Cowboy Ever After

Chapter 20

Gretchen held the door of Bibliography open for Keri Teague as she stepped inside with a tray of cupcakes designed to look like miniature wedding cakes.

"Those are the most adorable things I've ever seen."

Keri smiled. "Thanks. I had a blast putting them together. Thanks for the idea. I'm going to start offering them to brides-to-be."

They barely got the cupcakes set on the refreshment table before people started arriving for the book signing, the latest in a series of signings Gretchen had arranged in the three months since she'd taken over as owner of Bibliography. Some days she still woke up thinking it had all been a dream. But then she'd realize she was in her bed in her apartment and not in the backseat of her car, and she couldn't help smiling ear to ear.

And despite the fact that she'd sunk all her money plus a lot of hard work into the bookstore, she also owed Matt a great deal. It had taken a lot of convincing, but she'd finally relented and allowed him to become her business partner. Somewhere along the way, she'd stopped believing he would hurt her as Adam had, the way her mother had all those years. He believed in her, loved her as no one ever had.

She smiled as she thought about how while she was running the store and working on finishing her first book he'd found his own dream to pursue, the launching of a rodeo riding school. She loved watching him work with aspiring riders, the ease he had astride a horse, the way his face lit up when one of his students showed improvement. A sexier man had never sat a horse.

"You're thinking about Matt, aren't you?" Keri said softly as she leaned in close.

Gretchen's face heated, which just caused Keri to chuckle.

The door opened again, and in walked Linnea Brody, who owned the local wedding shop. With her was an elegant woman who had to be famous wedding gown designer Ellen Clare, the special guest of the evening.

After introductions were made and they engaged in a little chit-chat, Gretchen moved to the front of the crowded seating area and introduced Ellen and her new book on how to have a glamorous wedding, even on a budget.

"Thank you," Ellen said as she stepped to the podium. "Before I get started though, I have a guest who'd like to say a few words first."

Confused, Gretchen looked to where Ellen was gesturing toward the bookshelves. Matt stepped out, looking oddly nervous. A burst of fear surged through her, that once again she'd misjudged a man who supposedly loved her. No, Matt wasn't that kind of guy. When he told her he loved her, she believed him because she saw the truth reflected in his eyes. So what in the world was he doing here now? Yes, he was a partner in the store, but she was pretty sure he had zero interest in learning about wedding gowns and fancy invitations.

He smiled as he drew near.

"What's going on?" she asked, embarrassed that he was interrupting Ellen's presentation.

"I've got something I need to ask you."

"Now?"

"Yes, now." She didn't realize he'd pulled anything from his pocket until he lowered himself to one knee in front of her.

Gretchen gasped as did everyone else in the room.

"Gretchen Tolliver, I've spent my whole life not really knowing what I wanted until I met you. But now I know I want nothing more than for you to be my wife."

Tears pooled in Gretchen's eyes until Matt's face turned blurry. She wondered if she should pinch herself to see if this was really happening.

"Well, answer the boy," Verona Charles said from the back row, eliciting laughter from the crowd.

Gretchen reached out and touched Matt's face to make sure he was real. "Yes."

"Good answer," Verona said.

Gretchen had no idea what anyone else said because Matt jumped to his feet and pulled her into a kiss straight out of a fairy tale. When the kiss ended, she looked up into those eyes she loved so much and all she could think was "And they lived happily ever after."

THE END