Harbor Street (Cedar Cove #5)(71)

His honesty hurt, but she kept her chin high and didn’t comment. He confirmed everything she’d suspected.

“Then you were out of my life, and I was more miserable than before. Every day I found myself missing you so much. I had a hole in my heart and in my life. I realized I was the biggest fool on earth to let you go.” He paused, shaking his head. “Lisa and I talk every week. Sometimes she knows me better than I do myself. She said if I let you walk away, I’d regret it the rest of my life.”

“So Lisa prompted this?” Cliff loved his daughter and listened to her when he would listen to no one else.

“No,” he said quickly. “She was just telling me what I already knew.” Before Grace could speak, he told her, “Lisa isn’t the only one. Cal said either I patch things up with you or he’s quitting.”

Grace managed a half smile. “I don’t believe that for a moment.”

“Believe it. If you turn down my proposal, Grace, I might as well not go home.”

Tears filled her eyes. If Cliff Harding was proposing to her on Valentine’s Day, she didn’t think she’d ever forgive him for being so romantic. He made it almost impossible to say no.

“I love you, Grace,” he whispered. “I can’t live without you any longer. I tried, but nothing seemed any good. I’m working hard—and for what? I don’t need the money. At the end of the day, I walk in from the cold and the house is dark and lonely. That’s the way I feel without you.”

Grace closed her eyes rather than look at him.

“I want to love you, live with you, travel with you.”

She longed to say yes, she really did, but she was afraid….

“You said, when you made dinner on New Year’s Day, that you were going to ask me to marry you. I’d give anything to have been here. I’d give anything to have the chance to hear that proposal because, my darling, the answer is yes.”

His reminder was the dash of reality she needed. “I didn’t get to ask you, remember?”

“I do, and I’m sorry every day for being such a jackass. Then again, I’m just old-fashioned enough to do the asking. Grace Sherman, I love you and I want to marry you. Will you be my wife?”

She pressed her hand to her mouth and blinked rapidly. Loneliness had been her constant companion since Dan’s disappearance. Here was the opportunity to end that. Without his saying it, she knew that if she refused, she’d never see Cliff again. He’d leave, and it truly would be over.

“Will you?” he asked, his eyes pleading with her.

Grace sobbed once and nodded. “Yes, oh, yes.” Before she could draw another breath, she was in Cliff’s embrace, crushing the roses between them. He kissed her until she was weak in his arms, and then whispered in her ear, “I hope you don’t believe in long engagements.”

She laughed and hugged him tight. “I was thinking the very same thing.”

Thirty-Six

Cecilia met her friend Cathy for lunch on Saturday afternoon at the Pancake Palace. They served a really nice meal for a reasonable price. Cecilia had been feeling low all week and was badly in need of a pep talk.

Cathy was waiting for her when Cecilia walked in. She sat toward the back of the room in a booth, waving vigorously. Her four-year-old son wasn’t with her, which surprised Cecilia.

“Where’s Andy?” she asked as she slid into the booth. Seven months into her pregnancy, there was no disguising the fact any longer. There wasn’t an inch to spare between her protruding belly and the table. In another few weeks, it’d be too tight a squeeze and she wouldn’t be able to sit in a booth anymore.

“Andy’s with friends on a play date,” Cathy explained. “I have all afternoon free, so after lunch we can do something fun.” She seemed almost giddy at the thought.

Cecilia wished she shared her excitement. To hide her mood, she reached for the menu tucked behind the napkin canister. Nothing looked appetizing but she made a decision.

“What do you think?” Cathy asked. “Shopping? A movie?”

“Either would be great,” she said, forcing some enthusiasm into her voice. “You decide.”

“Shopping then,” Cathy announced.

“That sounds perfect.” Already Cecilia felt better. “The mall or the commissary?”

“The mall,” Cathy decided. “We won’t be as likely to run into someone who’ll want to tag along.”

“I wouldn’t mind, you know.” Cathy was such a cheerful person to be around that she naturally attracted people.

“Not today,” her friend said. “You and I need quality time together. That’s what Andrew always says about him and me—but most of our quality time is spent in the bedroom.” She smiled as she said it.

The waitress came for their order; Cathy asked for the seafood salad and Cecilia ordered the turkey wrap with a cup of vegetable beef soup. As soon as the woman had brought their drinks—sparkling water for both—Cathy folded her hands on the table and leaned forward.

“Okay, what’s wrong?”

“What makes you think anything’s wrong?”

Cathy studied her carefully. “I can see it in your eyes. Besides, when you phoned, you didn’t sound very happy.”

“I’m not,” Cecilia confessed.