Page 25

The next morning, Celia rolled over in bed and reached for Nick. She needed to be close to him, needed to be able to touch him, just to make sure he was still alive. And she was, too.

But Nick wasn’t there.

Frowning, she sat up in bed and looked around their bedroom. No sign of Nick. But she heard him in the kitchen, banging pans around like he had no idea what to do with them.

Grinning, she slid out of bed and threw on a tee shirt and a pair of shorts, then hurried into the kitchen. Nick was standing at the stove, cooking what smelled like bacon, and making what looked like pancakes. When he heard her behind him, he spun around.

“Celia. I thought you’d still be asleep. We didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“I missed having you beside me,” she said. “Couldn’t sleep without you.” She nodded at the stove. “Whatcha doing?”

“I’m making you breakfast,” he said. “What does it look like?”

Her heart melted. “ You’re making me breakfast? Aww, that’s so sweet,” she said, wrapping her arms around him and kissing the back of his neck. “But that’s supposed to be one of the side benefits of living with a chef. You don’t have to cook.”

“Good thing,” Nick said, swiping his forearm over his forehead. “Because I definitely suck at this.”

“That’s okay,” she said, kissing him again and inhaling his woodsy scent. “You have many other wonderful qualities.” She studied the bacon and the pancakes. “And both of those look perfect.”

“Then grab a cup of coffee and sit down,” Nick said. “Breakfast is coming up.”

He plated the pancakes and put the bacon on a separate plate, then carried them over to the kitchen table. Butter and maple syrup were already sitting there, along with perfect place settings. “Good thing I watched you cook this stuff at The Trailhead. I at least had some idea of what I was doing.”

She studied the food on the table. “It looks fabulous, Nick. Thank you.”

He dropped into the chair beside hers. “I gotta tell you the truth. Anne came over to help me. She got me started, gave me very detailed directions, then took off for The Trailhead to start breakfast.”

Celia’s heart squeezed in her chest, and she leaned over to kiss Nick. “This is gonna be the best breakfast ever.”

“You haven’t even tasted it yet,” Nick pointed out.

“Don’t have to taste it.” Celia leaned over and pressed her mouth to his again. “It was made with love. It’ll be the best breakfast I’ll ever have.”

Nick stared at her for a long moment, then kissed her again. “I love you, Celia. I’d do anything for you, even cook you breakfast.”

Celia put butter and syrup on her pancakes and took a bite. “Mmm,” she said. “Delicious. Thank you, Nick.”

They ate breakfast slowly, then Nick cleaned up. Celia stood behind him, her arms around his waist, her head resting on his back. Finally, when everything had been cleaned, Nick turned around and took her hand. “Sit with me for a while.”

He led her over to the couch and eased her onto the cushions, then took her hand. “I have a question for you, Celia.”

“No, you can’t cook breakfast for me every day,” she said, sliding her mouth over his. “Cooking is my job. But I truly appreciate the effort you made.” She leaned back and grinned. “But I hope you don’t expect me to manage our money. That’s your job.”

“Thank goodness,” he said. He took both her hands in his, then he slid onto his knees on the floor. “Celia, I love you more than I ever thought possible. Will you marry me and make me the happiest man alive?” He pulled a box out of his pocket and popped it open. It held a gold band with channel-set diamonds. Huge ones.

“Oh, my God, Nick.” She pressed her hand over her mouth. “That’s gorgeous.” Tears prickled at her eyes. “And you didn’t get a big solitaire that would have gotten in the way when I’m cooking.” She threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Of course I’ll marry you,” she said. “I want to be your wife. I want you to be my husband. I love you more than I ever thought possible.”

Nick gathered her close and wrapped his arms around her. “I wanted to ask you so many times,” he said. “I got this ring right after you moved in with me, but I couldn’t ask you to marry me while my father was still in the picture. I would have been putting a target on your head. But he can’t hurt us now, and we’re free to live our lives in peace.” He kissed her deeply, and she wound herself around him.

When he could speak, he said, “I’d like to get married as soon as we can, but you probably want to do all that wedding stuff that women like to do. So you tell me when you want to get married.”

“Is tomorrow too soon?” she asked.

He smiled and smoothed his hand over her face. “Yeah, Baby, that’s a little soon. I figured you’d want to get married at The Trailhead, just like Anne and Noah did. I think Hiram would be hurt if you went somewhere else.”

“Duh! Of course I want to get married at The Trailhead,” she said. “Goes without saying. Anne and Hiram and I will put our heads together. Figure it out. As long as it’s soon.”

“As soon as possible,” Nick said.

Celia wrapped her arms around him. “I love you, Nick. More than I ever thought possible. I’m looking forward to marrying you, but it’s not going to change the way I feel about you. You’re everything to me, and you always will be. And I can’t say that marrying you will change anything, because I’m already as committed to you as I can possibly be. We’re gonna be one of those couples who’re still holding hands when we’re eighty years old. The kind who make their kids whine, ‘Moooom! Daaaaad! Stop it.’”

“Now there’s a goal I can get behind -- embarrassing our kids,” Nick said with a grin. He stood up and pulled Celia to her feet. “We need to celebrate!”

He led her toward the bedroom, and Celia wrapped her arm around his waist. Leaned into him. “We’ll celebrate life and love and surviving. Of finding each other, even when you thought I was dead. And the best revenge on your father? We’ll be deliriously happy for the rest of our lives.”

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