Page 92 of Summer Kisses

I pulled away to hug her. "Thanks for your help, Grandma."

Grandma waved a hand in Brady's direction. "Oh, that was all his doing."

"Why did you thank Mabel for her help?" Brady asked when we were facing each other on the dance floor.

I smiled sheepishly. "I was hoping to get you here so I could tell you how I felt on the podium."

He grinned. "I beat you to it."

"I'm not upset about that. But I was worried about what everyone would think. That they'd be upset we deceived them."

"I think they're fine with the outcome. A lot of them wanted us to be together for real, so they don't care how we came to be here, just that we are."

I looped my wrists around his neck, pressing my body against his. "It took us a long time to get here, and there were a lot of roadblocks, but I wouldn't change a single thing." Then I remembered what Grandma had said earlier. "Did you know that Grandma planted her ring there for me to find?"

Brady tipped his head to the side. "She couldn't have predicted I'd volunteer to be your fake fiancé."

"I think that worked out better than she imagined. She hoped the ring would trigger us to make a move."

"It got me to make a move, the only one I had to play at the time. If someone was going to put a ring on your finger, it was going to be me. I couldn't stand by and watch you fall in love with someone else. I had to take my chance."

I raised a brow. "Are you saying that you didn't volunteer to be my fiancé to help with your show?"

"That was the opening for me to put my plan into action. Then when someone asked about us moving in together, I saw it as my opportunity to make you see that we could be more than friends. I just wasn't sure if you felt the same way."

"I think we need to work on our communication," I teased.

"We're not denying how we feel anymore."

I played with the hair on his neck as we slowly swayed to the music. "We should probably put a stop to the meddling grandmothers though."

He tipped his head to the side. "I need to thank Mabel. Without her and this ring, I wouldn't be dancing with you right now."

"I suppose you're right. But I'm not sure I want her meddling in our lives going forward." Next thing we knew, she'd be pushing for great-grandkids. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but I wanted to go by our own timeline from now on. No more pressure from the outside world.

"Somehow I don't think we're going to be able to stop her," Brady said as he spun me away from him, and then bent me over his arm so that he could kiss me.

Epilogue

BRADY

After the celebration at the senior center, the buzz about our fake engagement died down quickly. There was no drama to talk about because we were officially a couple. The locals appeared to enjoy our love story and were happy that we were officially together.

But there were a few unresolved issues. We admitted that we loved each other, but we hadn't discussed the matter of our engagement. Hazel still wore her grandmother's ring, and we hadn't discussed what it meant.

I didn't like the uncertainty. As one of my brothers said,You need to lock Hazel down soon.I had a plan for doing that. One that necessitated Hazel being gone for a few days. So I waited until she was scheduled to visit a few libraries off the island to share how they could implement a similar after-school program.

Not only was Hazel the children's librarian at the Sanibel Library, but she was also in charge of a new program in the state to start aftercare programs in libraries that had a need. She'd applied for a state grant and received it, provided she was the one who was in charge of the program.

It was an amazing honor, and I was so proud of her. I didn't want to be away from her for a week, but it was perfect timing for what I had planned for her when she returned.

My brothers and I spent the week turning my office into a library, one fit for a librarian who adored books. The walls were lined with shelves from floor to ceiling, and we'd even added a rolling ladder to complete the look. There was a desk, a more feminine one than was there before, and comfortable leather furniture for her to lounge on and read on a rainy day.

Once the work was completed, we took a step back to admire the results.

"I can't thank you enough for helping me with this. I couldn't have done it without you," I said to my brothers. Everyone was here except for Marshall and Dalton.

Hudson gripped my shoulder. "It's in our best interest for you to be engaged to Hazel."

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