Drew walked into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around his fiancée. "Mmm," he moaned into her ear. "I could lick you from head to toe."
"Drew," Miranda said. "Do you mind? I'm trying to work here."
"I know," Drew said. "Why do you think I said I could lick you from head to toe? You're covered in buttercream. I love buttercream." He stuck a finger in the bowl of frosting and scooped up a mouthful. "Why are you insisting on doing this, anyway? You shouldn't have to make the cake for your own engagement party. Mom said she would have one made for you."
"I know. And I appreciate the offer, but I'd rather do it myself." How could she explain to him that she had waited for this moment all her life and she wanted everything to be perfect? She didn't want to trust anything to another person, especially the cake.
"Well, you'd better hurry up. The party's in three hours."
"Don't worry. It will be finished in time." She gave him a quick kiss, then tried to shoo him out of the kitchen. "Go on now," she said. "I have to finish this, so I can get ready myself."
"Wait a minute," Drew said. "I want to give you your engagement present first."
"Drew," she complained. "I thought we said no engagement presents. The house is enough. It's draining us as it is."
"This is a different type of present. A sort of gift of information, if you will."
"Okay. I'll bite."
"Ooh—promise? In that case..."
"Drew." She swatted him with a kitchen towel. "Just tell me already."
"All right." He settled on the counter in front of her. "My mom heard from Susie Billings today."
"What? She did? What did she say?" Miranda dropped onto a stool. This was indeed news. It had been three full weeks since she'd had her talk with Susie and no one had heard a word from her since.
"Oh," Drew teased. "I've finally got your attention, I see."
Another swat with the dish towel.
"All right, all right," he said. "Actually, it was Susie's aunt who called my mother. It appears she was too embarrassed to make the phone call herself."
"And?"
"And, she told Mom that Susie was very sorry, but she had lied about me being the father of her baby."
"She is pregnant, for sure, then?"
"Yeah, apparently the guy ditched her when he found out. I guess she was desperate about going through the pregnancy alone, so she—"
"So, she latched onto you as a surrogate father. I guess that makes sense. A little deranged, perhaps, but it makes sense."
"I guess. It sure wreaked havoc in our lives for a while, though."
"It sure did. But it's over now, and we can concentrate on other things." She stood up to kiss him. "Like how happy we're going to be together. Still, I hope she's going to be okay. It's scary to have to face something like that alone. Everyone should have someone special they can turn to." She sighed, looking out the window where Kayla and Jordan were busy setting up tables for the party.
"Oh, no," Drew said. "Please don't tell me you're going down that road again."
"Don't worry Drew," she said. "I promise not to play matchmaker today. But, I'm not making any guarantees after that."
After all, Kayla and Jordan were her best friends. Why shouldn't they be happy? Not with each other. She’d already explored that possibility. Still, there had to be someone in Solace Creek for each of them. If left to their own devices, they’d probably work their lives away, and never experience the happiness she and Drew had found together. They might say they preferred being single, but they just needed a little nudge. Maybe there’d be some good prospects at the engagement party…
"I can see the wheels turning in there, Mandy," Drew said. He groaned in exasperation. "You know what? This is a losing battle. Maybe I'll have to approach this from a different angle." He smiled and pulled her close, bending to kiss her. "I think you need a distraction."
"What are you doing?"
"Providing a distraction. Making you stop thinking about matchmaking for a minute."
"Mmm—make me stop thinking about what? About who?" She let herself melt into his kiss. Let herself be swept away by her deep and abiding love for him. He felt strongly about this. So, she would let him have his way. For now. This was their day. The day they would announce their engagement to all of Solace Creek. The wedding was soon to follow. She would concentrate on that for a while. But, she wasn't going to let this go. If she had her way, this time next year, the Elliotts would be celebrating another engagement. She was sure of it.
Thank you for reading Drew and Mandy’s story! If you’d like to read the next Solace Creek romance, , or visit Amazon.com to pre-order Staying True now.
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