Page 45 of Engaging with Her Enemy

But Hudson fit. In her life. In her home. In her heart.

“Promise me you'll never go back to him,” he said with a fierceness that unnerved her. Going back to Tommy would never happen. She didn't want anyone but Hudson.

He set her down on the bed. She stretched out underneath him as he propped up his body on one arm.

He nipped at her bottom lip. “I couldn't stand to know you ended up with someone like that. You’re too good for him. You’re too good for any man.”

Telling Hudson that she loved him was on the tip of her tongue, but his kiss silenced her. Her mind blanked, thinking only about him and the way he touched her. She knew he cherished her. Loved her. Would protect her.

He made it impossible to keep her heart locked away. But she would. Until she was certain he wouldn’t hurt her, again. Until she could fully trust him.

15

“Ihave a surprise for you, Becky.” Ms. Iris beamed a bright smile as Becky walked through the front door of the diner. She set down a box of cookies she’d made special for Mr. Hugh.

Ms. Iris motioned her toward the kitchen. “Come back here.”

“Alright. You know, I love surprises.” She followed her into the back.

Only yesterday, the far corner of the kitchen had held several empty, plastic crates and their extra stock of paper towels. A tablecloth now covered the massive, square thing.

“What in the world is that?”

Ms. Iris smiled wider. “Your surprise. Are you ready?”

“Yes,” Becky said, without a clue as to what was under there. Over the past couple weeks, she’d been more absent from the diner, taking care of Hudson. It’d been a good excuse to focus on her accounting class, as well. Overall, it’d given her a break. A solid, not working twelve-hour days break. But she missed it.

“Since you're taking over the diner soon, I thought I should make a few upgrades.”

She gave Ms. Iris a side-hug. “You didn't have to do anything else. You're basically letting me steal the diner from you with the payment plan we have worked out.” Which, thanks to her accounting class, she now understood. Also, thanks to her class, she could budget for it.

Ms. Iris patted her back. “You don't even know what it is yet. I don’t think you’ll want to give it back once you see it.” She winked. “Not if I know my girl.”

Becky stepped back and bounced on her toes. “Okay. I'm ready.”

Ms. Iris snapped the sheet off, letting it drop onto the floor.

A double, electric convection oven with the stainless steel scrubbed and shining bright sat against the wall.

A dream. That's what it was. The most amazing thing anyone could've given her. She stepped hesitantly toward it.

Ms. Iris gave her a gentle push. “It's not a mirage. Go look at it. I've been dying for you to see it all morning. I had them come and install it late last night.”

Becky opened the doors, the faint scent of cleaner still lingering. Ms. Iris knew Becky kept her own oven immaculate. “This must have cost you a fortune.”

“It was a pretty penny, but I got it used from another restaurant that went out of business.” She waved her hands in the air. “Bad vibes. Sorry. There's something else you didn't notice.” She pointed to a long, stainless steel worktop along the adjacent wall. “I had Ron clear out his storage for this to be your area. Now, you won't have to bake at home and bring everything in. You can bake here when there’s a bit of downtime.”

Becky hugged her again. “Thank you! I promise I won't let you down.” Even though doubts still lingered in her mind, Hudson had so much confidence in her, it had rubbed off. He believed in her. She could believe in herself.

Ms. Iris patted Becky on the back. “I wouldn't give you the keys if I thought you couldn’t handle it. There'll be some growing pains. A few missteps. But that's part of the process. You stay true to what you want. What the town wants. Everything else will fall into place.”

Becky did a little dance in a circle. This made her pain and suffering through college worth it. To know that she was doing that to understand how to run a business and keep Ms. Iris's diner going strong. To make her own life. Everyone else had moved on, and she'd felt stuck. Until now.

With her future.

With her college classes.

With Hudson.

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