Page 57 of Sweet Summertide

Rinaldi let her go and took something out of his front pants pocket. Before she could stop him, he was down on one knee in front of her presenting a sparkling princess cut diamond ring to her. “Blake Hollis, I love you. Will you agree to be my wife, my partner, and the other half of my soul? Marry me.”

She knew her answer was a resoundingno, but for some reason, with dozens of eyeballs boring holes into her, she froze. This was not the proposal she had dreamed of recently.Teddy, she thought,I want Teddy. She inspected the faces in the crowd where she had last seen him, but the dance had turned her around and he wasn’t anywhere in that direction. Millie caught her eye and pointed. Holly spun around just in time to see Teddy marching across the dance floor towards them.

Teddy scooped her into his arms like a beast and pressed a possessive kiss on her lips. She would never forget the way he let his whole heart pour into her in that moment. She was full of the kind of love she deserved. He broke the kiss, set her down and pulled Rinaldi to his feet. “You son of a bitch,” Teddy growled.

Seeing them standing toe-to-toe, it wasn’t even a contest. She’d take the saint any day. Millie came around to Holly’s side and put a protective arm around her shoulders as they watched the unfolding altercation between the man she loved and the boy she had left in her past where he belonged.

“Hey man. What the hell? Can’t you see I’m proposing to my girl?” Rinaldi attempted to push past Teddy.

In response, Teddy placed his palm on Rinaldi’s chest. “Her answer is no. Now get out of here.”

“Who the hell are you thinking you can speak for Blake,” Rinaldi said and leaned his head around Teddy’s broad body to see her face. “Does he chew your food too, baby?”

That was it! Holly marched right up to Rinaldi and slapped him across the face. Her hand stung like it had been pricked by thousands of tiny pins and needles, and she shook the pain off.“It’s none of your business if he does or doesn’t. My answer is always going to be no. Now get out of here, you snake.”

“You brat!” he lurched forward towards her, and she narrowly dodged his attempt to grab her arm.

Teddy shoved him backwards and Alfonso and Millie stood on either side of Teddy like a wall. Holly’s heart, though it was beating faster than she thought was possible, was full of gladness for the friend group she now had.

Millie stuck her pointer and middle finger in Rinaldi’s’ direction and taunted him to advance again. “Try it, and find out,” she said.

Rinaldi began to back off and Holly’s mother came through the crowd. Instead of checking on her own daughter, she took Rinaldi’s shoulders in her hands and asked if he was alright. He put his head on her shoulder, and she stroked the man’s hair.

A warm hand rested on Holly’s shoulder, and she turned to see who it might be. “Daddy,” she said and hugged her father. “Did you see what she did?”

“She’s gone too far this time,” he said and stood back.

“I can’t do this anymore with her. I’m tired of being under her thumb and this was the last straw.” She hugged her dad again.

“I didn’t realize,” her father said. “With all the traveling and … It’s no excuse. I’ll take care of it.”

For the first time, Holly felt like she wasn’t imagining her mother’s actions. Everyone around the dance floor, including her father, saw it too. A few weeks ago, Holly would have been way more bothered by her mother’s disloyalty, but now, as she smiled at her friends, and the man who had her heart, she didn’t even care. Rinaldi and her mother exited the dance floor, the previous song having long ended.

The band started up another tune, an instrumental version ofI Hope You Dance, one of Holly’s favorites. This time she wantedto take control. “Saint Teddy,” this time she called him that with no hint of sarcasm. “Will you do me the honor of dancing with me?”

He said no words. Just approached her and took her in his arms. Her feet didn’t hit the floor again for several breaths. In his hold, he spun her around and took her mouth with his. His facial hair rubbed against her lips and sent a thrill through her. Not one of their other kisses had been so romantic. If they weren’t in public, with practically the entire town staring at them, she might have let down her hair, but the reality was they had appearances to uphold as business owners.

She pulled away and he placed her down on her tip toes when the microphone screeched from the stage. They paused and stood side by side. Teddy threaded his fingers through hers and she squeezed tight. It was time for the announcement.

Up on the stage, a man, no more than forty tapped his fingers on the mic. The crowd quieted and some people pushed forward to be closer to the front. From their place at the center of the dance floor, Holly could see just fine, and hearing the overpowered mic was not a problem.

“Happy Independence Day, folks,” the man started. “For those of you who don’t know me. I’m Mayor Thorpe and if this isn’t the biggest Fourth of July festival we’ve ever had, call me a monkey’s uncle. Who here is having a good time? Let me hear you say ’fireworks’!”

The crowd responded with shouts and clapping, eliciting a giggle. There was far too much joy in the air to be mad about Rinaldi or her mother. She leaned into Teddy. “Whatever happens?”

“Whatever happens,” he repeated and nudged her with his shoulder.

Mayor Thorpe hushed the crowd with his hands. “Now, before we can get to the big show here in a little bit, I believe some of our business owners are waiting for an announcement.”

A woman who Holly had met briefly at the girls’ night came across the stage. The older woman held a white envelope in her hand and tapped the end of the mic. “Hello, Christmas Cove!” she shouted, and the crowd cheered. “My name is Carol. Many of you know me and know that I’ve loved this town for a very long time. A few months back, I married the love of my life, Pa, right here in town. As it turns out, before my father passed away many years ago, he set up a trust that only paid out if I ever got married. The thing is, I avoided marriage for so long because of him.” Carol looked at an older man, Holly assumed was her husband, and he encouraged her to keep going with a smile.

Carol gave a nervous giggle in her throat. “The irony. Anyway, I don’t need all that money, and thought, what better way to celebrate the town I love than to help get Main Street back up and kicking again.” She put her hand out towards Pa, and he joined her on stage. “We decided to award fifty-thousand dollars to a most deserving establishment.”

Pa stepped to the mic. “And to all the applicants, we are paying three months of your rent.”

This announcement alone created an uproarious applause. Holly grabbed Teddy’s arm. “Isn’t this great?”

He nodded as Pa began speaking again. “Okay, okay, folks. The winner of the fifty-thousand dollars is …” The band’s drummer started his sticks on the snare drum. “Cove Candles. Congratulations. Let’s give a round of applause to owner, Angela Catsberry.”

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