“We’ll help,” Harper promised. “I mean ... we have no idea how to run a bed and breakfast, but we’ve visited quite a few of them.”
“We have,” Zander agreed. “I can help you with the books, too. The learning curve won’t be so bad. You’ll figure it out.”
“I’m so ... overwhelmed.” Natalie’s cheeks were pink with pleasure. “Patty saved me again. I think that’s what she was best at.”
“She was a good woman.” Harper reached over and squeezed Natalie’s shoulder. “She might’ve been good at the core, if not on the surface. That trio of idiots you had in the police station wasn’t, though.” She was grave as she turned back to Jared. “Please tell me they’re going to get in at least a little bit of trouble.”
“Not from us,” Jared replied. “The only thing we have them on is the prostitution angle and we can’t charge them without charging the women.”
Harper scowled. “There should be a loophole on that.”
“I agree, but I don’t make the rules.”
“If it’s any consolation, Delores Burrows decided to serve as the town’s moral center this morning and she went to each home and tattled on the men to their wives,” Mel offered, his lips curving.
Harper’s mouth dropped open. “No way.”
“Delores always was a tattletale,” Zander noted. “Since she’s not tattling on me for a change, I’m fine with it. In fact ... .” He trailed off as the distinct sound of music began filling the street. “Is that the band? What are they doing out?”
Harper craned her neck to see down the street. Indeed, it was the high school band. They were all gussied up in their dress uniforms and marching to a familiar beat. “Is that ... Eye of the Tiger?”
Next to her, Jared’s lips quirked before he could smooth his face. “Sounds like it.”
She pinned him with a look. “What ... ?”
He lifted his finger to his lips and shook his head, flicking his eyes to Zander, who was completely enthralled with the approaching band.
“Oh.” Realization dawned on Harper and her heart did a giddy little dance.
“This is one of my favorite songs,” Zander said for Natalie’s benefit.
“I’ve never heard of it.” The young woman furrowed her brow. “It sounds ... old.”
“Old?” Zander made a face. “Some songs are timeless, and this is one of them.”
“I guess I’ll have to take your word for it.” Natalie’s gaze was fixed on the street. “Hey, is there a guy in a rainbow tuxedo holding a huge bouquet of roses in front of the band?”
“What?” Zander snapped his head back to the street.
From the spot next to him, Harper studied his face. She recognized the moment he understood what was about to happen and her eyes filled with tears. Sure, they were of the happy variety, but they were so thick she had to blink to shed them.
“Come here before you ruin this,” Jared admonished, sliding his arm around Harper’s shoulders and dragging her a few feet away. “You don’t want to steal his thunder or anything. You know how that goes.”
Harper let loose a ragged laugh, which only made her cry harder.
“Oh, Heart, this is what he wants.” Jared looked pained. “Don’t cry. I hate it when you cry. Unless ... is this that Patty thing again? I assumed that something weird was going on with you because of her Alzheimer’s and dismissed it. Are you saying that’s not the case?”
Harper dabbed at her eyes and shook her head. “Sometimes tears are happy.”
“Well, I still don’t like them. You’re sure you’re okay, right?”
She nodded. “The weird feelings went away as soon as I sent Patty over. I’m okay.”
“Then stop crying.”
She laughed at his exasperation. “He’s my best friend. He cried when I got engaged. I have to do the same for him.”
“Fine.” Jared threw up his hands in exasperation. “When they take off to celebrate later, though, there will be no tears.”
“Just crab legs and chocolate cake,” Harper promised.
“Now that I can get behind.”
The band fanned out when it reached the spot in front of them and the music dramatically shifted. The new refrain belonged to a power ballad ... Zander’s favorite to be exact.
“Shallow!” Zander screeched, dancing around.
Harper pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. Next to Jared’s truck, Mel repeatedly shook his head, but he looked dewy-eyed at the prospect, too.
Shawn produced a microphone out of the back of his pocket and handed it to Zander, earning a cocked head for the effort.
“I can’t sing,” Shawn explained. “You wanted a big deal, but I can’t sing. So, you’re going to do the singing, and then I’m going to do the asking.”
Zander’s smile was so wide it almost split his face. “This is even better than I dreamed.”
“I’m glad.” Shawn glanced over Zander’s shoulder and winked at Harper. “There’s a part for a man and a woman in the song,” he noted.
“No way.” Harper shook her head, but Zander was already grabbing her hand and dragging her toward the center of things.
“You’ll take the guy part,” he instructed as she screeched her distress. “I was born to be Gaga.”
Shawn took the spot next to Jared and watched as Zander forced his best friend to be the center of attention. “Thanks for helping.”
Jared’s heart swelled as he watched Harper and Zander wrestle. “No problem. He deserves it.”
“He does. Are you sure you’re okay with this? It basically means it’s going to be the four of us forever.”
“Without you, it’s just going to be the three of us forever. I much prefer you being in the mix.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Jared extended his hand. “Welcome to the family.”
Shawn answered him with an embrace. They were officially a foursome. There was no looking back now.
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Acknowledgments
I’m a romantic at heart. A true romantic. I love the idea of a happy ending, so much so I have trouble writing a sad one. The world is sad enough. I like escaping in fiction. That’s just me. I like sarcasm and snark – but I’m not sure a sad ending is in me. If you’re looking for an edge like that, you’re probably looking in the wrong place. Just FYI.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
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Deadly Proposal
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