Lindsey had been thinking of the perfect proposal for over a week now. He had come up with some very public and private ideas. He had considered asking Amber and Dylan for help. He thought about popping the question right then and there as he sat opposite from Stevie at a dinner table at a luxurious restaurant, but it just did not feel right.
"What's going through your mind?" Stevie lay her hand over his to catch Lindsey's attention. "You've been awfully quiet."
"I'm just thinking about how lucky I am." Lindsey shrugged, brushing his thumb over her knuckles. "And how much I love you."
"You're going to make me blush." Stevie looked away, but she was unable to fight back a smile. "You know, you keep saying that you're the lucky one, but so am I. You have to know, how happy I am to have you in my life. And not just me, my kids, too. I know that you're not Amber or Dylan's father, but they see a lot more of you than Michael. It melts my heart, seeing how well you get along with them."
"They're great, they're a lot like you." Lindsey turned his hand to take hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "And I do know, everything you've just said."
Not wanting to get too emotional, Stevie decided to change the subject. "Thank you for taking me out of the house. It's nice." She pulled back and picked up the last tiny piece of her dessert. "You're gonna have to help me burn these calories." She smirked, finishing off the wine, too.
"You can count on that." Lindsey winked and pulled out his wallet. "Come on. We should head back. I promised the babysitter we'd be back before 10 pm."
With the bill paid, Lindsey held out his hand for Stevie, then slid his arm around her waist, when she stood up. They walked out of the restaurant and Lindsey led the way to his car. The two glasses Stevie had, helped her relax and she had no questions, when she sat in the passenger's seat and Lindsey began driving in the opposite direction of where they lived. Lindsey, on the other hand, was completely sober, which he was now starting to regret. Another idea popped into his mind while they were having dinner and he was suddenly nervous.
Likely without even realizing it, Stevie started singing along to a song, which was playing on the radio. Years ago, when Lindsey was trying to make it as a musician, she had her attempt, too. They had even recorded a couple of demos together, but eventually she gave up on it, because she didn't have enough time to work and also enjoy something she only considered a hobby of hers.
"I've always thought that you have a nice voice." Lindsey glanced at her, pulling her back to the present moment.
"Wh- I wasn't-"
"Yeah, you were." His palm fell on her thigh, hoping that she wasn't embarrassed. "And I love it."
Stevie didn't say anything back as she turned to look out the window again. Only a few short minutes later, the car stopped and she frowned, giving Lindsey a questioning look.
"We're home." Lindsey said, taking the key out of the ignition.
"Uh- no, we're not." Stevie shook her head. "Where the hell are we?"
Lindsey opened the driver's side door and got out. He walked around the front of the car and opened hers as well. "Would you just-"
Confused, but Stevie did as asked. She followed him to the front door of a house, she was unfamiliar with, and watched as Lindsey looked for a key.
"Are you planning on telling me, what all of this means?" Stevie asked, growing more impatient by the second.
"I wasn't going to show you tonight, but..." Lindsey shrugged and gave her a little push forward, when he unlocked the door. "This is our home. Or it could be if you like it."
"Lindsey, what..." Stevie wasn't sure what to say as she looked around. "What do you mean, this is our home? We already have a home."
"No." Lindsey pressed himself against her back, his arms wrapped around her. "You have a house that I stay at. I thought, we could start fresh here."
"But... I mean..." Stevie trailed off again. "You've bought a freaking house for us. We're not even married, I-"
Lindsey knew that she was about to start rambling. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his arm up and opened his palm, Stevie looked down at what he was holding. Her eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped. She swiftly turned around in his embrace.
"Not yet." Lindsey said.
