by Candis Terry
Today’s lead page pins on Pinterest were of hanging gardens, tiger-eye beads, intricately woven hair braids, and hot firemen sans shirts and hoses. The reminder sucked away all her joy, and she had no choice but to shut down the computer.
As her Gma G would say, “When you’re down, get baking.” So even though baking was what Fiona did on a daily basis, she got out the ingredients to experiment on a new flavor.
Much later, in the process of putting a tray of her newly invented pecan shortbread cupcakes into the display case, the bell jingled above the door.
She looked up.
And froze.
As though he’d been conjured from her dreams, Mike stood just inside the door–hair disheveled, dark sunglasses covering his eyes, shirt and jeans wrinkled. He looked tired, down, and good enough to eat.
“You’re back.” The urge to run to him and throw herself into his arms was almost too much to resist.
Yet somehow she did.
More than two weeks had passed without a word.
How did he feel? And what was he here to tell her?
The downward tilt to his mouth gave her no indication whatsoever.
He removed the sunglasses and shoved them up on his head. Only then did he finally speak.
“I’ve been up since the crack of dawn battling airport crowds, the TSA, and long, crowded flights. I’m exhausted and probably a little cranky. But the minute I set foot back on Texas soil, all I could think of was getting back to you.” Bootheels tapped on the wood floor as he came around the display case and drew her into his arms. “Damn but I missed you.”
A dam the size of Hoover couldn’t have held back the tears that burst from her eyes. And when he kissed her, it left her breathless.
“I’ve missed you too,” she said, looking him over while still disbelieving he was actually there.
“I feel bad for not calling. But the past two weeks have been emotionally draining, to say the least.”
“I was just so worried about you, so I would have loved a call. But I understand. And I’m not selfish enough to believe you needed to add me to your worries when you had enough on your hands.” She touched his face just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. “How’s your grandmother?”
“She passed.” His eyes darkened. And then he smiled. “But not before giving me some really good advice and a swift kick in the pants.”
“What did she say?”
“For a while, she would doze off and on and really didn’t have much to say. During those five days and nights, I never left her side except for the brief moments I went down the hall to check on my mother,” he said.
Fiona couldn’t imagine being in such a situation. How did he even hold it all together?
“I told my Avó about you and Izzy. The whole time I talked about you, she held my hand. While I spoke, she’d close her eyes, but she had a smile on her dry, cracked lips. When I stopped talking, she’d squeeze my hand with her frail fingers, encouraging me to continue.”
“You grandmother sounds like a wonderful woman.”
“You have no idea.” The smile that came across his face took away the dark shadows in his eyes. “Though she’d never met you, in her last moments she asked me if I was worthy of you. Not if you were worthy of me, Fiona. If I was worthy of you and Izzy.”
“I’m so sorry I never had the chance to meet her.”
“Me too.” He took a labored breath and let the pain of the loss wash over him.
“You’ve got the same kind of heart she has,” he said. “One a person can feel even when you’re not right there beside them. The night she died, she gave my hand one last squeeze. And she told me in Portuguese, “At last, O meu neto—my grandson—you have found the one. I can leave happy now. Before she closed her eyes and took her last breath, she said one last thing.”
Fiona felt the power of his love for his grandmother as they locked eyes, and a smile again lifted those beautiful, masculine lips.
“She told me that it was time to stop taking on everyone else’s problems. Especially when they’d created them on their own. She told me it was time to grab hold of happiness and live my own life.”
“That isn’t always easy to do.”
“She gave me her blessing, bela, and I took it. I may be slow at times, but I’m not stupid enough to let the best thing that’s ever happened to me slip away. Not when I’m so much in love with you that I can’t imagine life without you. Or Izzy.”
Fiona had trouble swallowing. Her mouth went dry.
It took a moment for his words to sink in, but when it hit her, the emotion balled-up inside her chest exploded.
“You . . . love me?”
“I don’t just love you, Fiona. I’m completely in love with you.”
He sounded so sure. Like he was standing in front of a judge, fighting for his life.
“I love the way you bite your lip when you’re nervous. I love the cute little way you snore. I love the way you pluck the pickles off your cheeseburger and eat them first. I love the way you love your daughter. I love you, Fiona. I just . . . love you like crazy.”
He stroked her hair away from her face, bent his head, and kissed her. “There’s no doubt in my mind that I can be the man you want. The man you need. I can never completely walk away from my family, I don’t have that hard a heart. But I’m putting you and Isabella first. I’m putting us first. Now and always. If you’ll still have me.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to disappoint your grandmother.”
“I’m sure she’d appreciate that.”
Heart pounding, she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up into the dark, mystical eyes that had caught her attention that night at the charity auction and captured her heart before she’d even known his name.
“Of course I’ll have you. I love you, Mike. You’re the man I’ve been hoping, wishing, and dreaming of all my life. You’re my forever.”
Epilogue
“Come on, Mike. Hurry.” Izzy ran ahead of them straight toward the waterfall in San Antonio’s Japanese Tea Gardens. Her pink rhinestone sneakers sparkled in the sunlight as they slapped against the pathway.
“What is she so excited about?” Fiona laughed, and her heart gave a little sigh as Mike reached down and took her hand.
“I don’t know.” Mike squinted against the sun. “I thought for sure the trip to the zoo would wear her out.”
“No kidding. I thought we’d never get away from the monkey exhibit.”
“Yeah.” He laughed and gave her hand a squeeze. “They kind of reminded me of the guys at the station.”
“I’ll make sure I don’t pass along that tidbit of information for fear they’d short-sheet your bed or put plastic wrap over the toilet seat.”
Since that sleet-driven day when he’d rescued her, they’d discovered they not only had what it took to make it through the occasional misunderstanding or crisis, but that with each episode, they actually fell a little more in love.
Izzy had grown an inch and had begun to lose her baby chub. Biscuit had left her puppyhood behind and now resided in the body of a forty-pound, drooling beast. And somehow, one of the kittens from Abby’s rescue center had made its way into their family.
Sweet Surprise was in the black and had a growing clientele that included the mayor and the sugar-loving members of the senior center. And just last week, Fiona had met with Sabrina and the bank regarding an expanded business loan to open their ice-cream-and-gift shop. Sabrina was currently looking for a small house in Sweet to rent.
Jackson and Abby returned home from their honeymoon and remained on cloud nine.
Jana continued to put off setting a date for her wedding to Martin because she still had a baby bird left in the nest. No one had the nerve to remind her that the baby bird was six-foot-five and operated a military assault rifle with a level of expertise that made it look like a water pistol.
Jesse and Allison finally emerged from the honeymoon suite and had never looked happier
.
And a month ago, Reno and Charli had a fun-filled gathering to announce they had baby number one on the way.
Life was looking good.
“Hurry, Mommy!” Izzy called from where she’d stopped near the stone wall in front of the waterfall. She pointed at the pond. “Look, Mike! A swimmin’ turtle!”
A chuckle rumbled from Mike’s chest. “I don’t guess we could talk her into going to the Jingu House for some sushi instead of looking at the koi.”
“I’d say that would be a tea-garden fail before it even got started.”
They stopped in front of the waterfall, and Fiona felt the cool mist land on her bare arms. Hot sun and cool water made a great combination. The gardens were gorgeous, with the natural stone bridges and walkways, the large ponds, and the fountain spraying up offering a cool respite when a breeze passed by.
The gardens had been the place Mike had taken her for their first date after they’d bought her new car. And Fiona couldn’t help but remember the excitement she’d held in her heart that day because of the man who now stood beside her holding her hand.
“Hey, Izzy,” he called. Izzy’s head snapped up, and a smile danced across her face. “Can I borrow you for a minute?”
Her daughter skipped over to where they stood right in front of the long-drop waterfall.
“Yeah, Mike?” Her little face scrunched up as she looked way up at him.
He lifted her and positioned her on his hip so she fit between him and Fiona.
“I’ve got something I want to ask you and your mom.”
“Are we gonna get ice cream?”
Mike laughed. “Maybe later, but right now I want to ask . . .”
When he reached down and took Fiona’s hand and held it against his chest, her heart did a little somersault. He was so handsome. So attentive. So easy to love.
She was so lucky.
“I want to ask if you and your mom will marry me?”
“What?” The hand he wasn’t holding flew to Fiona’s mouth in surprise.
“Yay!” Izzy clapped.
Mike kissed Izzy on the cheek, then set her down. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two ring boxes. Then he got down on his knee and took Fiona’s hand.
Her heart hammered, and tears she couldn’t stop flooded her eyes.
“Fiona, you wanted traditional. So I’m down on my knee. But I’ll crawl to the ends of the Earth if you say you’ll marry me.”
She was already nodding before he even asked.
“Don’t just nod.” He grinned. “Please say yes.”
“Yes.”
He opened the little black box, withdrew the beautiful solitaire diamond ring inside, and slipped it on her finger. Then he pulled her toward him, and they sealed the deal of a lifetime with a kiss.
“Hey.” Izzy propped her hands on her hips. “What about me?”
Fiona laughed through her happy tears as Mike turned toward her daughter, who was so excited she was literally bouncing.
“Izzy, I want to marry your Mom. So that means I get to marry you too. Is it okay if you become my little princess?”
She nodded, and her golden curls danced. “Yes.”
Mike opened the second box, withdrew a tiny little sapphire ring, and put it on Izzy’s finger. Then he kissed her forehead and swung her up into his arms.
They all came together in an embrace that felt so perfect, so right, Fiona’s heart smiled.
Once upon a time, she’d given up on hot firemen.
Thank God he hadn’t given up on her.
Can’t get enough of Candis Terry’s sexy, delightful Sweet, Texas?
Next summer, return to watch as the last Wilder to wed finally meets his match in
Truly Sweet
War had been hell for Marine Sergeant Jake Wilder. He’d lost his big brother, his best friend, and now he was fighting his way back from an injury that nearly cost him his own life. He’d once considered himself a military lifer, now he needs to rethink his entire future. But that definitely doesn’t include a certain opinionated blonde who’s been a pain in his backside for as long as he can remember.
Annie Morgan thought she’d found her Prince Charming, only to discover he’d been a toad all along. Abandoned and a new mother, she doesn’t have time to think about finding her happily-ever-after. And there’s no way it would come in the form of a gorgeous Marine with a chip on his shoulder a mile wide. But sometimes fate has a mind all its own.
SUMMER 2015
About the Author
CANDIS TERRY was born and raised near the sunny beaches of Southern California and now makes her home on an Idaho farm. She’s experienced life in such diverse ways as working in a Hollywood recording studio to chasing down wayward steers. Only one thing has remained the same: her passion for writing stories about relationships, the push-and-pull in the search for love, and the security one finds in their own happily-ever-after.
Please visit her on the web at www.candisterry.com and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
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By Candis Terry
SWEET SURPRISE
SOMETHING SWEETER
SWEETEST MISTAKE
ANYTHING BUT SWEET
SOMEBODY LIKE YOU
ANY GIVEN CHRISTMAS
SECOND CHANCE AT THE SUGAR SHACK
Short Stories
SWEET COWBOY CHRISTMAS
SWEET FORTUNE
(appears in CONFESSIONS OF A SECRET ADMIRER)
HOME SWEET HOME
(appears in FOR LOVE AND HONOR and CRAZY SWEET FINE)
Coming Soon
TRULY SWEET
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SWEET SURPRISE. Copyright © 2015 by Candis Terry. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition FEBRUARY 2015 ISBN: 9780062351142
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062351135
FIRST EDITION
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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