Creamy Casserole Murder: Book 15 in The Darling Deli Series (12 page)

She gasped as he opened a small black box to reveal a gorgeous, intricate diamond ring. Her hands went to her mouth and she felt tears come to her eyes.

“Yes,” she whispered. He broke into an ear-to-ear grin and slid the ring onto her waiting finger.

It fit perfectly. Something tickled the back of her mind, a memory from a few weeks ago…

“Wait. After that time you and Maverick were upstairs, I found one of my favorite rings that had been lost since I got back from the cruise,” she said, the gears turning in her head. “Did you take it?”

“Ah… yeah. I did.” He gave her a sheepish look. “I needed to make sure the ring was the right size, so I took that ring to a jeweler while you were gone. I forgot to put it back until that night. I had hoped that you hadn’t noticed.”

“You must have been planning this for a while,” she said, amazed. She couldn’t stop looking at her engagement ring and smiling. It didn’t feel real yet… she and David were going to get married.

“Over a month,” he admitted. “I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to propose. This,” he gestured around the dark woods and the parking lot, “isn’t exactly what I had in mind, but I couldn’t bear waiting any longer. I wanted to do it over a nice candlelit dinner.”

“Oh, David, this is perfect,” she told him. “Just you and me under the stars. I can’t think of a better moment.”

“I’m glad you’re happy.” He pulled her close for a tender kiss, then wrapped his arms around her and rested his forehead against hers. “I’m glad you said yes. I was terrified that you wouldn’t.”

“Why on earth wouldn’t I want to marry you?” she asked him.

“That’s what all of your friends said,” he told her with a chuckle.

“You asked them before you asked me?” she grumbled, recalling the strange behavior of her friends and employees over the past few weeks.

“Well, I didn’t know if you wanted to marry again, after everything that happened with Mike, and I didn’t want to put pressure on you if it wasn’t something you were interested in. I only brought it up with Candice, Martha, and Denise, but it turns out they’re all terrible at keeping secrets. I’m pretty sure half the town knew I was going to propose to you. I’m surprised that you
didn’t
know.”

“They managed to keep it a secret from me, just like that surprise party,” she assured him. “I’m floored. This is the best night of my life. David, I’m so happy I don’t even have words for it.”

“You don’t need words.”

He tilted her head up and kissed her again, and Moira realized that he was right. She didn’t need to say anything. Everything that she wanted to tell him, she could feel in the tender way that he held her, and in the pounding of her heart as they kissed. No words could ever describe this moment. She wished it could last forever.