The Secret She Kept
Page 20
Then he shook his head and her heart sank.
“That won’t work, honey.”
Savannah froze. “What do you mean?”
“You can’t ask me to marry you. I asked you first. It’s my proposal.”
Her eyes fluttered shut and she almost collapsed with relief. But she straightened, recovering quickly. “You may recall,” she said, struggling not to smile, “that I rejected you. Several times.”
He lifted her and carried her to his truck. “Ah, yes, how could I forget? You’ve kept me guessing about when that thick skull of yours would allow you to see the light.”
“Put me down for a second,” she said, and he set her on the uneven gravel. “You gave me this whole song and dance about the two of us having a partnership, being equal, sharing control, blah, blah, blah. So why don’t we just agree that getting engaged is the thing to do.”
Jake stared at her, looking very serious, then a grin crept back across his face. “That sounds like an excellent idea.”
“The kids and I can move here as long as you give us a few weeks to prepare….”
His grin got bigger. “Actually, that won’t be necessary. I put my house on the market yesterday. I’d decided to move to Lone Oak with or without your blessing. I want to be with my family. My grandma, my sister, my daughter.”
“What about your company? Your dream?”
“I’m making my right-hand man a partner. He’ll run it. I trust him. The company will be here if we ever want to return. You and the kids have become more important to me.”
She wrapped her arms around him. “If you’re sure, Jake, then that’s okay with me.”
“I’m sure. And you know what’s even better?”
“What?”
“A very short engagement.”
“We have to have a ceremony or Claudia will disown me.”
He paused, considering it. “All right,” he said, “I’ll make you a deal. We’ll let Claudia have her ceremony…if you come to my house and start pretending you’re my wife right now.”
Savannah laughed. “Seems like a tempting deal.”
“It can be our little secret,” he said, setting her inside his truck.
“What about my car? My bag is in it.”
“What’s in your bag?”
“My clothes…”
“Honey, where we’re going, you won’t have any need for those.”
She laughed and moved over enough for him to climb in and start them off on the rest of their lives together.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-2692-4
THE SECRET SHE KEPT
Copyright © 2009 by Amy Knupp.
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