by Eryn Scott
My body tingled with happiness, surrealness. Breath quickening, I nodded emphatically. And with the happy words crowding together in my brain, all I could croak out was one.
“Yes.”
The most important one.
He pulled me all the way to him, kissing me. Assuming she must be done with her sitting-still duties, Hammy jumped up and ran around us, barking. I’m still not convinced that Alex didn’t practice that part with her.
We broke apart long enough for him to slip the ring onto my finger, then he stood and pulled me up with him, kissing me again. A few blissful moments, we stayed like that, wrapped in each other’s arms.
“Okay,” he exhaled. “And we should probably blow out these candles. There are like a hundred of these things and we’re surrounded by paper.”
He wouldn’t let me help, telling me there were a few people waiting to hear from me and shooing me upstairs to go call my mom and Maggie. They were together, waiting to talk to me on speakerphone when I called with the news. My heart swelled as I hung up the phone and held it tight to my chest. I took a quiet moment to close my eyes and tell my dad the news before I padded back down the stairs.
The lights were on again in the bookstore, and the candles were all cleared away.
I scowled at my phone. “Is it terrible that I’m a little scared to call Liv and tell her?” I asked Alex. A tiny tickle of sadness crept into my chest as I met his gaze.
He frowned. “Why would you be scared to tell Liv anything?”
“I didn’t want to make a big deal about it with the case and all, but she and Carson have been having a bit of a rough patch with the new house. He’s been distant and… I don’t want to rub our happiness in her face when they’re figuring things out.”
Alex walked over and kissed me. “You’re a good friend, Peps, but I think you should definitely call her.” He checked his watch. “Now would be a good time since we have to leave for our reservations soon.”
I chewed on my lip, knowing he was right. And I was about to call her when my phone started to vibrate. Liv’s name flashed across the screen.
A laugh escaped me. “You might be psychic. I was just about to call you,” I said, answering the call.
“I’m not psychic, but guess what I am?” she said, her voice bubbly. “Engaged! I’m engaged!” she yelled before I had a chance to say anything.
A smile peeled across my face, and I looked up to see Alex grinning like a fool.
“Ahhh!” I squealed. “Guess what? So am I!”
“What?” Liv’s voice squeaked, “Are you serious? This is the best!”
Alex went back to stacking books, but he couldn’t hide his smile.
“I think these guys of ours planned this,” I said, smirking.
Liv gasped. “Carson Moore, did you and Alex plan this?” she asked, the sound slightly muffled.
“We saw how hard not living together has been on you two and knew you would have the most fun if you could be engaged together,” Alex explained, walking over to me.
I shook my head in blissful disbelief, wrapping my free hand around Alex and leaning into his chest.
“Okay, Liv. She needs to hang up now, or we’re going to be late joining you two for dinner,” Alex said into the phone.
“Sounds good. See you two in a few,” Liv said before hanging up.
I tucked my phone in my back pocket, letting out a huge sigh of relief. Alex clicked his tongue to get Hamburger to follow him upstairs. So that’s why Carson had been acting so weird lately.
“Hey, how come Carson was a hot mess about his proposal, but I had no idea anything was different with you?” I called after him. “You even had a head injury, and you didn’t let anything slip.”
Alex chuckled as he came back down the stairs. “Carson is a terrible liar.”
“And you’re a good one?” I cocked an eyebrow.
He put a hand on his chest. “I’ve had training. Still, I didn’t realize the guy was almost going to blow it so many times. You two almost caught him that day he was meeting with the jeweler to get Liv’s ring.” Alex helped me into my jacket and then held the door open.
“Ah, so the Bittersweet lady wasn’t actually a potential NWU student,” I said, while he locked the shop behind us. “At least he warned her to lie about who she was before we had Nate question her.”
Alex tipped his head to one side. “Sure, we can give him that. Plus, I wasn’t as good as you think. Keeping it a secret was killing me. It’s why I freaked out that morning when you mentioned to me about moving in.”
Closing my eyes for a moment, I nodded. “That makes so much more sense. I thought you didn’t want to be with me anymore.”
“When, in fact, it was the opposite.” He put a hand on each of my shoulders. “Because of the case and my accident, we had to push the proposals back. I was frustrated and tired, and I didn’t handle any of that very well.”
“Don’t worry. It’s over now.” I threaded my arm through his and held out my left hand, swooning over my ring all over again.
Alex reached forward and enveloped my hand in his. “You’re going to get frostbite if you keep doing that in this weather.”
“It’ll be worth it,” I said with a skip in my step.
Don’t miss the last book in the Pepper Brooks series:
Pepper and Alex are off to London to visit Fergie during her time as a guest lecturer at Oxford. Between planning a wedding and sightseeing—including a Dickens walking tour—getting involved in a murder investigation abroad is the last thing Pepper expects to do.
Coming 2020!
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Also by Eryn Scott
Mystery:
The Pepper Brooks Cozy Mystery Series
The Stoneybrook Mysteries
Women’s fiction:
The Beauty of Perhaps
Settling Up
The What’s in a Name Series
In Her Way
Romantic comedy:
Meet Me in the Middle
About the Author
Eryn Scott lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their quirky animals. She loves classic literature, musicals, knitting, and hiking. She writes cozy mysteries and women’s fiction.
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www.erynwrites.com
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