reminded Ash of home. He couldn’t wait to get back to tell their friends and family in Amwich the news and to celebrate with them. He tipped his head back and drew in a deep breath. The sky was incredibly clear with a corona around the moon that looked like an icy halo.

  “You know what would make this night perfect?” Ash asked, his breath steaming out. “A good snowfall. Then you’d sort of have snow for Christmas in Tennessee.”

  “I think it’s perfect as it is.” Eli turned to him and kissed his lips. “I don’t need snow or anything else, all I want is you.”