So Much Better

"I thought...you might want to be...her dad?" She let out a nervous breath and then finished her thought before the tears came in like a flood. "I know that this little girl will love you just as much as I do. And just like me, she'll be lucky to have you."

It was too late. The tears were running freely down Fitz's cheeks. He had no idea that Olivia wanted him to be that big of a part of her daughter's life. Sure, he planned to marry her one day, and naturally, people would assume that she was their child when the three of them were out together, but he never thought she would voice the words in a request to him. He knew that she didn't trust easily, and that she must have given a lot of thought about this request before she brought it to him. He was deeply touched.

"Why can't you be a more patient woman, Livvie?"

That was not the answer Olivia was expecting, and she hoped the expression on her face made that clear to him. "I don't understand. What does my patience have to do with what I just asked you?"

Fitz put his hands on her hips and pushed her off of his lap. In a bored voice he told her, "come on. Let's go."

Confusion bloomed in her brain. What the hell was he talking about? And why did he sound so put off all of a sudden? Instead of following him, Olivia scowled and put her hands on her hips. "Go where, Fitz?"

"You'll see soon enough. Come on. Put your sandals on. You're gonna need them." he said in the same bored tone as he wiped his cheeks. On the inside he was bubbling over with nervous energy.

She'd go with him, but she wasn't gonna like it, no matter what it was. She had just bared her soul to him and his response was 'let's go'? No. That was not a proper response to her question so whatever was on his mind all of a sudden was not going to be important on her radar.

He had to avoid looking at her to keep from laughing. The internal argument was so apparent on her face, it was comical to say the least. His Livvie was pissed! Fitz supposed he couldn't blame her. He hadn't answered her question but had chastised her timing and changed the subject. Still, she was cute when she was mad. It was good to know for future reference. Not that he would tell her his observation on the matter. It would only piss her off even more.

Grabbing the keys to his car, Fitz opened the front door for Olivia and then followed her to the car to repeat the process for her. When he was settled in his own seat, he went to hold her hand, but she snatched it away. He grinned and slid his sunglasses on instead. She'd change her tune soon enough.

Olivia noticed that he had driven them to the beach, but instead of thinking he was sweet for bringing her to the best place for her to cool down she rolled her eyes. He was beginning to be predictable. Fitz stopped the car, got out, and went around to her side to open the door for her like he always did. Stepping out of the car, she paused when she realized Fitz had brought her to the same place on the beach as the day she'd had her ultrasound.

He was a few steps ahead of her, but instead of leading Olivia towards the water, he was leading her towards a house. She stopped in her tracks. "Fitz?" she hissed. "Didn't you tell me that this is private property?"

Fitz turned around and saw her looking up at the house. Without explanation he simply said, "yup" before reaching a hand back and wiggling his fingers, signaling for her to hurry up and take it. Which she did.

"What are we doing here?" she asked in an anxious tone.

"You'll see."

He led her up the two wooden steps to the front door of the beautiful home. Olivia looked to her left and right, knowing they were going to get caught being on private property. She watched him peer inside through the large glass window to the left of the door. Still holding his hand, she he gripped his forearm with her other hand and asked, "Why are you doing that?"

"Oh? You wanna go inside? Why didn't you say so?" He pulled a key from the pocket of his shorts and slid it into the lock. The door opened without a problem.

Olivia stared in wonder at him. Why did he have a key to this house that he knew was private property? And why wasn't he answering her question about what they were doing here?

She gripped his hand tighter and practically tiptoed inside behind him on the hard wood floors. The inside of the house was just as beautiful as the outside. It was open and well-lit from the large windows that faced the water. The view of the ocean was stunning. The living room walls were painted white, but the room was bare. There wasn't any furniture in it and Olivia found that odd.

Fitz led them into the kitchen, which was also painted white and had all beautiful stainless steel appliances. Olivia let go of his hand and ran hers across the smooth marble top of the island in the center of the room. Again, there wasn't any furniture, but the possibilities seemed endless.

He kept quiet and watched Olivia roam from room to room looking as long as she wanted before moving onto the next one. The two smaller bedrooms made her stop a little longer. She opened the closet doors and went to look out the windows with a smile on her face.

When she reached the master bedroom, her eyes became huge as she took it all in. The walls were the same boring color as the rest of the house, but it had two walls of windows that faced the beach. And up against one of the other walls was a king sized four poster bed. It was beautifully made up but with a plain blanket. Olivia's eyebrows dropped when she saw it. The bed looked so out of place in a house void of any other furniture.

Pointing at it, she turned to Fitz. "This is the only piece of furniture in this house?"

"Yup."

"Don't you find it strange that the only piece of furniture the owner has in this big beautiful house is a bed?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"Because the owner knew it would come in very handy."

"But not as handy as a sofa? Or a table?" Olivia asked bewildered.

"Those are important, and they will come in time, but the owner knew the bed would be needed immediately."

"I don't understand. And how do you know so much about the owner if this is private property?"

"Because I am the owner. Well, you and I together are the owners." Fitz said, gesturing with his hands.

Olivia stopped breathing. Surely, she hadn't heard him correctly. "What did you just say?"

He shrugged. "This is our house, Livvie."

"You bought a house for us?" She asked, looking around again. "This house? The one we're standing in to be specific?"

"I...did. I had a whole thing I was working on in a very specific order and time line. I was going to ask your dad if I could marry you, buy us a house; it had to be on the beach though because you love being on the beach and want your...sorry, our daughter to grow up near it, bring you here and propose to you..."

"Wha..I..."

"But then you had to screw up my timeline by asking me to be the bean's daddy." He held her shaking little hands with his. "So, I had to let you in on my plan earlier than I intended."

"Is that why this place isn't furnished? Because you didn't have time to?"

"No. It's not furnished because I thought you might want to do that yourself. Or we could do it together. Whatever you want."

The damned tears were back! She dropped her head to his chest in an attempt to try to get her hormones under control, but she should have known better. Fitz put his finger under her chin and lifted
her gaze up to his. He waited her out, just like he had done ever since they met. And then Olivia's eyes went wide as saucers.

"If we're here so you can show me the house, does that mean...?" She swallowed hard and watched his smile grow a little as she tried in vain to get herself under control. It was no use though as her eyes and nose ran. Somehow she blubbered out, "does that mean that you already...talked to my dad?"

His smile turned into a grin, and he eagerly answered like a little kid. "Uh huh."

"And he said you could marry me?" she whispered.

Fitz nodded and decided to lighten the mood, to ease her tears. "He tried to pay me. Said please take her. The whole thing was embarrassing."

Olivia giggled then sniffed. She swatted him playfully. "He did not say that."

"No, he didn't. But he told me that I had his blessing to marry you. He said he couldn't imagine anyone loving you more than he did..."

Olivia was bawling now, but still listening to him.

"But he said he could tell that I loved you with my whole heart. Naturally, I agreed. And promised to take care of both you and princess bean."

"You said that to him?" she asked in a broken voice.

Fitz put his arms around her and held her close, knowing she was nowhere near done crying. "Of course I did. I promised that my girls would be well taken care of."

"You called us your girls?" She asked through loud sobs with her head still on his chest.

He grinned and shook his head back and forth for knowing this little trip would change her attitude. "Uh huh."

Once again, he put his finger under her chin and tilted it up until she was facing him. Her eyes were red and puffy, the little make up she had been wearing was long gone, and Fitz had never found her more beautiful. Pulling a box of tissues from the floor, he handed her one before giving her that damned lopsided smile again. "I need to ask you a question, Livvie."

That brought on fresh tears, and he couldn't help but chuckle softly at her. Life with Olivia was going to be anything but dull. He couldn't wait for them to get started on that life together. He watched her dab her eyes and wipe her nose before he got down on one knee.

"Ever since I met you, I felt a strange connection to you. I tried to ignore it, tried to push it from my mind, or reason it away as infatuation, but I couldn't escape it. Couldn't escape you. I had to be near you. And once I made peace with that, I came back to see if you felt it too."

"I had no idea you'd dismantle my life like you did..." she said with a watery grin.

"Livvie? I'm trying to propose here. It has to be special because we'll be telling our kids this story so many times, they will beg us to stop talking."

He said kids. Plural. Olivia smiled at the realization and softly said, "sorry."

"I know I haven't known you long, but I can't wait to spend forever with you." He pulled a small, black, velvet ring box from under the bed mattress and held it towards her between his thumb and index finger. "Marry me, Livvie. I promise to make you and our daughter the happiest girls in the world."

He had already made her beyond happy. It didn't matter that they hadn't known each other very long. Olivia knew that Fitz was the one for her. He stood up for her, he supported her, he went out of his way to be patient with her, and he didn't let her think less than good things about herself. He truly was one in a million. And he was going to be her husband. The thought alone had her tears drying and a blissful smile covering her face. Her arms opened anxiously and moved towards his neck when she giddily answered, "yes."

The two of them embraced, pulled apart, and began breathlessly kissing when Olivia abruptly stopped. Fitz froze in fear and panic. "What is it? Is it the baby? Are you okay?"

He was gonna laugh at her. "Where's my ring?"

Fitz chuckled and told her, "I love your greedy side. But before I give you your engagement ring, I want you to know that this ring has been in my family for two generations."

Her eyes went wide and zeroed in on the ring. "What? Are you serious?"

"I am. It belonged to my grandmother, my father's mom. When my dad wanted to ask my mother to marry him, his mother gave him her first set of wedding rings. She only had sons, so there were no daughters to pass the rings down to." Fitz explained with his eyes on the ring too.

"Wow. That's really amazing, Fitz. But are you sure your dad wants to part with them? I'm not going to. be disappointed if he would rather keep them. Honest."

"It was dad's idea. He told me they were made to be on a finger and yours is a good one."

"Your dad is absolutely precious. I already love him, and this baby is gonna have him wrapped around her little finger in no time. I have a feeling." she told him with a smile. "So. How long do I have to wait for the next set?"

"What? What do you mean?" he was genuinely confused.

"Well, your grandmother got more than one set of wedding rings, and your mother did too. I'm just wondering when I get another set too?"

Grinning down at her, Fitz said, "don't push it, greedy."

He slid the ring on the third finger of her left hand and brought it to his lips, planting a soft kiss there.

"What was the kiss for?" Olivia asked, as she held out her left hand and admired his exquisite taste.

"To seal the deal." he informed her.

She took his hand with a smile on her face and said, "I thought that's what the bed was for?"

Fitz scooped her up in his arms as she squealed, and his own smile doubled in size. "See? I told you the owner knew it would come in handy."

Olivia held onto his neck as he pulled the blanket back and laid her down on their bed as if she were made of glass. When his body was hovering over hers and he was looking down at her with so much love written on his face. "I absolutely love my ring, Fitz. Thank you. But you know, I've never had a fiancé. I wonder if that makes sex any better?"

This little smart mouth woman was going to be his wife. Soon if he had his way about it. With a funny little grin he told her, "I've never had a fiancé before either so I wouldn't know. But we're both about to find out. I love you, Liv and I meant it when I said I'd make you the happiest woman on earth."

"You already have made me happier than I could ever dream. And you really surprised me." She said looking up at him with a contented smile on her face. "We have a lot to do before our little girl arrives."

"Oh yea? Like what?"

"We have to get this house furnished with at least the basics, plan a wedding and actually get married, and..."

"Hey, hey, hey. Liv?"

"What? My mind is running a hundred miles an hour trying to make a list of all the things we need to do. It's a lot!"

"The only thing we need to be doing right this minute is spend some time alone and naked and warm in our new bed."

Olivia smiled up at him. "Ohhhh, you want to spend some time alone with your new fiancé in our new bed in our new house?"

"MmmHmm." was his throaty reply.

"Does that mean we can't christen all of the other rooms in our new house?"

"You dirty little woman, Olivia Grant!"

She giggled at his shock but stilled abruptly. "What did you just call me?"

Smiling down at her, Fitz repeated it. "Olivia Grant."

"That has a nice ring to it." She held out her left hand with a smile of her own. "Speaking of nice rings. You did good, Mister."

"You know I find it incredibly sexy when you call me that." He dipped his head and captured her lips in a soft kiss as his hips pushed forward pressing his hard length deep inside of her. "This is gonna be so much better than it was before."

"You bet your ass it is, Mister."