While You Were Speaking: Spring Flings and Engagement Rings

by Maria Hoagland

  Carter tipped his head with a look of concerned question.

  “I didn’t expect to fall in love. Especially not in a week.”

  Carter swallowed hard. “With me?” The words came out in a croak.

  Oops. She’d made him uncomfortable. She chuckled and swiped at a tear that had grown too heavy. “No, not with you.” Her heart started to thump in her chest. This time she swallowed and peered around Carter to Zach. When their eyes met, with his so hopeful, her heart filled with peace. “With him.” The words came out in a whisper. She couldn’t pull her gaze from Zach, even to see Carter’s response.

  Zach’s face didn’t change, though his shoulders relaxed the slightest bit. What did that mean? Did he return her feelings?

  “Wait.” Carter turned to Zach, hands on his hips. “You hit on my fiancée?” His voice was teasingly angry.

  “Except she wasn’t your fiancée.” A corner of Zach’s lip twitched in a momentary smile.

  “But did you know that?” Carter loomed over him, using his size to intimidate his younger brother. Without waiting for an answer, he turned back to Lucy, a playful glint in his eye. “I can’t believe you’re leaving me after all the nice things I just said about you . . .” He gestured toward center stage.

  Following the Hughes boys’ leads, Lucy shrugged nonchalantly. “I couldn’t help it.” She started to slowly move in Zach’s direction, and he started to gravitate toward her as well.

  “You didn’t even give me a chance,” Carter protested. “When did you have time to fall in love with him?”

  Zach was close enough that she could reach out and touch him. Holding her breath, she brushed her hand against his, every nerve ending on her hand on high alert. When he didn’t pull away, she threaded their fingers together. He responded with a light squeeze, and her heart flipped with joy. She looked up at Zach and lost herself in his eyes for a moment. She’d been so lucky to find him. A week ago, she’d joked about Carter being her celebrity crush, but with his brother, she’d found something real.

  When she was able to tear her gaze away from Zach, Lucy responded to Carter in all truth. “It was while you were speaking.”

  “Don’t worry, brother.” Zach clapped the hand not holding Lucy’s on his brother’s shoulder. “I’m sure there’s someone else out there for you.”

  “Only one I can think of . . .”

  Carter might have still been speaking, and their family members might have been responding to this turn of events, but it all became background noise to Lucy. All she was aware of was Zach pulling her into his arms. She felt safe, wanted, cherished.

  “Lucy.” Her name was a whisper, a plea, a prayer on his lips. He cupped her cheek in his rough palm, running his thumb over her lips. “My Lucy.”

  She closed her eyes, soaking in every bit of his touch. He brushed his lips so softly over hers, she almost thought she’d imagined it. Before she could respond, he’d pulled away, though his eyes were sparkling, looking into hers when she opened them.

  “Only a preview,” he whispered, nodding to their audience.

  Biting down her smile, she stepped back, putting some breathing room between her and Zach, although she was still holding his hand like it was her anchor. How would the family respond to this turn of events?

  She hardly had time to focus before Trina threw her arms around Lucy’s neck. “I’m so happy!” She rocked her back and forth with such apparent joy, all of Lucy’s concerns about her place in the family dissipated. What had she been saying about exuberance? Lucy could no longer hold back that huge grin that filled her whole being. So much for that worry.

  Relieved, Lucy turned back to Zach, not able to hold back her joy. How she wished she could just disappear with him for the afternoon, but the day was just getting started. She had rubber boots in her truck and leather gloves on the dash waiting for her.

  Zach picked up her hand, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “Dave and I finished the gazebo, but I’m sure you have something else for me to do, Madam Harvest Ranch Cleanup Committee Chair.” He closed his lips around a smile. “That’s a mouthful,” he said, laughing at himself. “What I’m trying to say is, I’m ready. Put me to work.”

  “You sure know the way into a woman’s heart,” she teased, squeezing his hand but not letting it go. She gestured the rest of the family toward the table near the concession stand, where Crew, Carly, and Mrs. Dudley were taking care of the few volunteers left in line. “We’d better check with them. They’re the ones with the assignments.”

  Mikki and Moose, Trina and Bill, Marnie and Blake and their kids, and Carter all made their way over to the volunteer table, talking over each other excitedly, and Lucy watched them go. They’d be returning to Massachusetts today or tomorrow, but she no longer dreaded their departure. She’d see them again. Until then, she had Zach by her side.

  He tugged at their entwined hands, gently guiding her to follow. She stayed put, and he stopped, stepping back close to her. “Don’t we need to go?” he said softly, that low, rumbly voice bringing back that low, rumbly feeling in her.

  She liked the sound of that collective pronoun, the one that included her. We. She and Zach were together. She beamed up at him, her heart ready to burst. “I already have my assignment,” she said, her voice as soft as his had been.

  “I figured.”

  They walked hand in hand, her guiding him to her pickup. When they got to her vehicle, he took her to the driver’s side and opened the door for her. She slipped in, but he didn’t close the door behind her. Instead, he leaned in, reaching past her slowly until his hands rested on either side of her. Lowering his head, he pressed his lips gently to hers, and her heart fluttered at his touch. His kiss filled her with all the unspoken feelings they’d shared the past few days.

  After a few glorious moments, he pulled back, ending the kiss but not moving far away. “I’ve always wanted to kiss a pretty girl at a drive-in,” he said, his mouth still hovering near hers, so close she felt his breath with each syllable. He leaned in for one more perfect kiss.

  20

  The early June sunset was deepening into twilight—without a doubt the best part of the day—but Lucy barely noticed the fading of the light. She might be feeling a bit sorry for herself, but she was justified.

  Tonight was supposed to be the best night of her life. The Starlight Drive-In Theater was holding its grand reopening. This was the first public showing, and Zach wasn’t in town. Some Hughes family emergency had to go and conflict with what she’d had on the calendar for weeks now, and he’d taken off for Hawthorne two days ago.

  She pushed back a sigh and forced a half smile at the driver in the next car. “Enjoy the shows.” She infused as much oomph as she could into her tone. The gate lifted, and she prepared for the next car full of happy movie watchers.

  She would remain optimistic. The town had rallied around her, helping her secure the funds to upgrade the theater’s equipment. Now she could show everything from first-run movies to classics and everything in between. She’d hired staff, stocked the kitchen, and put a lot of thought into choosing tonight’s films. It would still be a great opening night—just . . . without Zach.

  Since he’d moved to Harvest Ranch, the two of them had had many a great evening together getting the drive-in ready for this, as well as enjoying the first day of the hot-air balloon festival a few days before. He was loving his job with David Daley Builders and talked all the time about how he loved waking up every morning to go to work.

  And she should be just as excited. She should be enjoying the evening with him instead of sitting inside a ticket booth, collecting one ticket after another, pining away for him. She was pathetic. He’d be home soon, and everything would go back to being wonderful.

  But she still missed him.

  She accepted a ticket, giving her now rote spiel without even looking up. “Park anywhere there’s a speaker pole, but those speakers are just for looks. Tune your car radio or cell phone to FM 93.
7. You can set up your own camp chairs, the park’s outdoor chairs, if there are any open ones, or stay inside your vehicle; just please be considerate of your neighbors, and keep your dog on a leash if it’s outside your vehicle.”

  She tried to smile and forced herself to look up. It was Crew with Carly waving at her from the passenger side.

  “What’s wrong?” Crew asked in that annoying I know something’s on your mind, and you’re going to tell me because I’m your best friend look.

  She couldn’t help but laugh. “Nothing.” This time, her smile was genuine. Crew must have lifted his foot off the brake, because his SUV inched forward. She took the hint. “Enjoy the shows.”

  “We will!” Carly called. “Two of my favorites! You can’t beat ’80s rom-coms!”

  Though the conversation with Carly and Crew should have lightened her spirits, seeing them together actually had the opposite effect. She tried not to be jealous of their perfect cuteness. She probably only had to wait a couple of days at the most.

  She got into a routine with the next few cars, almost hypnotized by the repetition, until it wasn’t a ticket that passed under the plexiglass. Lucy blinked at the open black velvet ring box sitting on the ticket counter. It took only a moment more for her momentary confusion to swell into a growing hope.

  Anticipating Zach sitting in his car, Lucy looked up to find him surrounded by his family. He shifted nervously from one foot to the other and smiled at her with such tenderness, her heart melted.

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  With the ring box in front of her, she could guess at the question, and her breath caught in her throat, but he’d said it in the same tone as one asking how much a tub of popcorn was.

  Her heart fluttered anyway. “Okay.” She took a deep breath, readying herself to answer. She could barely contain her smile.

  With his family jostling for position around him, someone bumped into him, and he gave Lucy a pleading look. “Can I come through?” He nodded to the other side of the gate where the door to her ticket booth was.

  She couldn’t blame him for wanting some space to do this on his own, but he’d been the one to bring his entire family with him to propose. Straight-faced, she shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she managed to say, feigning complete seriousness. “I can’t show special treatment.” She was pleased she didn’t even crack a smile. “No ticket, no entrance.”

  He slid an internet-purchased, preprinted ticket under the plexiglass, a mischievous twitch to his lips.

  She bit down her own smile and waved him through, not trusting herself enough to speak. Her heart hammered louder. This was it. How would she answer? Was Zach really the one she’d waited her whole life for? Every bit of her screamed yes. She had no doubt that he was.

  She reached over and opened the door to the ticket booth, finding Zach on the other side, the question in his eyes. And yet, he said nothing.

  “Ask her,” Mikki urged from where she was watching in front of the ticket booth.

  “Shh—” Trina elbowed her mother-in-law, hushing her. “Let him do it his way.”

  Lucy held back a chuckle and turned her attention back to Zach. He stood, hands shoved in his pockets, shoulders rounded as his eyes found hers.

  “You know I’m no eloquent speaker like Carter or Crew . . .” He paused, his smile sending her heart stuttering once again. He sure was taking his time asking her, and the suspense was excruciating.

  “Good thing I don’t want either of them,” she answered.

  He leaned into her, and for a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her instead of ask her. Disappointment started to tinge the edges of the moment, until she realized he was reaching. He held himself, his face inches from hers, not leaning in for that kiss but reaching around to grasp the ring box that she’d almost forgotten. He brought it forward and pulled the ring from the box. She was aware of the diamond sparkling in the light but couldn’t look away from those blue-flecked green eyes she loved so much.

  “Marry me?” he whispered, his lips only inches from hers.

  Her heart stuttered in response. “Yes,” she breathed. “You are the perfect one for me.”

  “I love you,” he said, leaning in to kiss her.

  “I love y—”

  With their kiss, her words were forgotten but the meaning was clear. Lucy could imagine no better dream than marrying Zachary Hughes, the one who brought life and love into her world.

  Thanks for visiting Harvest Ranch! We love guests and are happy to welcome you to the family.

  To read the next book in the Harvest Ranch Spring Flings & Engagement Rings Series, Beehives and Broken Heroes, click here.

  Check out these fun and romantic books for more fantastic Harvest Ranch reads:

  From Best Friend to Husband

  Falling Inn Love

  Sunsets and Stables

  Honeycombs and Homecomings

  Her Small Town Fake Fiance

  His Small Town Fresh Start

  Falling for My Sister’s Ex

  Hometown Heartbeat

  A Kiss to Build a Dream On

  While You Were Speaking

  Beehives and Broken Heroes

  River’s Song

  Campfire and Kisses

  Love and Loathing

  Thanks for visiting Harvest Ranch! We love guests and are happy to welcome you to the family.

  To read the next book in the Harvest Ranch Spring Flings & Engagement Rings Series, Beehives and Broken Heroes, click here.

  Check out these fun and romantic books for more fantastic Harvest Ranch reads:

  From Best Friend to Husband

  Falling Inn Love

  Sunsets and Stables

  Honeycombs and Homecomings

  Her Small Town Fake Fiance

  His Small Town Fresh Start

  Falling for My Sister’s Ex

  Hometown Heartbeat

  A Kiss to Build a Dream On

  While You Were Speaking

  Beehives and Broken Heroes

  River’s Song

  Campfire and Kisses

  Love and Loathing

  Acknowledgments

  As you can probably guess, a small-town drive-in theater played a rather significant part of my teenage years. Because I’ve been on the other side of the country as an adult, I hadn’t realized the drive-in had closed. Recently, I heard from friends who still lived there that the community had rallied around the drive-in to raise money to save it. My thanks go to those who shared newspaper clippings and personal stories that became the seed of my story. I will forever cherish the memories we made on warm summer nights, laughing with friends under the stars.

  A huge thank you to Don Shelline, general manager at BYU Radio and co-host of the Through the Garage Door radio program. In writing about Lucy and Crew, I needed someone who worked in the field to answer questions about day to day working in radio. Don was kind enough to take time to visit with me, send me links and photos, and even read through a couple of sections. Thanks for your kindness and generosity in sharing your time and expertise with me. I may not have gotten it all right, but you certainly made my work better. Your love of what you do was inspiring.

  As always, I am so grateful for the editors, proofreaders, and beta readers for helping me polish this story. I’ve been wanting to write this for about three years now and am thrilled to have finally found the right time and place for it. Thank you, also, to those of you who read, enjoy, review, and share this book with other readers. You make continuing to write sweet happily ever afters worth it.

  My greatest debit is to my husband. Thank you for the pizza in an empty restaurant and brainstorming every single plot point with me all the way to the very end. (And thanks to the employees who didn’t kick us out!) You are seriously the best, and your JJ impersonation had me in stitches! I can’t think of a better person to spend my life with. Even if you aren’t the model for all my covers, you are the model for all of my heroes.

 
About the Author

  When Maria Hoagland is not working at her computer, she can be found combing used furniture stores and remodeling houses with her husband. She loves crunching leaves in the fall, stealing cookie dough from the mixing bowl, and listening to musicals at high volumes.

  Maria has several published works in the sweet romance and women’s fiction genres. She enjoys hearing from readers and book clubs and can be found online at mariahoagland.com.

  For updates on new releases and a free copy of the novella New Year’s Resolutions, sign up for Maria’s newsletter on her website.

  Sneak Peek of Beehives and Broken Heroes by Ellie Thornton

  The little ding above the door of Sticky and Sweet sent a pang of disappointment down Alice Ward’s spine. She knelt on the floor in the back office, searching behind the big corner desk. It was two minutes to 6 pm, closing time, and she was worn slap out. Normally Allie didn’t mind customers coming in late, but she had a family dinner tonight, and her twin sister Jocelyn or Jo, and Jo’s fiancé, Cash, had already left to get started.

  These family dinners with her sister, mom, her aunt, and uncle, and her five cousins had become a weekly event since Cash proposed to Jo, and she’d grown to love them. Plus, her soon-to-be brother-in-law did all the cooking and seeing as he was an award-winning chef, Allie had nothing to complain about.

  She crawled out from under the desk, hitting her head on the underside. “Ow! Mother Hubbard!” She rubbed her head with one hand and shot off a text with her other.

  Allie: Jo, where are the scissors?!?! You can’t hide them from me forever.