Ayla fell to her knees before me and threw her arms around my neck. “Yes! I would’ve said yes if you’d proposed to me months ago.” She let me go andheld out her shaking hand. I slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her, her lips warm and soft.
“Thank you,” I murmured against her lips.
She shook her head and cried. “No, thankyou. I wish you could feel how happy I am right now.”
I smiled. “Oh, I have a feeling.”
Tears fell down her cheeks as she gazed down at the ring. “You know, things will never be the same from now on.”
I lifted her chin and kissed her again. “No. They’re going to be even better.”
Chapter 28
Ayla
TWO WEEKS LATER
By now, everyone in town knew about Declan’s proposal. Every patient I had today asked questions about where we were going to have the wedding and whether the whole town was invited. We hadn’t even picked out a date yet, but I knew it’d be in the spring.
Planning a wedding involved a lot, and I was thankful I had my mother and Declan’s mother to help. Not to mention, all the women in town have been giving me ideas. Whenthe whole thing was said and done, everyone was going to have a hand in the wedding. I liked the thought of that.
It was Thursday, the last day of the work week for me. I had to drive by the police department on my way home, and I happened to see Declan outside, dressed immaculately in his uniform. I couldn’t wait for him to get home so I could take it off him.
I pulled into the driveway and went inside to change out of my scrubs into shorts and a tank top, and start dinner. Since I worked a little late, it was going to be a tomato soup and grilled cheese night.
Before I could grab the cheese and butter from the refrigerator, the doorbell rang.
When I walked up to the front door, I could already tell whose silhouette it was standing on the other side.
“Well, hello, Sipsey,” I announced when I opened the door.
Linda shook her head and laughed, clutching a large white notebook to her chest. Like always, she was dressed in one of her flowery tops and red pants. The woman had a vibrant sense of fashion.
“Is it not evil to laugh about that?” she asked. “Sooner or later, someone’s going to ask why you call me Sipsey. All of my friends have seenFried Green Tomatoes.”
I waved her off. “No one has to know we’re referring to that specific Sipsey. Besides, Vincent was the evil one. He got lucky. If Declan had gotten to him first, he would’ve suffered a whole hell of a lot more. What you did was quick.”
Linda pursed her lips. “Then maybe it wasn’t a good thing I used the frying pan.”
I motioned for her to come inside. “No, it was. It saved Declan from going to a very dark place.”
She followed me into the kitchen and sighed. “Yeah, the boy was hanging on by a thread. If anything had happened to you, I really don’t want to know what he would’ve done.”
I didn’t want to know, either.
My focus landed on the white frilly notebook still clutched in Linda’s arms. “So, what brings you by this evening? You already made me a chocolate cake this week. Declan and I already ate it up.”
Linda still held onto the notebook, as if she were too afraid to let it go. This piqued my curiosity, and I really wanted to know what she was holding.
She glanced down at it and blew out a breath. “There’s something I want to show you.”
Linda held it out to me and squeezed her eyes shut when I took it. The cover had nothing on it, just lacy pieces of fabric like those on a wedding dress.Inside, however, were several pages, protected by plastic.
When I opened the notebook, my mouth dropped to the floor. The first page contained an exquisite drawing of a three-tiered wedding cake covered in multicolored flowers.
As I flipped through the pages, each one was just as beautiful as the ones before them.
“These are gorgeous,” I gushed. “I would love to have something like this for mine and Declan’s wedding cake.”
