Just Desserts (Main Street Merchants Book 4) Read online

  * * *

  Jonah didn’t show up after three days, and Quinn was starting to get edgy. In fact, it was closer to four days before he came into the bakery.

  “Quinn, he’s here,” Becky said in a stage whisper, walking up to the large stand mixer where Quinn was blending up some vanilla cake batter.

  “He is?” Quinn motioned for Becky to take over at the machine, and then she went to the hand-washing sink and got cleaned up. She was ready to talk to him, but what if he’d changed his mind while he was gone?

  Knowing there was no other way to find out, she stepped into the shop area and smiled. Wow—he looked even better than she remembered. “Hey,” she said.

  “Hey yourself.” He grinned, setting those butterflies loose in her stomach again. “What are you doing after work?”

  “Whatever you want me to. I hope it includes something to eat, though.”

  “It will. I’ll pick you up at six, okay?”

  “Sounds great.”

  Two new customers came in just then, and Jonah waved at her over their heads as he left. Six o’clock. She only had to wait until six. And then she could say what she so badly wanted to say.

  * * *

  When Jonah picked Quinn up, she was ready this time and took a running leap into the passenger side of his truck.

  “Wow. That was pretty impressive,” he said, giving her a slow clap.

  “I know. I’m just that kind of person.”

  They drove down to the park at the end of Main Street, where Jonah pulled out a sack filled with food from the diner. “For you, tomato soup.”

  “Why, thank you.” She curtseyed as she took the container.

  They set everything out on the picnic table in the furthest corner from the street, and Quinn smiled when she saw the assortment. Tuna melts, onion rings, pie, ice cream—and of course, the tomato soup.

  “You said you were hungry,” Jonah said by way of explanation.

  “I’m starving. I hope you brought enough for yourself.”

  “Hardy har har.”

  They didn’t say much else as they ate. Quinn chastised herself for once again forgetting to bring something to work that wasn’t entirely made of sugar—thank goodness Jonah had brought tuna.

  After they had both eaten their fill, Jonah took her hand and they went on a little walk around the park. “You haven’t told me about your trip,” Quinn said.

  “It was good. I spent a lot of time talking with my parents, and we figured some things out—end-of-life stuff, how he wants his final days to be. It kind of freaked me out at first, but the more we talked, it felt peaceful because we had a plan. The future’s not this scary thing anymore.”

  “That’s great. I’m glad you went.”

  “Are you glad I went?”

  “Well . . . I’m glad you spent time with your family. But I did miss you.”

  He tugged her hand, and they stopped walking. “I missed you. A lot,” he said. “In fact, when we weren’t discussing my father’s needs and wishes, I was telling my parents all about you.”

  “You were? What were you saying?”

  Jonah swiveled on his heel. “I told them that I’d met the most amazing, incredible girl, and that I’d fallen for her, but I was worried about scaring her away.”

  A pretty valid fear. “And what did they say?”

  Jonah didn’t answer for a minute, and that worried Quinn. What if his parents hated the idea of the two of them? What if they’d told him to forget about her? She might not know what to do with him, but even worse was trying to figure out what she’d do without him.

  “My dad went in the other room, and when he came back, he was holding a small box. He handed it to me and said, ‘Son, use this wisely.’”

  “That’s all he said?”

  “That’s all he said. But I wondered if you’d like to see the box.”

  “Sure.” Quinn couldn’t figure out what Jonah’s father could possibly have given him that he should use with care.

  She gasped when Jonah pulled the box from his pocket. It was much smaller than she’d envisioned—in fact, it was a ring box. “This belonged to my grandmother,” Jonah said. “My dad showed it to me when I was sixteen and getting ready to go on my first date. He told me that my grandmother had been an incredible woman, and that none but incredible women could wear this ring. Then he told me he wanted me to find someone this ring would fit. I’ve been looking ever since.”

  “And he thinks it’s time for you to give it a try?” Quinn asked, barely able to voice the words.

  “He thinks that because I know that.” Jonah took Quinn’s left hand, which was now trembling. “I think this looks like the right size.”

  “Maybe . . . maybe we’d better try it just to see,” Quinn said, almost in a whisper.

  Jonah took the ring out of the box, put the box back in his pocket, and then picked up her hand again. He slid the ring on her finger as Quinn held her breath. “What do you know? It’s a perfect fit.”

  Quinn couldn’t take her eyes off the ring. It not only fit her hand perfectly, but it was perfect in design, too. Some styles would never go out, no matter how many decades went past.

  “Quinn, I know this is sudden. And it’s not fair because I’ve loved you even before you knew I existed, so I’ve had more time to process this. But if there’s anything I’ve learned over the last couple of weeks between Mr. D and my dad, it’s that life is precious, and minutes shouldn’t be wasted. I want to spend my precious minutes with you. I know I rub you the wrong way, and I know I’m lousy at saying I’m sorry. But I hope you’ll give me many, many chances to try again and get it right. Will you give me those chances, Quinn? Will you marry me?”

  Quinn couldn’t breathe. Was this really happening? Was this amazing guy really standing there, holding her hands, looking into her eyes with so much hope? She didn’t know what to say. But then she remembered Mr. D, and the twinkle in his eyes when he told her to hang on to Jonah. She’d trusted Mr. D for years—he’d never led her astray. And then she listened to her heart, and knew exactly what she wanted to say.

  “Yes, I will.”

  Jonah gave a whoop of joy, then pulled her close for an amazing kiss. Quinn could definitely get used to that.

  “There’s just one thing,” she said after a long, tingly moment.

  “Oh?”

  “Yes. From now on, I always get the last piece of pizza.”

  Jonah seemed to consider that for a moment. “Okay. It’s a deal.” And then he kissed her again.

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