Joe was silent and Mel studied his profile for an inkling of what he was feeling. She didn’t want to press him, but since she had never told anyone about this incident in her life, not even her closest friends Tate and Angie, she was concerned that he might think less of her for the whole sordid mess.
When she couldn’t take it anymore, she asked, “You’re starting to freak me out. What are you thinking?”
“I’m trying to make a decision,” he said.
Mel felt her heart pound hard in her chest. Of course he was. He was in the public eye. He had to keep his life above reproach. Having a girlfriend who could get herself into a situation like that was probably making him rethink their whole relationship. He probably felt he had no choice but to dump her, or, at the very least, rescind his offer for her to move in with him.
Mel thought she might cry. She knew she should have kept her mouth shut, but what sort of relationship was that? If she couldn’t tell him everything, even the bad stuff, what was the point of being together?
“Yeah, I can’t decide,” Joe said. “Maybe you can help.”
“Okay,” Mel said. Her voice was small but she didn’t know how else to react to being asked to weigh in on the possible end of their relationship.
“So, I’m debating, do I send her a long-overdue cookie bouquet or regular flowers?” he asked.
“Who? What? Huh?”
“Diane,” he said. “As a very belated thank-you for saving my girl, should I send her cookies or flowers?”
Mel thought the smile on her face might split her wide open. Joe glanced at her in surprise.
“What are you grinning at?”
“You,” she said. “Always you.”
Joe took his right hand off of the steering wheel and took her hand in his. He laced their fingers together and kissed the back of her hand.
“I’m so very grateful nothing worse happened to you that night,” he said. His voice sounded a little shaky. “I promise that as long as I’m in your life nothing like that will ever happen to you again. Mostly because I’m never going to let you out of my sight.”
“Promises, promises,” Mel teased him, but her heart felt as if it were going to burst out of her chest, it was so full of love for Joe.
“And I understand completely why you feel you owe Diane your support, and I’ll do everything I can to help you.”
“Thanks,” she said. “That means a lot to me.”
She rested her head on his shoulder. She hadn’t realized that keeping her story to herself had been such a weighty burden until now. Her spirits felt lighter than they had in weeks. She was glad she had told him. She didn’t want any secrets between them as they started this new life of cohabiting.
They left the city behind and Mel sank into her seat. She didn’t mean to nod off but the hum of the engine combined with the cool air blowing across her skin along with the fact that for the first time all day, she was not running around in circles, caused her to drop into a dreamless slumber.
When she woke up, the car was stopped and Joe was stretched out in the seat beside hers, fully reclined with his eyes shut. Not realizing that they had pulled over, she panicked.
“Joe!” she cried. She shook him awake. “Are you okay? Were we in an accident?”
“Huh . . . What?” Joe blinked and sat up quickly, grabbing her hand in his.
“Where are we?” she asked. “What happened? Did we run off the road?”
Joe smiled at her. “No, actually we arrived at our destination a while ago, but you were asleep and I didn’t want to wake you so I decided to rest, too.” He glanced at his watch. “A half-hour power nap. Not bad.”
It was still light out as the sun was just beginning to sink toward the mountains to the west. They had driven far enough north that they were in the high country and the heat was nothing compared to what they’d left behind in the valley.
“Come on,” Joe said. He opened his door and climbed out of the car. Mel followed, pausing to stretch her legs and back when she stood up.
Joe opened the back of his car and took out a blanket, a cooler, and a basket. Mel was impressed with the thought he’d put into their date night and was determined that when it was her turn to plan one, she’d make it just as special.
“Come on,” Joe said. “Our spot is just up ahead.”
Mel followed him. She glanced around the desert, admiring the vista. Red rocks, scrubby bushes, and cacti of varying types dotted the landscape. The desert certainly had its own stark sort of beauty. Having been born and raised in Arizona, she really couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
Joe spread the blanket and put the basket down in the center. He held up his hand to assist Mel when she sat beside him. Once she was settled, Mel looked at the landscape again. There was something familiar about it. She felt as if she’d been here before, but she couldn’t place it.
She scanned the area, looking for familiar landmarks while Joe flipped the lid on the basket. Then it hit her. This was the spot, the exact spot, where Joe had proposed to her the year before. Did he know? Did he realize it?
When she turned back to him, all excited to share her discovery, it was to find him kneeling beside her, holding a small box with the lid popped up, where a sparkler of a ring was nestled inside, winking at her.
Twenty
“Oh, Joe,” she said. “Yes!”
A surprised laugh burst out of him and he said, “Well, that takes the pressure off.”
Mel rolled to her knees and kissed him and hugged him hard. “Yes, yes, yes!”
Joe hugged her back, but Mel’s momentum was a bit much for him and they went down in a heap, with Joe on the bottom and Mel sprawled across him. He leaned up and returned her kiss, and then he lay back down so he could look her in the eyes.
“I had a whole speech prepared,” he said. “I worked really hard on it, too, even more than one of my closing arguments in front of a jury.”
“So, you thought I needed convincing?”
“Maybe,” he said. “We haven’t had the most conventional relationship. I mean, you’re my little sister’s best friend. For years, I thought of you as another little sister.”
“Hmm, and then you didn’t,” she said.
“Yeah, once I noticed you that way there was no putting the genie back in the bottle,” he said.
“All right, well, I think I’ve earned a pretty speech. Lay it on me,” she said. She pillowed her arms on his chest and propped her chin on them like a kid watching her favorite TV show.
Joe trailed one finger down her cheek, pausing when he reached her chin. His gaze moved up to meet hers and a small, shy smile tipped the corner of his mouth.
“Do you know what you remind me of?” he asked.
Mel shook her head. She was afraid to speak, as she didn’t want to break the spell he was weaving around them with his low voice and his sweet words.
“A shooting star,” he said. “There’s something purely magical about you, and whenever I catch sight of you, dashing through my orbit in a trail of sparkling light, I catch my breath because I feel so lucky to bear witness to the wonder that is you, Melanie Cooper.”
Her throat closed up. Mel couldn’t speak if she tried. Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes and she swallowed. It went down hard.
“I have never met anyone who gives so freely of herself, who loves her people so fiercely, or who always does what’s right even when it’s the hardest thing to do. You are the best person I know, and I would be deeply honored and humbled to call you my wife.”
A sob bubbled up but Mel didn’t want to cry, so she tried to stop it and it came out as a hiccup instead. Joe smiled and then he scooted out from under her and moved so that he was kneeling in front of her.
“Melanie Cooper, we have tried this a couple of times now, but this time I am doing everything by
the book. We are on a romantic picnic in the same spot I proposed to you before. I even have a ring this time, although it doesn’t shine quite as brightly as you.”
Mel glanced at the ring in the box. A square diamond surrounded by smaller ones—it was dazzling.
“But I don’t really think anything ever could,” Joe said. He took her hand in his. He looked at her from under his ridiculously long eyelashes—such a waste on a guy—as if he was nervous. “Cupcake, when I am with you, I am the best version of me, and I want to be that guy married to you for the rest of our days. Will you marry me?”
Mel moved so that she was kneeling in front of him. She cupped his face in her hands and then she said, “Joe DeLaura, I have been in love with you from the first moment you smiled at me when I was in seventh grade and you came by my homeroom class, looking for your little sister. Everything in my world changed that day, and I knew nothing would be right until you were mine. I have been waiting a very long time to call you mine. Yes, I’ll marry you and make it official once and for all.”
“Now and forever,” he said. He kissed her, got distracted, and kissed her some more, then he let her go so he could slide the ring onto her finger.
Mel loved that his hands were as shaky as hers.
“Mrs. Joseph DeLaura,” he said. “I like it. It suits you.”
“I think so, too,” Mel said as she admired her ring in the light of the setting sun. “There is only one person who will be even happier about this announcement than the two of us.”
“Your mom?” he asked.
“You are her ‘dear Joe,’” she said.
“I am, especially after I called her this morning and asked her permission to propose to you,” he said.
“You didn’t.”
“I did. And Uncle Stan, too.”
Mel looked at him in wonder. “What did he say?”
“No,” Joe said. He laughed and added, “An emphatic no, in fact.”
“He was kidding,” she said.
Joe shook his head. “No, I don’t think he was. I told him I was going to marry you anyway, and he said that was pretty much what he figured.”
They looked at each other and laughed.
“I love you,” she said.
“I love you, too.”
It was a long time before the picnic was finished and they headed home to share the good news with Captain Jack. Mel spent the ride admiring her ring. The unfamiliar weight felt reassuring on her left hand. She found herself studying Joe’s profile in the light of the dashboard and feeling overwhelmed that this man was going to be her husband.
She couldn’t help but wonder if Diane had ever felt this way about Mike. If she had, his cheating would have been devastating. Once again, Mel was swamped with doubt about her friend. She shook her head. She wasn’t going to think about it. Not now. Not when everything in her life was perfect.
Instead, she rested her head on Joe’s shoulder and enjoyed the happy feeling of looking forward to their future together. When they were a half hour away from home, Joe took his phone out of his pocket and placed a call.
Mel could hear the voice on the other end. It sounded like her favorite cranky octogenarian.
“Well?”
“She said yes,” Joe said.
“She said yes,” the voice repeated, and a riot of cheers sounded in the background. “See you in a few.”
Joe put his phone away and grinned at her.
“Who was that?” Mel asked.
“Marty,” Joe confirmed. “Come on, they’re waiting for us.”
When they arrived at the bakery, it was to find the entire place decked out for a party. Balloons, streamers, a huge glittery banner that read Congratulations!
Mel’s mother was there, crying happy tears; Uncle Stan was there, looking disapproving but resigned; Mel’s brother, Charlie, and his wife and kids had driven down from Flagstaff; all of the DeLaura brothers were in attendance with their families or significant others; and Joe’s parents were there, too.
When Mel walked through the door, both Tate and Angie were there to greet Mel and Joe with hugs and high fives. Marty and Oz were next in line. With the way the menfolk shook Joe’s hand and slapped him on the back, Mel got the feeling they’d all been in on it.
“Who knew that you were going to propose tonight?” Mel asked.
“Everyone but you,” he said. “And Angie.”
“You left her out?” Mel asked.
“I thought it was for the best given that she’s somewhat unstable right now.”
Mel couldn’t argue with that. She just hoped Angie never found out or she might never forgive Joe.
“Dear Joe,” Joyce said as she wrapped him in another hug. “Welcome to the family.”
“Thanks, Joyce, er, Mom. Can I call you Mom?” he asked. In that very moment Mel thought her heart would melt. Two of the people she loved most in the world were becoming family.
Joyce watered up and waved her tissue at him. “Of course you can.” Then she started to cry for real. Uncle Stan came to collect her and he gave Joe a dirty look.
“You may not call me Uncle,” he said.
“Whatever you say, Uncle Stan,” Joe said with a grin.
“Really?” Stan looked at Mel with his eyebrows knitting into each other in the middle of his forehead. “All the guys in the world and you picked him?”
“Sorry.” She shrugged. “He’s the one I love.”
Uncle Stan let out a beleaguered sigh and slapped Joe on the back, a bit harder than necessary, before he ushered Joyce over to a table where she could compose herself.
Joe slipped his arm around Mel and pulled her close to his side as they greeted the rest of the crowd. Mel leaned into him, memorizing the feel of his body beside hers. She wanted to remember this perfect moment for the rest of her life.
The problem with having a party in her place of work was that the party barely ended when Mel was back at work the next morning, baking up a storm to replace all that was eaten by the party guests last night. The younger DeLaura brothers, Tony and Al, in particular managed to decimate all of the Death by Chocolate Cupcakes. Mel wondered if they were suffering from cupcake hangovers this morning. She knew from experience that overindulging on cupcakes was a lot like a booze hangover in that it came with the same nausea and self-loathing, but not the bad headache.
She dipped the chocolate cupcakes into the ganache icing and with a swift turn of her wrist created a perfect swoosh of icing on top. She glanced again at her ring. It sparkled at her and she found herself grinning like an idiot. She and Joe were getting married; they were cohabiting; they were starting a life together. It was everything Mel had ever hoped for and she found herself tempted to pinch herself repeatedly to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating the whole thing.
The first person to appear in the bakery that morning was Tate. Usually he and Angie came in together as he had unofficially moved into her house. Truly, there was nothing unofficial about it except that they hadn’t told any of the brothers with the exception of Joe, since the brothers had made it pretty clear that Tate was to stay at arm’s length until the vows were said.
Mel thought it was sweetly protective of them, but it drove Angie batty and Mel knew if she were in Angie’s position, she’d feel the same.
“Well, well, well, another bride-to-be,” Tate said as he slipped through the back door into the kitchen. He stopped by the coffeepot that Mel had already started and poured himself a mug. He lifted it toward her and said, “‘A toast before we go into battle. True love. In whatever shape or form it may come. May we all in our dotage be proud to say, ‘I was adored once, too.’”
“Four Weddings and a Funeral,” Mel said with a sigh. “I’ve always loved that movie.”
“Seemed appropriate,” Tate said. “You know, I was beginning to think you and Joe were g
oing to go the way of the two leads in that film and not get married.”
“I know.” Mel glanced down at her ring. “I was beginning to feel as if we were doomed, but maybe it just had to be the right time.”
Tate moved to stand beside her. He admired her ring and then kissed her cheek. “If anyone deserves a happy ever after, it’s you.”
“Thanks,” she said. She glanced at him with suspicion. “Speaking of happy ever after, are you early in an attempt to hide from your future spouse?”
“I’m hurt, Mel, truly, that you could think such a thing of me.” Tate gave her a shocked look but Mel knew him too well.
“What was on her agenda for today?”
“Music,” he said. “Her brother Sal has a DJ guy he wanted her to talk to. Have I mentioned how much I hate DJs?”
“Lately or within the history of our friendship?”
“Lately will work,” he said.
“Pretty much every time we go out and there is a DJ instead of live music,” Mel said. “So, why are you letting Angie do this on her own? If you don’t say something, you’re going to end up with a DJ.”
Tate looked pained. “I’ll die.”
“No, you won’t. What you will do, however, is get involved in the planning of your own wedding,” Mel said. “Look, I’ve talked her down, her cousin Judi has taken on as much as she can. It’s time to man up.”
“But I’m scared of her like this,” he said. “I’m starting to have nightmares where she’s this Frankenstein-looking monster under a veil, yelling at me about roses versus daisies. Frankly, it’s terrifying.”
Mel puffed out her lower lip, blowing out a breath that made her bangs stir across her forehead. She put down the newly dipped cupcake she was holding and turned to face her friend. She had promised Angie she wouldn’t tell Tate about how insecure she was feeling, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t guide him at least a little bit.
“Tate, I didn’t want to say anything because this is between the two of you, but I have to tell you that as a woman, a wedding can be a hugely stressful thing, especially if you approach it like Angie is and try to live up to some impossible ideal,” Mel said. “You know, it’s like she’s trying to prove she’s worthy of it.”
Caramel Crush Page 16