“I’ve been wanting to do that since last night.”
“I wanted you to kiss me last night.” Her cheeks turned rosy.
Joe laughed. “Claude was right after all.”
Sophie frowned, brushing her fingertip over the almost nonexistent bee sting on Joe’s cheek. “About what?”
“I’ll explain later. Sophie, I know it’s strange and we haven’t known each other that long—”
“Only since kindergarten,” she said, a wry smile on her lips.
“Right. But I’m talking about more than that. I want to get to know you, Sophie. I want us to date. I can show you how to play golf, and you can show me how to, uh, arrange flowers.”
“I wouldn’t put you through that torture,” she said. “But I’d love to play golf. I want to spend more time with you too.”
“How about tonight?”
She grinned. “Definitely.”
He finally released her and took a step back. “At least we got the first kiss over with.”
Doubt crossed her features. “Was it okay?”
Joe grinned. “It was perfect.”
Epilogue
Two months later
Sophie adjusted the crown of daisies in her hair and checked her makeup in the mirror, then sighed with happiness. Back in May when she decided to take a chance on dating, she had never expected to find a man like Joe Johnson, much less fall in love with him. And now here she was, standing in a beautiful hotel room in the Dominican Republic, waiting to marry a man she had known all her life, and who had unexpectedly turned out to be the man of her dreams
She frowned slightly at her reflection. Her mother was going to kill her for this. Not just her mother, but April and her other friends, Hayley and MacKenzie, and probably half of Maple Falls. When she’d called her mother and told her she was seeing Joe, Mom had peppered her with so many questions Sophie’s head was spinning by the time she hung up the phone. Why she wanted to know what brand of spaghetti sauce Joe preferred, Sophie had no idea. When she told Mom he made his own, she said, “You’re dating a man who can cook? Now that’s a keeper! I can’t wait to meet him.”
Mom and Dad would meet him all right . . . after the honeymoon.
Soon after she talked to Mom, she’d called her sister. Like everyone else, Lis was happy for her and told Sophie she had dibs on being matron of honor, which was only fair because Sophie had been her maid of honor.
Of course, April had approved of Joe, too, and of how he had thrown Landon out of the shop.
“I shouldn’t be surprised that he’s so slimy,” she’d said. “But do you think his client will be able to buy up Main Street?”
“Not if I can stop it. I told Hayden and Riley what happened, and Hayden is going to spread the word to the other businesses about what’s going on. We have to preserve Maple Falls.”
“Agreed.” Then April had switched subjects, insisting that she and Darren double date with Sophie and Joe soon. They’d all gone out together several times, as well as with Travis and his wife. Sophie overheard Travis hinting about being Joe’s best man the last time they came over for dinner.
Sophie cringed at the memories. She never intended to hurt anyone’s feelings, and she would apologize to everyone when they returned to Maple Falls. But she had to be true to herself. Today was her day, and there was only one person she wanted to spend it with. Then there was the practical angle of getting married and honeymooning in the same place, and she couldn’t think of anything more romantic than that.
She stepped back from the mirror in the hotel bathroom and looked at the simple sleeveless white dress she slipped into a few minutes ago. The hem hit above her knee, and she wore flat-soled white sandals. A strand of pearls completed her outfit and she nodded with satisfaction as a knock sounded at the door.
“Sophie?”
“Coming.” She hurried to open the door. Joe stood there, dressed casually in tan shorts, slip-on shoes, and, at her insistence, a short-sleeve polo shirt.
Very nice.
He took a step back and whistled. “You look gorgeous.”
“So do you.”
He grinned. “Are you ready to do this?”
She nodded.
“No regrets?”
“About eloping? Absolutely not.”
He started rocking back and forth on his heels. “Good, because there’s still time to have a wedding if that’s what you want.”
His words surprised her. “What about football season? Teaching? It’s July. Even a small wedding would take several months to plan.”
“I can find someone to sub for me.” He walked into the room and closed the door behind him. “If you want a regular wedding with your family and friends, just say the word.”
Sophie paused, but not because she wanted to go through the trouble of planning a wedding. Eloping had been her idea, and two weeks after she mentioned it to Joe, they made the arrangements together and arrived yesterday. Even if they wanted to get a refund they couldn’t. Knowing he would let all that go to make her happy touched her deeply.
I am so in love with this man.
Then she wondered if he was having second thoughts. “You don’t mind that Travis and your sister and parents aren’t here, do you?”
“Definitely not. Weddings are about the bride anyway. The groom is just along for the ride, and I like it that way.”
She walked over to the bed and picked up the ordinary bouquet of daisies, matching the ones on her head, along with five pink roses. Surprising herself, she had decided to keep the flowers to a minimum. Despite being involved in many elaborate weddings over the years, including her sister’s, she’d realized after Joe proposed almost a month ago that she didn’t want that for herself. Her wedding would be about her and her future husband, not the spectacle.
She turned to him and smiled. “I love you, Joe. And this wedding, with just the two of us, is exactly what I want.”
“Good. Because it’s exactly what I want too.” He put his hands on her waist. “Then again, anywhere you are is where I want to be.”
“Corny.” She tapped him on the arm, then let her hand linger over his muscles before pulling away. There will be time for that later.
He shrugged. “It might be corny, but it’s the truth.”
“Do you have the rings?” she asked.
“Can’t forget those.” He pulled two bands out of the pocket of his shorts, the smaller one gold and the larger one black, and held them in his palm.
She touched his band. “Perfect.”
Nodding, he returned the rings to his pocket. When he leaned forward to kiss her, she placed her finger on his lips. They’d stayed in separate rooms last night, and while in many ways she was flaunting tradition, she was firm on this point.
“Not until after we’re husband and wife.”
He groaned, dropped his hands to his sides, and took one small step back. “You drive a hard bargain, Mrs. Soon-to-Be Sophie Johnson.”
Sophie laughed. “But you put up with me anyway.”
He snuck a peck on her cheek, then grazed her earlobe with his lips.
“I love you, Sophie,” he whispered. “Let’s go get married.”