Page 111 of The Love Shack

“I do, but it doesn’t matter, not as much as I thought it would, because all I really needed was you.”

Tears welled in her eyes, and her fingertips covered her smiling mouth. “This is kind of incredible, don’t you think? Chad shows up, and we’re confessing love.”

“At least the shmuck was good for something.”

Laughing, she hugged him tight. “We have a lot of things to work out, and I have more to say, but the animals have been unattended too long already.”

“And I need to get back to the shop.” He grinned. “Kathleen’s boyfriend should be arriving today. I figured I’d unveil him tonight.”

Excited, she said, “I want to be there!” Then she glanced back and lowered her voice. “I want to make sure Betty is there, too.”

“Oliver and Lark, of course.” He hugged her. “Tell Betty to put an announcement on the town’s social media pages. Say we’re unveiling something fun at the beach. Maybe we could all meet there around seven o’clock.”

With Chad all but forgotten, she said, “This is going to be so fun!”

Loving her was fun, but the silliness with Kathleen and Kingston would be a good way to put a period to a day that had started with shadows from the past...so they could see all the promises of tomorrow.

Only four people knew the plans, but the town buzzed about it all day. If she and Lawson could have kept it from Oliver and Lark, they would have, but they needed their help to pull it off. Between them, and with Betty’s social media help, they were able to notify most of the business owners, who in turn notified their customers.

Lark finished work first, so she got to the beach to set up the area for the presentation. Without explaining why she needed them, she enlisted Emily to bring a few white flowers, and Yardley, the wedding planner, to lend a few props.

Lark said everyone was full of questions, but she didn’t cave. Neither did Lawson, though he said people tromped in and out of his store all day, doing their best to get him to tell.

Only an hour ago, Oliver stealthily swiped Kathleen, and when locals chased after him, demanding to know why, he only laughed and hurried away with her.

Saul’s restaurant was mobbed with people buying food early so they could bring it to the beach to see what was happening. He even took time away from the restaurant so he and his son could join Emily to get good seats for whatever the show might be.

It tickled Berkley to see everyone so interested.

Erin and Whitley, along with several volunteers, ensured the animals all got plenty of attention throughout the day before they were put up for the night in their individual kennels.

After all the excitement with Chad, Betty was sure it was a wedding, and it was even funnier that she thought it was Lawson and Berkley getting married. Claiming a protective man like Lawson and a smart woman like Berkley were bound to see the wisdom in settling down together.

Berkley wasn’t sure how wise it might be, and she wasn’t in a rush to make things official, but she loved Lawson and she knew she’d be happy to share the rest of her life with him.

Betty continued to wheedle for information all day, and Berkley continued to insist that she’d just have to wait like everyone else. Finally, Betty wore out and promised to be at the beach. Even then, she grinned like she had a secret.

When Lawson picked her up at six-thirty, Berkley was ready. She’d fixed her hair, applied her usual makeup and had changed into a cute, lightweight romper perfect for the beach.

“Wow,” he said, leaning in for a soft kiss. “You’re beautiful.”

“I’m still not supercomfortable being in front of a crowd, so I wanted to look my best.”

“The beach is packed,” he confirmed. “Oliver went by there before he dropped Kathleen off to me.”

“You have both mannequins now?”

“In the bed of my truck, hidden under a sheet. They’ll stay covered until we unveil them.” Frowning, he studied her face. “Did I push you into this? I know how you feel about being the center of attention.”

“Actually, I’m happy to be included. Showcasing the mannequins will be fun.” She blew out a breath. “The problem is that Betty will be disappointed.”

His brows went up. “You think so? Why?”

“Well...” It was embarrassing to talk about, but she really needed to forewarn Lawson what Betty thought. “See, Betty got it into her head that we were bringing everyone to the beach for, um, a wedding.”

Grinning, he led her and Hero out to his truck. “Not sure mannequins can legally marry.” Hero was used to riding along and curled up on the floor by her feet while Lawson went around to the driver’s side.

Berkley patted the dog, sure that he was picking up on her embarrassment. Once they’d pulled away from the shelter, she explained with an apologetic wince, “The problem is that Betty thinkswe’regetting married.”

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