Page 54 of Dirty Secret

"Did she find it yet, Dad?"

"Find what?" Heidi still had an arm around my father as she turned toward Kat.

"The gheuht—" I clasped a hand over Kat's mouth before she could finish the word.

"I gave you something as well." I kept my hand over Kat's mouth.

"Where is it?"

"Look inside." I pointed to the first oven door.

She pulled open the door and her eyes widened. Reaching in, she pulled out a gold ring with a small diamond on top.

I let go of Kat's mouth and dropped to one knee. "I know this week hasn't been great for you, and that's why I wanted to do this now. Hopefully, I can make you smile. Which I can't tell if I have at the moment because you are covering your mouth with your hands." Heidi instantly dropped her hands and had a large grin on her face.

"That's better. Now I can see your beautiful face. Today is Thanksgiving. It's a time to give thanks, and there is nothing I'm more thankful for than the people in this room. But I guess I'm greedy because I want more . . . I would be eternally thankful if you, Heidi White, would do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

"And my stepmom!" Kat yelled causing everyone to laugh.

"And my wonderful daughter-in-law."

Heidi frowned, and my heart stopped. Was this too much? The oven, all that's happened to her family, and now the ring. Maybe I should have waited until the new year or Valentine's Day like Kat suggested.

I keep trying to make her happy today, but I keep screwing it up.

"Yes. I will marry you, Max Brighton."

I jumped up to my feet and lifted her in the air. She yelped but soon laughed. And when she slid down to the ground, I brought my lips to hers, thankful she had brushed her teeth, and kissed her until she was light-headed.

"Enough kissing. Let's have Thanksgiving dinner!" Kat announced.

"You all made dinner?" Heidi looked around her kitchen.

"We bought frozen dinners for everyone. It didn't come with cranberry sauce, so I bought the canned kind."

The more Heidi frowned in horror, the harder it was to keep a straight face.

Rubbing her forehead, Heidi looked like she was about to pass out. "It's fine, I guess. At least I can bake the pie. And in my new oven."

That brought the color back to her face. It was a shame I was going to have to ruin her happiness once again.

"We didn't want you to have to get your new oven stained . . . so we already have pie."

"What?" Heidi took a deep breath and straightened. "Did you get it from a bakery or a farm?"

"No, I made it." I pushed back my shoulders with pride.

Heidi's brow etched in worry. "But we never finished our pie making lessons."

"Don't worry, I looked it up on the Internet. I mean, how hard could it be to bake a pumpkin pie? And it was fun, too. I got to improvise. I shouldn't be telling you this, but in one of the comments they suggested adding chili powder and a dash of garlic."

"No," she groaned.

"I know it sounds weird, but they swore it would make it extra delicious. I'll just scrape off all the black parts."

I couldn't hold it back any longer. My dad, Kat, and I dissolved into laughter. As the humor of the moment faded, I turned to Heidi, who was giving me the stink eye. I leaned into her ear and said, "I love my future wife too much to refuse her pie."

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