Two months later
The grand reopening celebration for the Sweetwater Bed and Breakfast was going well so far. Over the last couple of weeks, Kaitlyn had sent out flyers to everyone in town for the all-day open house event. She had Mable’s famous homemade cookies and tea available, and several townspeople were huddled in one corner of the room enjoying themselves while admiring the designer touches that Kaitlyn had made. Other guests were exploring the newly opened walking trails behind the inn.
“This is a wonderful turnout, don’t you think?” Gina asked, coming up beside her.
“It really is.” Kaitlyn adored having Gina as her partner in this business. She was hardworking, and she genuinely loved doing for others. She made the guests feel at home, and she was full of stories about Mable and Henry’s days at the inn. Kaitlyn felt like she was getting to know her grandparents a little more by spending time with Gina.
“My two favorite women,” Mitch said, stepping up beside them with Mr. Darcy, considerably bigger now, at his side. He leaned in and gave Kaitlyn a soft kiss on the cheek. “Hey, beautiful,” he whispered in her ear and then lifted his head to look at Gina. “Hey, Mom. Where’s Aunt Nettie?”
“Oh, she’s showing one of the women from our book club the garden outside. It’s such a pretty place this time of year.”
The garden had been Nettie’s idea. It was a masterpiece of vibrant colors that attracted birds and butterflies and guests.
“Mom, do you think you can manage the event on your own for a little bit?” he asked then. “I need to borrow Kaitlyn.”
Gina put a hand on her waist. “What kind of silly question is that? Of course I can. You two go on ahead. Mr. Darcy and I will handle things in here.”
Kaitlyn laughed softly as he tugged her down the hall and toward the bedroom. “Can’t this wait, Mitch?”
He stopped in front of the closed door. She’d closed it to make sure today’s visitors didn’t wander. The entire inn was available for the open house with the exception of their private quarters.
“I’ve waited long enough,” he told her. “I can’t wait any longer.”
* * *
Mitch was still pinching himself over how much his fortune had changed in the last couple of months. He’d gone from a jaded loner who was lost in the world to working at the Sweetwater Springs PD during the day and coming home at night to the most caring, gorgeous, intelligent woman he’d ever met.
Dawanda had been right. He’d fallen quick and hard, and he was staying in Sweetwater Springs forever. Well, minus the romantic escapades he planned to take Kaitlyn on, starting with their honeymoon.
If she said yes.
He reached for the doorknob of their room now. This morning, while Kaitlyn and his mom had been busy preparing the final touches in the B&B to welcome the entire town, he’d holed up in their bedroom. He wasn’t an interior designer by any means but he was proud of what he’d pulled off in a small amount of time.
“Okay. Close your eyes,” he told her.
“What? Why?” Kaitlyn looked at him with uncertainty.
“I thought you trusted me.”
Her dark hair fell over her cheek as she cocked her head to one side. “I do.”
“Then close your eyes,” he said again, smiling back at her. She was gorgeous, inside and out. He loved her more than he knew he could love anyone. And the feeling only kept growing, expanding inside him, threatening to crack his entire chest wide open.
Kaitlyn closed her eyes, and Mitch waved a hand in front of her face to make sure she wasn’t peeking.
“No cheating,” he instructed and then opened the bedroom door and led her inside. For a moment, he was nervous, wondering if it was enough. Kaitlyn’s rooms were expertly designed down to the smallest detail.
But no. This was perfect.
“Open your eyes,” he said after angling her body to face the bed.
Her eyes fluttered open and bounced from the bed to the wall and the ceiling above it. Her lips parted slightly as she looked around. “You did all this?” she finally asked.
“Our room needed a theme, don’t you think?”
The bedspread was still one of Mable’s quilts. Mable had been integral to their relationship. Sneaky even after death, she was the one who’d brought them together. Above the bed, Mitch had strung just a few strands of twinkling lights. They reminded Mitch of their first kiss under a blanket of stars by Silver Lake. He’d tried so hard to ignore his attraction to Kaitlyn that night, which seemed so long ago now, but he hadn’t stood a chance.
He watched as she took in every detail.
“Is that the picnic basket we used at Evergreen Park the other day?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yeah.” He’d used the basket to hold books under the nightstand.
Her gaze swept around the room where he’d hung various pictures of random moments together and the places they’d been in town. There was a picture of Dawanda’s storefront. One of Silver Lake. Kaitlyn’s gaze kept going back to the large eleven-by-eighteen picture above the bed. The one Mitch had taken on his phone and had blown up at the Everson printing shop with Brian’s help.
“Kaitlyn and Mitch Forever,” she read.
He’d carved it in a tree outside, right below the words he’d found while hiking the newly established walking trails out back: Mable and Henry Forever.
“In case you haven’t realized yet, that’s the theme of our room. I know we’re not famous, but…”
“It’s perfect,” she whispered, turning to him, her eyes glistening with happy tears. He didn’t mind making her cry if it was because she was happy. She deserved happiness, and so did he, he’d realized. Making Kaitlyn smile did that for him. Serving her, supporting her, loving her made him happy.
Taking both of Kaitlyn’s hands in his, he continued forward on his mission. “I have traveled the world looking for a place where I could feel whole again. Never in a million years did I think that would be right back where I started.” He slowly dropped to one knee in front of her.
Kaitlyn sucked in an audible breath, and he was fairly certain she could guess what was coming next, given how many of those romantic movies and books she enjoyed. He just hoped he lived up to her expectations. He wasn’t perfect. He was human after all. Flawed. Those flaws didn’t make him unworthy though. He understood that now.
“You are my world, Kaitlyn. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life showing you just how much. I want to grow old with you here, just like your grandparents did.”
Reaching into the front pocket of his shirt, he pulled out a simple round diamond. Old-fashioned but timeless.
Kaitlyn gasped once more. “How did you get my grandmother’s ring?”
“She left it with Mr. Garrison. He had instructions to give me the ring if things worked out between us. If they didn’t, this ring was to go to you anyway.”
“Sneaky woman,” Kaitlyn said on a tearful laugh.
Mitch looked at the ring and then held it up to her. “Marry me, Kaitlyn, and I’ll try to be the man you deserve.”
She lifted a hand to touch his cheek. “You are the best man I know, Mitch Hargrove. Our love story is my favorite. All of those other couples I named the inn’s rooms after have nothing on us.”
He glanced at the ring and back to her, swallowing hard. “Still waiting here. Do I, uh, need to give this back to Mr. Garrison?”
“Don’t you dare.” She held out her left hand. “This is where it belongs.”
“And you are where I belong,” he said as he slid it onto her finger. Then he rose back to his feet. “I love you, Kaitlyn Russo soon-to-be-Hargrove,” he whispered.
“I love you back, and I can’t wait to be your wife.”
He smiled back at her. “I was thinking a Christmas wedding might be nice.”
She gasped with excitement. “With lights and poinsettias. We can get Halona to help with that. And we’ll need a huge Christmas tree. The biggest on the Merry Mountain Farms’ lot.”
Mitch laughed out loud. “If you’re there, I’m there. Tux and all.”
She went up on tiptoes and pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss that evolved to something deeper. “I can’t wait,” she whispered, finally pulling away.
“Me neither.” He gave a longing glance at the bed. There’d be plenty of time for private celebration later. Right now, they had a house full of people who cared for them and wanted to share in their good news.
Taking her hand, they went back down the hall to their home filled with family, friends, laughter, and love.