Chapter Forty
Bethany drew in a shaky breath and gazed at the sparkling diamond ring and the man who presented it to her. For the first time since she’d known him, Hank looked afraid—like all his future joy and happiness hinged on her answer.
She laid her palm against his cheek. The smell of his musky cologne reached her nostrils. “Yes,” she said. Her voice wobbled, so she tried again. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
His face broke into a broad smile, and he kissed her hand and then slid the ring on her finger. He stood and hauled her into his arms and kissed her again. He only let her go long enough to accept a hug from Travis.
“Welcome to the family,” Travis said, slapping him on the back.
Hank shook his hand. “I’m mighty proud to have you as a brother-in-law.”
Rosie squealed and hugged Bethany. The girls squeezed her legs and then rushed to hug Hank, who crouched low and pulled them into his arms and up into the air. “What do you think? Will these two do as flower girls?”
“I can’t think of anyone better or prettier to do the job,” Bethany said.
“What’s a flower girl?” Tana asked.
“It’s a girl who walks down a carpet at a wedding and hands out flowers,” her older sister answered, sounding official.
“Will you excuse us a moment, girls?” Hank asked, setting them down. “There’s someone I really want Bethany to meet.”
Hank pulled her to his side and through the double doors that led to the dining room.
They moved through the crowd, smiling and greeting the friends and customers who had crowded into Grandma Lou’s.
Finally, they reached the entrance, where a tall young man stood, a grin on his face.
He looked like a younger version of Hank.
“Is this . . .?”
“Bethany, I’d like you to meet my brother, Connor.”
Connor held out his hand. “Pleased to meet you, Bethany.” His blue eyes, so much like Hank’s, twinkled with warmth and laughter.
Bethany found herself leaning toward him. “So you’re Connor,” she said, flicking a glance at Hank. “It appears, Apollo, you have some competition in the looks department.”
Connor flashed a quick smile at Hank. “I think I’m going to like your girlfriend, big guy.”
“Fiancée,” Hank corrected.
Connor cupped his hands around his mouth and twisted to look at Bethany, pretending to relay a closely guarded secret. “My brother’s been grumpier than a starving bear these last few weeks. Thanks for agreeing to marry him and ending our misery.”
She glanced at Hank. “You missed my cooking?”
He winked, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners. “What can I say, woman, I’m addicted to your whoopie pies.”
“So it is my cooking you fell in love with.” For a moment, a vulnerable feeling she hadn’t realized she possessed opened inside her.
Hank’s face grew serious, and his eyes latched on to hers. “Sweetheart, I was only joking. I fell in love with the whole amazing package. I promise, your talent in the kitchen is just the sweet, sweet icing.”
Joy filled her like a hot air balloon, tickling her insides until she laughed aloud. She had almost forgotten the feeling. It swept her away on a tide of happiness, swallowing her insecurities in its wake.
“Do you have a sister?” Connor asked, bringing her back to earth with a start.
She smiled. “No, just a brother. Come with me, and I’ll introduce you. You’re about the same age. I think you’ll have a lot in common.”
Hank watched with pride as Bethany pulled Connor across the room to where Travis was chatting with a few of the other tenants. Now she was his once more, he wanted her all to himself. He started to follow, but someone grabbed his arm. Elizabeth. She must have been listening to their conversation.
“Hank, I want to apologize. I am truly sorry for meddling, as you call it. I never meant to hurt you or Bethany. I thought I was protecting you. And now I see I was wrong. And I hope I’ve shown it by making amends. She’s perfect for you. Can you forgive me?”
The well of happiness in his heart was much too large to hold a grudge. “Yes, Elizabeth, I can, if you promise never to interfere again in my personal life.”
“I won’t. I swear it. I’ve learned my lesson.” Elizabeth arched a brow. “Well, I may have one teeny-weeny suggestion.”
Hank laughed. “All right. I can see you’re dying to offer advice. Out with it.”
“Maybe you and Bethany ought to produce a healthy line of bakery items. Somehow, I don’t think whoopie pies quite fit your public image.”
He grinned. “That’s actually not a bad idea. I’ll talk to Bethany and see what she thinks.”
Elizabeth smirked and gestured toward the lady from Fresh & Easy. “Hank, let’s snap a photo with Francine, shall we?”
He paused long enough for the photo, knowing Elizabeth would be sure to post it to his Instagram that evening. He scanned the crowd for Bethany, spotted her, and moved forward, but he could hear Elizabeth talking to Francine above the din of the crowd.
“Despite the snafus, I’ve managed to turn this contest win into positive media coverage for your company,” she said. “I could be a real asset if you’re in need of a publicist?”
Hank shook his head and grinned. He had no doubt Elizabeth would turn the entire event to her advantage. He spotted Bethany talking to Sam and joined her.
“Well, hi there, Hank. I’m real happy for you,” Sam said. “I knew you were smitten with my girl the day you showed up in your overalls and hat to fix her dishwasher. I told Bethany then and there you were in love. She didn’t believe me, but you do now, don’t you, girl?”
“You were right, Sam.”
“When’s the wedding. Have you set a date?”
“It’s much too soon. We just got engaged,” Bethany said.
“As soon as we can make it happen,” Hank said, glad to see Bethany didn’t argue. If he had his way, they would be married within the month.
They spent the next hour traveling from group to group, with Bethany introducing him to any of the customers he hadn’t met.
She called each one by name, their faces lighting up as she asked after their families.
Then he ate a cupcake and drank a glass of milk when all he really wanted was to have her to himself.
But of course, it wasn’t until much later, when the goodbyes had been said and the well-wishers had departed and Louis had dropped them off at Hank’s grandfather’s house, which was now his own, that his wish came true.
She sniffed the air as he opened the front door. “Why do I smell paint?”
“Close your eyes. You’ll know soon enough.”
He led her into the dining room and had her stand in the middle of the floor, beneath the antique chandelier. “Keep your eyes closed now.”
Hank found the remote, dimmed the lights, and pressed play on the home stereo system. Then he took her into his arms as the first strains of “When You Wish Upon a Star” by Louis Armstrong came over the speaker.
“You can open your eyes now.”
She blinked and looked around the renovated house.
“Surprise,” he whispered.
He’d had the decorators add sunflowers to all the rooms and touches of purple before he’d left Cleveland, since it reminded him of Bethany.
The mantel on the stone fireplace had been refinished, the wood floors polished, and the walls painted a subtle gray.
A plush green couch occupied one corner and a leather recliner the other.
Elizabeth had given him the photo she’d snapped of the two of them—Bethany looking alarmed and him looking determined—framed.
He’d placed it on the built-in shelves next to the fireplace along with a framed kiss-cam photo from the baseball game.
She twisted in his arms, looking everywhere at once. “My God, Hank, it’s so beautiful, what you’ve done with the place.”
“You like it?”
“How could I not? It’s lovely.”
“Lovely enough to live in with me . . . after we’re married?”
Her misty green eyes looked wide and mysterious and more dazzling than the stars in the night sky outside.
“Yes, yes, it is. I think I’d follow you to the moon right now, if you asked.” She laughed, the sound soft and dreamy. “This house is much more convenient.”
A thick bubble wedged in his throat. “Thank you for agreeing to be my wife. Thank you for making my dreams come true. I want you to know you were right and I was wrong.”
She cocked her head to the side. “About what?”
“So many things. About wishing on stars. About forgiveness.”
“You believe in wishes now?”
“How can I not when I have you? All I did last night was wish on stars, terrified you’d reject today’s proposal.”
“Meanwhile, I was wishing you’d propose and figuring it was an impossible dream. Who did you forgive?”
“Elizabeth . . . my father. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to invite them to our wedding. My stepmom and sisters too.”
She nodded. “Of course, Hank. They’re family. I’d love to meet them.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not so keen on Elizabeth, but I think not even she could spoil our happiness.”
He laughed and tightened his hold. “Now we have that out of the way, kiss me, Beth. Please. Then all my wishes will come true.”
She tilted her face toward him, and he bent his head, and their lips met somewhere in the middle, while overhead Louis Armstrong crooned, echoing the desires of his heart.