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“No. It’s more than that. You’ve got something up your sleeve, don’t you?”
His lower lip puckered and he glanced off into the distance. “I may or may not have something I’d like to do with you tonight.”
“Tonight? I can’t do anything tonight. There’s a mess to clean up and I have to open tomorrow.”
He tugged her around and pulled her closer to the door. “We both know you’re a morning person anyway. And you thrive under pressure. I would guess that you’d rather be with me tonight than hanging out with the broom and dustpan.”
She poked him in the chest. “You’resupposed to be here hanging out with the broom and dustpan.” Megan couldn’t deny that his request was tantalizing. Daniel didn’t usually pull her away from work because he knew how important it was to her. And yet she couldn’t help but poke him again and murmur, “You’re a bad influence, you know that?”
Daniel lifted an eyebrow and she could see the thoughts whirling in his mind as if in real time. If she didn’t curtail her tease, he was going to make her stay put.
Lifting both hands, she pushed him backward. “Fine. But you’re going to come help me before you get your chores done in the morning.”
“And rob you of the joys of running this amazing business?” He chuckled. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Grasping her hand in his, he pulled her out onto the darkened street. “Besides, I’m going to have to bring you to work in the morning. We’re leaving together and you’re not gonna be interested in coming all the way back for your car when we’re done.”
She didn’t have a chance to object or give him the third degree before he pulled her into his truck and they were on the road.
The second he pulled down an old dirt road, she knew where they were going. Her whole body tingled with the anticipation of spending time with him, but even more so because she had a pretty good idea of what was about to happen. Megan glanced at Daniel out of the corner of her eye several times. He kept his gaze trained on the road, but she got the feeling he was peeking at her when she wasn’t watching.
Everything had changed so much from the first day they met.
Megan gasped and Daniel jumped. He shot a concerned look at her. “Did you forget something?”
She shook her head. “I just realized this is the anniversary of the first day we met.”
He stared at her blankly.
“You can’t tell me that you forgot. I’d say it was a pretty memorable meeting.”
Daniel pulled the truck to a stop, expression unchanged.
Something caught her attention through the window, and she glanced toward the clearing of the very hunting cabin they’d stayed in during the rainstorm. Only, it wasn’t just the cabin. There were candles lining the path, displayed in the windows, and from the looks of it, filling the interior of the cabin.
“You can’t let me have one thing, can you?” His quiet voice wasn’t really disappointed, nor upset. In fact, it sounded more amused than anything else. “I figured that since you hadn’t brought it up, you’d forgotten about that whole ordeal.” He reached for her hand and placed his over top of it.
Megan turned wide eyes on him and sucked in sharply as a shiver raced down her spine.
“The first day I met you, I knew my life was going to change. I just didn’t know in what way. I had this plan… I knew what I wanted and where I wanted my coffee shop to take me and then you had to come into my life and turn everything upside down.”
“If this little speech is supposed to be romantic,” she whispered, “you’re going to have to try a little harder.”
He shook his head and laughed. “You are always surprising me, Megan. Just when I think that there is no way you can throw me off, you do it again and again. You really know how to keep me on my toes.”
“Well, someone has to.”
“Will you stop with the commentary?” he laughed again. “I’m trying to tell you that I love you.”
“I love—”
He sent her a sharp look and she snapped her mouth closed.
Daniel cleared his throat. “As I was saying. I love you. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without you in it.”
“You’d still be stuck in a dead-end job.” She couldn’t help herself. She blurted the first thing that came to her mind then slapped her hand over her mouth and shook her head apologetically.
He rolled his eyes. “I should have known better than to expect this to go according to plan. Nothing with you ever does—unless you plan it.” Daniel clearly tried to bite back a smile, but he failed miserably.
“That’s because I’m just better than you. I told you I would be,” she snickered.
