Page 122 of About that Fling
“I love you, Jenna,” he continued. “Will you do me the great honor of being my wife?”
“I will.” Swallowing hard, she glanced down at the ring. It nestled there, bright and hopeful, like a part of her hand already. Exactly like Adam did, it made everything just a little more beautiful. “I love you so much,” she said, lifting her eyes back to his. “And I can’t wait to marry you.”
“Good.” Squeezing her hands, he leaned over the table and kissed her. It was tender and sweet and Jenna felt her chest cavity fill up with warm sunshine. When he drew back again, he was smiling. “How was that for a non-proposal?”
“Perfect.” Laughing, she let go of his hands. “Did you really talk to Aunt Gertie?”
“I did. I thought if your mom were alive, I would have wanted her blessing. Since Aunt Gertie is the next closest thing, it felt right to loop her in.”
“I’m sure she loved that.” Jenna laughed as a light wave of sadness rolled through her. It swirled with the joy she felt in this moment, making a bittersweet brew that felt more sweet than bitter. “She sure loves you.”
“And she absolutely adores you.” He smiled. “I believe her exact words were, ‘Jenna deserves the very best, dear, and I believe you’re it. Please make sure you supply her with endless love, laughter, and multiple orgasms.’”
Jenna laughed. “That sounds like Gertie.”
“It does.” As Adam let go of her hands, he picked up his wine and took a small sip. “Now which one of those things would you like to start on first?”
Smiling with her whole self, Jenna reached for her wineglass. “All of it,” she said, sipping her wine. “Let’s get started right away.”
* * *
***
I’m so freakin’ happy for Jenna and Adam! Were you rooting for them like I was?
Up next in the Can’t Have Hearts Club series, you’re about to learn more about what’s troubling Allison Ross in This Time Around. It turns out the frazzled young association executive has more on her plate than her parents in prison and a grandma who just passed away. She’s about to come face to face with the man she once loved and kinda sorta hoped she’d never see again.
Read on for a peek at This Time Around . . .
Your exclusive peek at This Time Around
“You go ahead. I’m saving room for those currant scones with Devonshire cream.” Allison Ross took a sip of her Earl Grey and used the tip of one French-manicured finger to nudge a plate of dainty tea sandwiches toward her mother.
That’s how it went in her mind, anyway.
In reality, the tea was a can of tepid Diet Coke, the plate was a pile of legal documents, and the cozy tearoom of her childhood memories was now the noisy visiting room of a federal prison.
At least the French manicure was real.
“It’s all right there, Allison,” her mother said, shoving the documents back across the table. “My attorney brought them yesterday when we were working on my appeal.”
Allie looked down to see the papers hadn’t morphed into tea sandwiches or scones or anything else she’d fantasized about since she was a little girl. This was not the life she’d imagined with herself in a starring role as a grownup lady who sipped tea with her mother and red wine with her handsome husband and apple juice with their two adorable children.
It had never occurred to her how many of her youthful fantasies revolved around beverages. It was also possible she was losing it.
“Allison, are you paying attention?”
She snapped her focus back to her mother, who was clad head to toe in prison khaki. “I don’t understand.” Allie blinked back tears as she met her mother’s cool blue stare. “I just had lunch with Grandma last week. She was totally fine! And she’s never said a word about—about—about this.” She gestured to the paperwork, unable to process it any more than she could process the thought that she’d never again see her grandma’s handwriting on a birthday card. She’d never hear the story of her own father’s birth, which her grandma had promised to share “someday when you have your own baby, dear.”
That hadn’t happened. And now it never would.
Allie took a steadying breath. “I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”
Across the table, Priscilla sighed. “Your grandmother always did know how to make a dramatic exit.”
“But why wouldn’t she have mentioned the B&B? She talked about how she wanted me to have her china and Aunt Gretchen’s wedding rings, but her house?”
“Look, your grandmother was always a little flighty, Allison. And clearly she didn’t realize she was going to drop dead playing mah-jongg at the senior center.”
