Can't Fall in Love Without You (Christian Yelich)

48

"Please stop lifting things," Christian advised his girlfriend as she rearranged boxes in the room that would soon become their baby boy's nursery.

They were in the process of moving into their new house, which also meant Ellie had elaborate plans to set up Reilly's nursery as soon as possible.

"Christian, I need to move a little, and they aren't heavy enough to be a problem," she explained. "I just really want to get his room ready."

Christian sighed and smiled. "We still have a few weeks. We have time." He wrapped his arms around her from behind and pulled her back against him a little. "Time for you to relax. We'll take care of this later. You've been on your feet since 6:00 am."

"Can we please do some of it now?" she asked softly. She was on a mission to see the room transform today. It couldn't wait.

"Don't you want to paint the walls? Shouldn't we do that first?" he asked, being a voice of reason to counter her nesting urges. She had been absolutely obsessive about cleaning, organizing, and rearranging their new home over the past week. It took him three tries to get the living room furniture just right. Ivy watched him in amusement from her pack and play while he paced and swore under his breath after her third request. His love for Elizabeth made it all worth it, though, and he loved when she needed him on occasion. It was such a rare occurrence.

"You're right! Let's paint the walls! I know exactly what I want. We need greens. I want the room to be organic and natural. I'm thinking evergreen details on an accent wall, for starters. Natural wood. There's just so much possibility, Christian. First, let's go to Home Depot. Then maybe drive to Oak Creek and hit up Ikea. Honestly, it might be a good idea to swing by Michael's as well. Oh, and I want to find the perfect teddy bear at Target. He doesn't even have a teddy, Christian!" She clapped her hands excitedly, causing Christian to chuckle a little.

"How about we start with the paint?" he offered.

"But the teddy!"

"Paint, baby. Paint. We can't do anything until the walls are painted."

She sighed. "I guess you're right. It's just I want it to be perfect. What if it's not perfect? What if it's not ready?"

"It will be absolutely perfect. I promise," he said softly, resting his hands on her belly and giving her a kiss.

***

It was perfect. Everything was perfect. The nursery, the house, their love. Everything was going just as planned, and that made Christian nervous, but he was at least able to control his panic with the help of medication and his wonderful therapist. He was doing so much better, and his love for Ellie was even stronger, which he didn't think was possible.

He was going to have a son and a daughter, and now he was starting to think that equation should involve a wife. He would love Sloane forever, but Ellie was now. She was beautiful and real and present, and she made his world better and brighter.

It scared him, the idea of losing her, but Elizabeth deserved all of him. His devotion, his love, his name. Well, if she wanted his name. They never had a reason to have that discussion, but they could now . . . And he couldn't wait. He couldn't wait for their future together; he just hoped there would be a future to have.

He was sitting in the clubhouse swiping through engagement rings on his phone when Travis came up to him. "Hey, man, what's up?"

Christian quickly pressed his phone down against his thigh, so Travis wouldn't notice the images on his screen. "Not much."

"You sure about that?" Travis said with an eyebrow raise, noticing his buddy's knee-jerk reaction to seeing him.

"I was just looking at rings." He guessed there was no real reason to hide it from his best friend on the team.

"Rings? Like engagement rings? For Dr. Reed?" Travis's tone was excited; he more than approved of Elizabeth. He'd never say it out loud, but she was the one for Christian – a much better personality fit than Sloane. But he knew it wasn't really his place to judge.

"Yeah, for my girl . . . The options are . . . overwhelming."

"Sometimes it's best to start at a jeweler to get some ideas. Do you want to check a place out tomorrow morning? I could help if you want."

"Dude, thank you," Christian replied, flooded with relief. "I have no idea what I'm doing. Sloane picked out her own engagement ring."

"Yeah, and Elizabeth is definitely not going to want that . . . monstrosity. Sorry, rock, I mean rock."

Christian couldn't help but laugh. "It was pretty bad, actually."

"So bad," Travis agreed. "But she wore it well."

"You think Elizabeth would want something simpler?"

Travis nodded with a smile. "Much simpler, but more elegant. She's not someone who calls attention to herself, you know? She wouldn't want anything ridiculous. Plus, she's a doctor, and she needs something she can work in, you know?"

"I think you're right." Christian ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm nervous," he admitted.

"When are you going to ask her?"

Christian paused for a second, as he hadn't really considered the when and where. "After Reilly is born, and we're all safe as a family at home."

All he wanted was his whole family to be safe at home.

***

"We still need a chair for the nursery," Ellie informed Christian, resting her book on her tummy when the thought popped into her mind.

Christian put his phone down, still sneakily browsing through rings, and smiled at the woman who might one day be his wife. "Pick one out and put it on my card. Any chair you want."

"I was also just thinking . . . I know you don't want to get married, but I'd like to be Ivy's legal guardian. Is that a ridiculous request? I'm sorry if I'm overstepping. I just really love being her mom."

Christian's eyes lit up as he chuckled softly, pushing the book off Elizabeth's belly so he could touch her bump. "I think that's a brilliant idea. You're her mom, so let's get that on paper." He leaned over and kissed her tenderly. "You know you're my forever, right?" he whispered a couple inches away from her lips.

"Yes," she breathed. "And I can't wait to spend forever with you."