by Quinn, Taryn
“If she says yes, there will be all the pictures.”
“Yes?”
“I’m going for the holy grail.”
August’s eyes went wide. “Dude, I said get your woman back, not propose.”
“It’s all or nothing at this point.”
He whistled and held out a hand. “Good luck.”
I hauled him in for a hard hug. “If you could put the finished armoire in Macy’s office here, I’d appreciate it.”
“You got it.”
I strode out of The Haunt and to my truck in the back. I wasn’t sure if this was smart, but I had a feeling August was right. Macy needed all the big gestures. I’d all but told her I loved her earlier today. And I’d seen the shock under the hurt.
The fact that she didn’t know I loved her already was definitely on me.
Before I went to The Hummingbird’s Nest, I called every damn pumpkin patch in the county. I’d need a damn lot of pumpkins for this plan to work.
There were a ton of cars parked near the bed and breakfast, and the squeal of children greeted me as soon as I opened the door to the dining room.
Sage Hamilton was in the middle of it all, clad in a crazy orange shirt with flashing lights set in the pumpkin face. She was directing parents and children in the fine art of using a template. Oliver, her husband, was off to the side with their daughter, cutting precise circles for the eyeholes of her jack-o-lantern.
I spotted my daughter and my ex with a clear poncho over her clothes. I was surprised to see as much pumpkin juice near her and on her makeshift smock. Dani spotted me and gave me a huge gap-toothed smile.
“Daddy! Mom has the best carving nails ever. I can’t believe how cool she made our pumpkin!”
Jessica looked at her nails with a sigh. “Good thing I’m getting a manicure tomorrow.”
I stood next to her and bumped her good-naturedly. “You took one for the team. I’m proud.”
“Yes, well, I figured I owed you this much.”
“Thanks for taking care of her. I’m sorry I disappeared.”
“Love makes everyone crazy, John. Even you.”
“That’s the truth.” I moved over to Dani’s station and crouched in front of her. “Hey, sweetheart.”
“Are you going to carve a pumpkin with me?”
“Actually, I think I might be.”
“Yay.” She gestured at the whole pumpkin next to her. “I hoped you would. I kept one of the good ones for you.”
I kissed her forehead. “Thanks, kiddo.”
She turned back to her pumpkin, her blunt-edged knife in hand. “We have a lot of pumpkin guts for roasting the seeds. Maybe we can even make a pie.”
I laughed and took the knife out of her hand. “I have a question to ask you first.”
She tipped her head. “What’s wrong, Daddy? You look…sad.”
“Not sad, kiddo. So glad. But I did make a mistake with Macy, and I really need your help to fix it because you’re the best woman I know. And you’ll make sure I don’t screw this up.”
She patted my cheek. “Of course. Is she mad at you?”
“Yes. But more importantly, I hurt her feelings and I really didn’t mean to.”
“Did you say you’re sorry?”
“I need your help to do that. Think you can help me? I need to show her I love her in a big way.”
“Oh, Daddy. She knows you love her. You show her all the time. Just like you show me.”
My eyes burned. I pulled her in for a hug. “I hope you always know that about me, Dani.”
She patted my arm. “I do.”
I sniffed. “Okay, so one last question before we do this big plan.”
She rubbed her hands together. “I love plans.”
“Would you be all right with me asking Macy to marry me?”
Her green eyes, that matched mine so completely, widened. “Are you for real? That’s sick!”
“Sick?” Not that again.
“Yes, so cool. Get with it, Dad.”
“Sorry.”
“Yes! Yes times a million.” She clapped and hopped around in circles.
At least she was on board. Whew.
“Okay. Now I’ve got a plan. But I think I need help from everyone in here.” I stood up and took her sticky hand. It was probably going to get a lot stickier. “Let’s go talk to Miss Sage.”
I crossed the room to where Sage was counting pumpkins. “Oliver, did you pick out a pumpkin to carve stars into for our little girl?”
Oliver had their curly-haired daughter on his hip. “We’ve carved three pumpkins already.”
“Our little Star deserves all the pumpkins.” She turned around and gave me a wide smile. “Why, John Gideon, I’m so glad you made it. Your little girl is a master pumpkin carver.”
I shook her hand and smiled down at her. “Good thing. I’m going to need some assistance. I’ve got three different farms delivering pumpkins.”
She looked down at the pallet of pumpkins. “I think we have enough.”
“Not for what I have in mind. I’m going to need a lot of help.” I turned to Oliver. “And a big favor, which may turn into a sale if I’m lucky.”
“Sale? Those are magic words for a realtor.” Oliver brushed a kiss along his daughter’s temple. “I’m intrigued. Guess we have some things to discuss.”
“It’s going to take a lot of pumpkins and a lot of help from my friends.” Plus, a metric ton of luck.
And love, but hopefully we had that part squared away.
Sage grinned. “Is there romance in this little favor?”
“Of course there is.”
Sage clapped just like Dani had a moment ago. “I’m so in.”
Twenty
“You can do this. You can do this.” I stared at myself in the mirror in my bathroom. I’d been hiding in my freaking apartment for the last thirty minutes. I couldn’t face watching the door to see if people would actually arrive.
“Of course you can do this, you’re a badass.”
I whirled at the sound of Rylee’s voice, my heart racing. “You’re like one of my damn cats.”
Ry grinned, propping her hand on her scarlet red-clad hip. She wore a form-fitting wrap dress that belied the fact that she’d been pregnant recently. “My child is a ninja. I had to adapt.”
“More like you’re a Houdini.”
She flipped me off. “It’s not breaking in if you gave me a key.”
“Obviously, I had a moment of insanity.” I stepped out of my bathroom to find we weren’t alone.
Dahlia was using my full-length mirror to fluff out her midnight skirt. Little crystal chips sparkled like stars as the hem of the skirt floated around her knees. “Did I just hear you being a bitch ass in there?”
“Sue me, I’m a little nervous.”
“You’re the most capable woman I know. You’re going to rock this shit tonight.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “I’m wearing a dress. You should be too.”
I smoothed my hands over my hips. I was wearing a short skirt with matching black tights. “I’m not a dress girl. But hey, you got me in a skirt.” I actually had a dress for the Halloween grand opening for the public. This was just a dry run for friends and family to show off my place.
I squashed down the quick pang that none of my family would be there. My mom and dad hadn’t been a big part of my life for years, but I hated that I’d lost touch with my brother. I hated that he hadn’t believed in me. And the man who should be my family wasn’t here either.
Gideon.
Oh, he might be at the party because his company had worked on The Haunt, but he wouldn’t be there for me.
Your own fault.
“You’re dressed like the waitstaff.”
I shoved all those stupid thoughts aside. I would not be a hot mess until after the party. I could fall apart and then figure out a way to make Gideon see I’d been an idiot. “No, I’m wearing all black.”
“Yes, like the waitstaff.”
“Semantics.”
Rylee dropped onto my bed and gave Isis a long stroke. She suddenly laughed. “Are those jack-o-lantern faces on your knees?”
I looked down at them. “Yes. Did you think I wasn’t going to put on something Halloween-ish tonight?”
“No, I was expecting a full ensemble from a movie, to be truthful.”
“That’s at the grand opening.”
“There’s my Macy.”
I gave her a half smirk and turned to pick up my black clutch with sparkly blood drips at the zipper. You could really buy anything on Etsy these days. I’d left my hair down and added dangly silver bats for jewelry both at my ears and throat.
I’d been going through the motions for the last three days. Rylee and Vee were taking point at the café while I made sure all my staff were ready for The Haunt’s debut. Mason had been a surprisingly perfect addition to the project. He was a damn good cook and could pretty much bring everything I thought of to life in food form. I let him create too, which served me quite well. The menu for the actual opening was even more perfect than I’d come up with alone.
Vee had handled the pastry items, and Rylee had been training two of my bartenders to become mixologists for some of the crazier drinks coming out of the big cities. Ry had a lot of crazy knowledge from her years of bumping around from job to job. She’d become an invaluable partner through all of this.
So much so that I would be talking to her about expanding upon that movie idea for the back patio at Brewed Awakening.
Assuming I didn’t lose my damn mind over the restaurant first. Or because I ached for a man I’d shoved out of my life like a fool. Take your pick.
Rylee stood. “Come on, let’s do this thing.”
I nodded, then stopped. “Wait. I just wanted to say thanks. I don’t do so well with the emotional shit, but you guys really helped make this dream come true.”
“Aww, look at our Macy getting all sweet.” Rylee fanned her hands in front of her eyes. “Don’t make me screw up my makeup.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re such an ass. I’m trying to have a moment here.”
Dahlia came over and gave me a hard hug. “Horror girls unite.”
I hugged her back. “Damn right.” I stepped back and gave Isis a quick scratch under her chin then picked up Trick who had wound her way around my ankles. “Be good tonight.” I set her next to Isis, then grinned when they rolled into a play fight before settling together in the middle of my bed in a fur pile.
The bed I hadn’t slept in since my fight with Gideon.
I really hadn’t missed the insomnia that seemed to have magically disappeared after I’d gotten together with him, but my apartment was spotless.
I followed the girls out of the room and downstairs.
“I’m going to check in with the café and be right over.” Rylee took the hallway down to the side door to Brewed Awakening while Dahlia and I headed for The Haunt.
Voices were already coming from the main dining room. My extra backup waitstaff were winding around patrons with trays full of Halloween-inspired finger food. I tried to navigate my way toward the kitchen to make sure everything was okay.
Instead, I ended up shaking hands and hugging a dozen people before I got through the side door. So many townspeople had come to see my little place. Even people I’d assumed would politely decline had showed up to see my horror-themed restaurant.
Irene Whitaker from the town council was standing right next to my life-size Michael Myers and sipping from a smoking green punch. That was definitely something I hadn’t expected to see tonight.
Lucky was hitting on some blond from the wine bar down the street. I’d advised against children coming since there were so much monster-type memorabilia and lots of special effects, but it hurt to acknowledge Dani was nowhere in sight.
I wasn’t surprised that her father wasn’t here, even though all of his crew had shown up. I didn’t quite know what I was going to say to Gideon, but I desperately wanted to at least see him.
Even if killed me.
I tried to duck into the kitchen, but a voice behind me killed that dream.
“Macy, this place is amazing.”
I turned to smile at Seth and Ally Hamilton. “Hey. I’m so glad you guys could come.”
Ally waved me off. “You can stop with the hostess smile.”
I gave my aching face a break. I wasn’t sure I had ever smiled this much before. “It’s been nuts. I still haven’t made it into the kitchen to check on Mason.”
“The food is awesome. Be careful or Sage will try to steal him for the B&B.”
“Actually, Mason is making plans for his own place, so I only get to keep him for a little while anyway. At least it gives me some time to find another decent chef.”
“Well, I’ll be going to his place for sure.”
I laughed. “Thanks.”
Ally’s cheeks pinkened. “You know what I mean.” She glanced up at Seth. “Care to take a whirl through the Freddy section over there? There are even dioramas. It looks freaking cool.”
“That’s one of my favorite corners. I hope you like it.”
Ally waved as she slid her arm through Seth’s to lean into him.
I tried not to let my heart shred itself. It wasn’t even like Gideon and I were super PDA-types—well, except when it came to kisses, which we tended to steal often—but I did miss his strong arms around me. Especially in the dead of the night.
Especially every frigging moment.
I didn’t make it back to the kitchen for the next hour, but I’d already been around so many people that my head was throbbing double-time. Instead, I escaped to my office. I went right to my desk and found my bottle of Advil, then looked up and dropped the cap.
I hadn’t allocated much space for my office. It never seemed important for me to have a space to do paperwork. It was just a necessary evil. But tucked in the corner, there was a tall armoire with an intricate design of bats and jack-o-lanterns and skulls along the front. It was obviously August’s handiwork for the furniture portion.
But the middle panels were pure Gideon.
The bats along the top matched the little carvings in my bar. I came closer to smooth my fingers over the relief pattern he’d designed, and my eyes swam at the three pumpkins in the bottom half. They had such character. So much life in their little faces. They were me, Gideon, and Dani.
A knock on my door had me dashing away tears. “Just a second,” I called out. Probably some freaking emergency.
I cleared my throat and opened the door.
Dani stood there swaying back and forth in a swishy little A-line dress with pumpkins all along the bottom of the skirt. She gave a delighted laugh and pointed at my jack-o-lantern tights. “We match.”
“We sure do.” I crouched down in front of her. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s your party, duh. Of course I’m going to be here.”
I pulled her in for a hug. “I’m so glad. Where’s your dad?”
“He’s here.”
My belly flipped. “Where is he?”
“It’s a surprise.”
I let her go and stood up. “Is that so?”
She held out her hand. “Can you come outside with me?”
I took it and followed her out into the main dining room. Where there had been only spooky decorations and flickering glass before, now there were a few dozen lit jack-o-lanterns crammed on every available space. People had glasses of punch and were still talking among themselves as if they hadn’t just rearranged my entire place.
“What’s going on?”
“You’ll see.” She kept pulling me through the restaurant to the front door.
“I can’t leave my own party, kiddo.”
“Sure you can. Don’t worry, Rylee and Dahlia said they’d take care of it.” She walked faste
r, and I hurried to keep up.
There were more pumpkins with crazy faces set around the front entryway. Some obviously had been done by children, but others were crazy impressive. I spotted some of Dahlia’s handiwork as well.
We took a left onto the sidewalk and Gideon’s big steel gray truck was parked at the curb with him leaning against the side panel. There was another cluster of lit pumpkins around the tree right beside his truck. When he spotted us, he straightened.
“Hey, Mace.”
“Hi.”
Dani pulled me over to him and did a literal handoff. Gideon took my hand.
“What’s going on?”
Gideon laced our fingers. “You need to come with me.”
“I don’t need to do anything.”
His jaw tightened. “No, you don’t. But I’m asking you to come with me.” He ruffled Dani’s bangs. “You going to be all right with Rylee for a little bit?”
She nodded and turned to wave at Rylee in the doorway of The Haunt.
Rylee waved back.
“So, she’s in on this?”
Gideon shrugged. “Maybe.”
Dani wrapped her arms around my waist and held on tight for a moment, then ran back to Rylee. “Say yes!” She called out and waved.
I looked back at Gideon. He’d bowed his head and his shoulders were shaking with repressed laughter. “That kid.”
“She’s a pretty great kid.”
“I know it.” He opened the car door but didn’t release my hand. Instead, he helped me climb in.
“What the heck is going on?”
He finally let my hand go. “We’re going to take a little ride, and we’re going to have a talk.”
“Sounds ominous.”
He shook his head. “Only you would say that.” He closed the door and went around to the driver’s side.
We didn’t say anything for the first few minutes. When he started driving out by the lake, I gave him a sideways glance. “Are we going to talk?” I frowned as more jack-o-lanterns seemed to dot every corner we passed.
“I love you, Macy. I’m not sure you actually understand that, but I do.”
“Holy crap.” I swallowed down the lump in my throat. I didn’t know what to say. I mean, he’d kind of said it to me after that awful scene over Jessica, but he’d never actually said the words. It had been so long since anyone had said those words to me, period.