Mint Chip Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 6 by Susan Gillard Page A

command.”
     
    When Ryan rose to begin clearing the
table, Heather piled her own silverware on top of her plate.  “I can get it,”
he said.  “You take your glass of wine to the den and have a seat.”
     
    “Gladly,” she agreed with a smile. 
She settled in on Ryan’s sofa and waited, sipping her wine and listening to the
sounds coming from the kitchen as he cleared the table and put the dishes in
the sink.
    In another minute, he sat down on the
couch next to her.  “I’ve really enjoyed tonight,” he said. 
     
    “Me too.”  Heather put her glass of
wine on the coffee table and turned to face him.  “Thank you for that
incredible meal.”
     
    “I enjoyed cooking for you,” Ryan
said.  He hesitated, holding her gaze with his.  Then he said his voice husky,
“In fact, if it were possible, I’d cook for you every night of our lives.”
     
    Heather felt the trembling start in
the very center of her body and found herself utterly unable to speak.
     
    “You said earlier that you don’t mind
dating a cop,” he said.  “Do you think you’d want to be married to one?”
     
    Heather’s hand seemed to rise and
cover her mouth of its own volition as tears sprang to her eyes.  Slowly, never
taking his eyes off hers, Ryan knelt before her on one knee and reached for her
hands.  “Heather, I’ve never known anyone like you,” he said. 
     
    “You’re smart, you’re funny, and
you’re amazing.  You’re beautiful.  I want to go to sleep by your side every
night and wake up next to you every morning.”
     
    He stopped to clear his throat, and Heather
realized with amazement that there were tears in his eyes, too.  “Heather, I
love you,”  he said, his voice cracking. 
     
    “I know I don’t deserve you, but you
would make me the happiest man in the world if you would agree to be my wife. 
Heather, will you marry me?”
    Her tears spilled over, and she
reached for him blindly, feeling his strong arms go around her. 
     
    “Yes,” she murmured against his cheek
through her tears.  “Yes, I’ll become the happiest woman in the world and marry
you.”
     
    His lips found hers, and he kissed
her, deeply and passionately.  Then he pulled away and fumbled in his pocket. 
He drew out a small, black velvet box and opened it to display the ring she
knew she would wear for the rest of her life—a square-cut, sparkling diamond solitaire. 
She held out a trembling hand as he placed it on her ring finger.  It fit like
it had been made for her, and maybe it had.  How he had known her ring size,
she didn’t know.  But she figured if he could figure out who killed whom, of
course he’d be able to determine what size ring she wore.
     
    “You pick out the wedding band,” he
said.  “Anything you want, and it’s yours.”
     
    Staring at the ring on her finger,
Heather tilted her hand this way and that, watching the light play off the
brilliance of the diamond.  “I can’t believe this,” she said with a laugh.  “We’re
really going to get married.”
     
    “Yes, we really are,” Ryan said.  “And
the sooner, the better.  Take all the time you want to make plans.  Just don’t
take too long.  In fact, let’s get married right now.  I could call a friend,
who just happens to be a Justice of the Peace.”
     
    At the hopeful, little-boy look on his
face, Heather laughed out loud and threw her arms around him.  “I love you so
much,” she just had time to say before his lips found hers again.
     
    ***
     
    Later that night, just before she
finally went to sleep in her own bed, Heather picked up her phone.  Navigating
her way through her favorite app, she selected a new ringtone to use as her
default ringtone. 
     
    “Here Comes the Sun” had served her
well for awhile.  But it was time for a change.  Now, if someone called her,
her phone would play “Here Comes the Bride.”
     
    Heather set her phone to “silent,”
turned off the bedside lamp, and