“I don’t know, Shea. I mean, like I said, that’s such a big step. We’ve only been dating for two months.”

Shea turned, looking over at her with only half of his face shaved, the other half white from the shaving cream.

“I know, but you’re already here a lot.”

“That was when I was busy. Now that work has slowed down, I could go home at a decent hour.”

“But you haven’t left the condo since I’ve been gone.”

“Because I missed you, and being with your stuff made me feel better.”

“Okay, so when I’m home for good you’re not going to want to stay here?”

“I don’t know, Shea. Why do we need to label it? Can’t we just keep on as we are?”

“I mean we could, but wouldn’t it be easier to have all your clothes here, all your shoes? Some of the pictures you’ve taken?”

“It would, but I don’t think I’m ready for that.”

He made a face.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that moving in together is a big step. How would I explain that to my daddy, or Papa? They are gonna wanna know where the ring is.”

“What do they say now?”

“They don’t know!” she yelled, throwing her arms up in the air, losing her temper. He was so damn persistent, why couldn’t he just let it be?

“I mean what do you want me to do, Shea? Say no? Because I don’t want to, I just want to keep on as we are.”

Elli watched as Shea nodded, hurt filling his eyes. He turned, looking back at the mirror to continue shaving. She stood watching him shave, waiting for him to say something.

“Can you go get ready? We need to go.”

That was not what she wanted him to say.

She let out a frustrated huff and headed out in the bedroom, going into the closet. She grabbed her dress and her shoes out of the box before leaving the closet to lay everything on the bed. She went to the drawer that she had been putting her panties and bras in, and grabbed one of each, along with a pair of black sheer tights. As she got dressed, she couldn’t help thinking about their conversation. Elli didn’t want to fight with him while he was home, what was the big deal? He wanted her to move in, she basically already had, so what was the big deal moving in some more things?

Because she wasn’t ready, and Shea didn’t want some of her things, he wanted it all. He wanted to mix their things, make a home together.

No matter how much she wanted to make him happy, she just couldn’t do it. Even though she didn’t want to live in her house because she was lonely, the thought of moving everything out of it actually hurt. What would she do? Sell the house, so they could get a bigger one? Did she even want to truly live in Nashville? She would miss her porch, her flowers, and, hell, the whole house. She loved her house.

Why was being in a relationship so freaking hard? It seemed everything that meant the relationship was growing, made Elli almost break out in hives. Maybe she wasn’t ready to be in a relationship. Maybe she needed to rethink this. She needed to go home, instead of staying here.

She should pack.

She pulled the sweater dress over her head, and sat on the bed, looking around the room that was filled with her and Shea’s stuff. A pair of her heels lay in the corner, along with one of her flats. The other one was on the floor beside his side of the bed. Her hair bows were strewn across his dresser, while her bras that she had just washed hung on his mirror. Her iPod laid beside his iHome, and random pieces of clothes mingled with his on the floor.

It seemed to all fit, like it was meant to be there. Her stuff mixing with his, but even though everything looked good together, it still made her nervous. Did he have a problem with it? No, he wanted it there. Elli couldn’t help but remember how her things mixed so well with Justin’s, too. His house looked like something straight out of an expensive classic design magazine, but he still had no problem kicking her out when he got mad, throwing her things out on the lawn. What if Shea did that?

Shea came out of the bathroom, going into the closet. When he came out, he was putting on a white shirt, before sliding on the fall-colored striped sweater she had gotten him from Macy’s when she had gone shopping for her dress. He fixed the bottom of the sweater, before looking up at her.

“Thanks for the sweater, I like it a lot.”

“It looks good on you,” she said when she found her voice, “really good.” He gave her a small smile before heading towards the door that led to the hall.

“Hey.”

He turned looking back at her, leaning against the door.

“Are you sure you’re ready for us to move in together?”

He nodded before saying, “Yes.”

“How do you know, though? Aren’t you scared?”

He shook his head, a small smile going across his face.

“No, baby, not at all. Because I think-” he stopped, looking down at the floor, kicking the door frame.

Then he looked up at her, his sky like eyes boring into hers; she actually had to catch her breath from being under his intense gaze.

“Because I’ve fallen in love with you, Elli, and I want to be with you, always.”

Well, she sure didn’t see that one coming.

Chapter 20

It seemed like hours passed, when really it was only seconds, as Shea looked down at Elli. She was pulling in deep shuddering breaths as she looked up at him. He refused to look away, daring her with his eyes to do anything before answering him. He watched as she went to say something but stopped herself, still taking in the deep breaths. Finally, when he thought he couldn’t take it anymore, she spoke.