Caught Up in Us (23 page)

“Here we are.”

I stumbled at the sight. He
grabbed my elbow to keep me from slipping. Not only had Mystic
Landing been transformed for the holidays, it had been totally
transformed. As in a makeover and a facelift. There was a new sign
made out of brushed metal, pretty window displays that married a
sleek to a retro design, and a glass door that had been spruced up
with the name of the store painted in my favorite color —
purple.

He held open the door, and I
wandered inside, mesmerized by the changes, my eyes the size of
saucers. The old beige berber rug had been replaced by a warm
cranberry carpet. The standard wooden shelves and displays had been
extradited, and instead the frames and mugs, the books and cards,
the vases and other gifts for sale were displayed on high and low
wooden tables, some modern, some antique-y. It was the perfect mix
of old rustic charm that had made this place a centerpiece of the
town for many years, and a new twist to send the store into the
future.

But that wasn’t all. The kitschier
items — the little tchotchkes and such — had been banished. In
their place were classier wares, small pitchers in brushed metal, a
cute pink pot for making sauces, wine glasses with clever patterns
on them. My favorite display was the his and her gift set, courtesy
of Made Here and Kat Harper — a vintage key necklace coupled with a
set of cufflinks fashioned from the padlocks from the lover’s
bridge in Paris. It turned out Bryan and I were a good pair at a
lot of things, including business partnerships. The chance to
market this line of gifts together was Bryan’s proposition — that
was all he wanted when he said I could make my necklaces at his
factory. It was too good an offer to pass up.

My mom waved to me, and so did my
dad. But neither one of them rushed over. They were too busy
ringing up customers, and that made me so happy. Bryan had once
said that maybe there was another solution to the store’s woes. It
seemed he was right.

I turned to him. “Is my jaw on the
floor right now?”

“Something like
that.” He grinned, big and wide, and like he had a secret up his
sleeve.

“Did you do this?”

He gave me a sheepish
shrug.

“But how?” I knew he’d been out to
visit the store and check things out. He’d told me that. He told me
too that he was helping my parents figure out some new inventory
plans. But this?

“That’s what I was up to. It’s a
surprise. For you.”

“You did all this?”

He nodded.

“They let
you?”

My parents were so stoic about
taking help from me. I couldn’t imagine they’d accept it from
Bryan, even if he was the boyfriend of their daughter.

“They did.”

“But how did you
convince them?”

“I told them I wanted to do it as
a gift to you.”

“And that was
all it took?”

I eyed him skeptically. These were
my parents we were talking about. There was a lull in the action at
the counter and my parents came over, giving me quick hugs. My dad
clapped Bryan on the back. They all looked like they had secrets
too.

“Sort of.” Bryan
glanced from my mom to my dad. They were both smirking.

“The floor is
yours,” my father said, and took a step back, placing his arm
around my mom, as if they were giving him space for
something.

“What is it?”

“Well, see,” Bryan said, and I
noticed the tiniest bit of red in his cheeks. He was nervous. “It’s
really daunting being in love with a jewelry designer. You can’t
really get her a necklace or earrings or even a ring to show your
love, because chances are she has her own ideas in all those areas
and might be a little particular. So this — “ he spread his arms
out to indicate the revitalization of the store “— is my gift to
you. But it’s more like a promise. It’s a promise that I don’t want
to be your favorite mistake. That I want to be your forever
mistake, if you’ll have me.”

My heart stopped for a moment, and
I couldn’t move, or form words.

“What I’m really trying to say is
I don’t ever want to lose you again. Now that I have you, I want to
be with you always. Will you be mine?”

He bent down on one knee and my
heart nearly stopped. But then he reached for his wallet. I raised
an eyebrow, curiously, as I watched. He removed a tiny white bag
that looked so familiar.

“You might remember the day I
bought this. Back at a little shop in the Village with you. I’ve
kept it since then. In my wallet, in this bag, for five years. I
got it for you then and planned to give it to you as a promise.
It’s just a little thing, but you always said it was a life-long
kind of love you had for the cartoon cat.”

He reached into the bag and handed
me a sparkly Hello Kitty ring, the same one I’d admired so many
years ago.

“You kept this for five
years?”

“Inside my
wallet every single day. Kat, it’s always been you for me.
Always.”

I grabbed his hand and pulled him
to me, wrapping my arms around him.

“I’ll buy you a real ring,” he
said. “But I want you to design it, okay?”

I nodded.

“So, this is a
yes?”

Rays of happiness burst from my
chest. “I’m yours. I always have been. I always will
be.”

Then I kissed him, and though his
kisses had always made me melt, this kiss was the very best of all.
Because it was a new beginning. Here in my home away from home, in
the town where I grew up, we’d come back to each other, and we
weren’t ever going to let go.

Acknowledgements

Big thanks to Simone Noelle, who
encouraged me to do this in the first place. Where would I be with
you? Wait, don’t answer that because I don’t want to know.
Heartfelt gratitude to all my critique partners – Simone, Cyn, CS
and Kelli. You all helped me make this a better book with your
feedback, some of which brought laughter and many knowing winks.
Much admiration to my cover designer Josyan McGregor for creating a
cover that blew me away. I look forward to making more beautiful
covers with you! Huge thanks to my buddy Len for insight on running
a business and managing a board. Massive applause to Taryn at My
Secret Romance, who has become something of a fairy godmother. You
swooped in and saved the day, lining up a whole coterie of amazing
bloggers for the cover reveal and tour. You are awesome! Enduring
love to my husband and kids, whose support and understanding in the
proper care and feeding of an author – chocolate, tea, and quiet
time – made this possible. Most of none of this would be possible
without the support of my family. You guys are the best in the
world and I’m so glad you’re my happily ever after.

Finally, to the readers who bought
this book – you’re beautiful and I adore you all!

Xoxo

Lauren

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