Nixie stepped into the shimmery black dress, then turned around for Aunt Lauren to zip it up.
“I ought to have my head examined,” she told her aunt, “for agreeing to go out with a complete stranger.” Aunt Lauren connected the hook and eye at the top of the dress and patted Nixie’s back. “The mystery man sounds like quite a catch. Don’t you think he’s intriguing?”
Nixie nodded. He did, indeed, sound intriguing. Under other circumstances, she would have been more enthusiastic about meeting the man who’d sent that endearing letter. But her heart already belonged to Boone, and any other man paled by comparison.
She had been prepared to open her heart to Boone and let him know how much she cared for him. But by the time he’d brought Brad home from the Scout meeting, he had convinced her son that it was in her best interest to meet the man.
Neither gave her an opportunity to say what was on her mind—and in her heart. And soon Bethany was urging her to meet “Mr. Wonderful.”
Nixie had cried herself to sleep that night. It hurt to know that the man she loved was trying so hard to get rid of her. He had obviously changed his mind about wanting to marry her, and though she considered begging him for another chance, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
She shaded her eyes as Aunt Lauren tucked a stray bit of hair into the elaborate braid and sprayed it into place.
“I won’t be out late,” Nixie said. “Please don’t let Uncle Jay give the children too much junk food while I’m gone.”
“Don’t you worry about us. You just go and have a good time.”
A good time. She doubted it. Nixie hoped Mr. Wonderful would be able to forgive her for ruining his evening. She was certain she wouldn’t be very good company tonight. How could she, when she would spend the whole evening thinking about Boone?
“Park in a lighted area,” Uncle Jay told her as she was leaving the house. “And ask the maître d’ for a table that’s out in the open where you can be seen by the other diners. Just in case he gets fresh, you know.”
With a grin, Nixie pointed to her narrow-toed black shoes. “Don’t worry. These should be a good deterrent.”
Nixie arrived too early at the restaurant. First, she’d overestimated how long it would take to get there. Then, in their eagerness, her family had whisked her out the door fifteen minutes sooner than she’d planned to leave.
Remembering her uncle’s advice, she requested a table near the center of the restaurant. The waiter brought her a glass of white wine. She sipped it, hoping Mr. Wonderful would arrive soon so they could hurry and get this over with.
She was studying the wallpaper pattern when a flurry of activity caught her attention as a small group descended upon a nearby table. The boy caught her attention first. His blond hair was slicked back, and the kid sported a clip-on tie, white shirt, and jeans.
Brad turned in his seat, grinned at Nixie, and waggled his fingers in a friendly wave.
Brad! What was he doing here? And Bethany. And Uncle Jay and Aunt Lauren! The whole family had turned out to gawk at her mysterious stranger.
Nixie got up and walked over to their table. “Get a sudden craving for escargot?” she asked. “Or did you run out of videos and need something else to watch?”
Everyone started talking at once, making excuses for their unexpected appearance. It was obvious they had planned to come all along. How else could they have changed their clothes and arrived at the restaurant so soon after she did? Nixie gave them a beleaguered look.
Bethany spoke up. “We’ll be as quiet as mice. Just pretend you don’t know us.”
Uncle Jay and Aunt Lauren murmured their agreement. Nixie met Aunt Lauren’s eyes. “It doesn’t surprise me that Uncle Jay would show up here. But you?”
Aunt Lauren gave her a guilty smile. “I couldn’t help it, dear. I was just dying of curiosity.”
After Aunt Lauren assured her there would be no audible comments from the table and that they’d try not to stare, Nixie went back to her seat.
She took another sip of the wine and checked her watch. Six fifty-five. Her pulse was racing. Why was she so nervous about someone she didn’t even want to meet? Nixie supposed it had something to do with the dread that settled over her. She felt guilty for wasting the man’s time, not to mention his money, when she wasn’t a bit interested in him. Checking her purse for a credit card, she decided the least she could do was pay for her own meal.
Someone appeared beside her with an armful of flowers. Nervous, Nixie stood and almost knocked over her chair. “Glad to meet—” In a split second she took in the dark, well-cut suit before her gaze traveled up to his face.
“Boone! You, too?”
She took the flowers he offered her. Although she was touched by his show of support, she was beginning to feel like a circus sideshow.
“The flowers are a nice touch,” she said. Glancing around the restaurant, she noticed a man who had just come in. Maybe that was Mr. Wonderful. The last thing she wanted to do was embarrass him with Boone’s presence. “Look, maybe you should go now.”
He grinned but made no move to leave. Then Nixie noticed it.
The bright splash of red on his lapel.
As realization dawned on her, Nixie returned his grin. Boone was the mystery man.
Mr. Wonderful. His qualifications were perfect. Her aunt and uncle said so. Brad said so. Even Bethany had agreed that this latest candidate sounded like the perfect match for Nixie.
Nixie was pleased with this turn of events and knew it would thrill the rest of her family, but what about Bethany?
Taking the bouquet from Nixie, Boone laid it on the table, then assisted with her chair as she took her seat. Nixie couldn’t help experiencing a sudden giddiness that she knew was unrelated to the few sips of wine she’d had before he arrived.
Boone sat across from her and reached for her hand.
Nixie clasped his big fingers. “There’s something I wanted to tell you last Wednesday.”
“There will be plenty of time for that,” Boone interrupted. “But first, I have a couple of confessions to make.”
Nixie’s heart sank. Was he getting ready to play another joke on her?
“As you’ve probably already guessed, I’m the guy who wrote that last letter.” With his free hand, he loosened the knot in his tie. “The other letters, though, were sort of … uh, invented.”
Nixie’s thoughts tumbled through her brain. “You wrote them?” At his affirmative nod, she lost it. “Why would you do something like that? How dare you toy with my children’s emotions!”
She tried to withdraw her hand from his grasp, but he held tight.
“Please. I wasn’t trying to hurt your kids. I love them too much to do that.” He took a sip of water, and it seemed as though he had a hard time swallowing. “I didn’t want them to be disappointed when they didn’t get any responses to their ad. Besides, it seemed like a good excuse for me to come and see you and the kids.”
“So, they were all fake.”
Boone gave her a sheepish grin. “All but the one from the felon.”
The waiter arrived, delaying their conversation for a moment. Nixie was glad for the interruption since it gave her time to collect her emotions.
Although she thought it was unwise for him to string them along as he had, she was convinced his intentions were pure. And truthfully, she was glad things worked out the way they had.
After the waiter left with their orders, Boone made another startling revelation. “While I’m coming clean, I might as well tell you I’m Aunt Alice.”
Nixie felt the blood drain from her face. “Oh, my gosh.”
“I wish you had told me why you turned me down.”
“If you knew, why didn’t you say something?”
Boone looked down at his tie clip and fiddled with it before answering. “I figured you needed some space.” Looking up, he added, “I still want you to marry me.”
He was giving her another chance. And she wasn’t going to let it slip through her fingers again. “A very wise person once told me I should be honest with the man I love … and I do love you, Boone.”
“Will you marry me?”
She answered without hesitation. “Yes.”
“What about Bethany? If she’s still having a problem with us getting married, I don’t want to cause another outbreak of hives.”
Nixie had forgotten all about Bethany’s objections. Remembering Aunt Alice’s sage advice, she acknowledged that children don’t always know what’s best for them. Somehow, she’d have to convince her daughter that Boone would be a wonderful addition to the family.
“My answer will still be yes,” she said, “but I want it to be with my family’s blessing.”
Excusing herself, Nixie went to the table where her family was eagerly observing their interchange. Uncle Jay pulled up a chair for her.
“Boone has asked me to marry him, and I want to tell him yes,” she told her loved ones. Brad cheered, and Aunt Lauren and Uncle Jay smiled at each other. “But not if it means causing divisiveness between me and my children.”
Bethany ducked her head and grabbed for a napkin to wipe her eyes.
“I think Bethany and I need to go to the powder room,” she told her family. “We’ll be right back.”
In the privacy of the restroom lounge, Nixie spoke firmly with her daughter. Praying that Bethany wouldn’t have another outbreak of nerves, she told her how much she loved Boone. “Even you agreed he was the perfect candidate to be your dad. Don’t you like Boone?”
Bethany sobbed again, and Nixie handed her a fresh tissue.
“I do like Boone, and I want him in the family, but—”
“But what?”
“I don’t want to hurt Uncle Jay’s feelings.”
Because she and her daughter were close, Nixie thought she’d understood Bethany’s reluctance to accept Boone. But her announcement shattered Nixie’s assumption that Bethany was merely being loyal to her father. “Uncle Jay?”
Bethany nodded. “He always calls me his favorite little girl.”
Nixie groaned. All along, Bethany had been afraid of being disloyal to her uncle. She sat beside her daughter on the plush burgundy carousel. Maybe she could still make the cat analogy work. “Did you stop loving Precious when Stormy came along?”
“Of course not.”
“Do you love Stormy more than you love Precious?”
“No. They’re so different that it’s hard to compare. I love Stormy because he’s playful and funny, but I love Precious because she’s sweet, and she makes me feel better when I’m sad.”
“Is Precious jealous when you play with Stormy?”
Bethany threw her a suspicious look. “Not since they became friends.” Suddenly, she became enthusiastic. “You know, it’s even more fun playing with both cats than just one at a time.”
Nixie smiled. At last there was hope.
“Hey,” said Bethany. “Do you think it would be the same with Uncle Jay and Boone?”
Breakthrough! She tried to control her exhilaration as she and Bethany walked back to the table. “Uncle Jay was willing to share you with Brad when your little brother came along. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind sharing you with Boone.”
Bethany gave her an impulsive hug.
Nixie walked back to Boone and gave him a thumbs-up. She thought he was going to help her with her chair again, but instead, he guided her back to her family’s table and urged her to join them.
Then he dropped to one knee. His eyes were on Nixie, but his words addressed them all. “Will y’all marry me?”
The answer was a chorus of five yeses.
The tears that flowed from Nixie’s eyes were tears of happiness. It had taken them fifteen years to realize they had loved each other all along. And now the people dearest to her agreed they belonged together. Nixie didn’t think she’d ever been happier in her entire life.
Boone stood and urged her into his arms, the best place in the world for her to be.
Standing there, tears leaking onto his shirt, Nixie was aware that all eyes in the restaurant were upon them. But she didn’t care. All that mattered was that she and Boone and her family were going to be together at last.
“It’s unanimous,” she whispered. “We’ll marry you.”
Dear Reader,
Readers are an author’s life blood and the stories couldn’t happen without you. Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed Boone, we would so appreciate a review. You have no idea how much it means to us!
Don’t miss the next book in the Sweet Southern Charmers series, Colton. To read an except, please turn the page.
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Much love and light!
—Lori & Carolyn