Kate Hoffmann - Reunited

"What is it?"

He hugged her more tightly, then reached into his pocket and pulled out the small velvet box.

"What's this?" she asked as he held it in front of her.

"If you don't like it, we can pick out something else."

She slowly stepped out of his embrace and opened the box. Her eyes went wide and she gasped again. "Is this an engagement ring?"

"What else would it be?" He smiled warmly. "I asked you to marry me. A ring usually goes with the proposal."

"I-I just thought you were saying that to make my brothers angry."

Rafe laughed and shook his head. "Jeez, Keely. I'm not the kind of guy who tosses marriage proposals around lightly. I meant what I said. I love you and I want to marry you."

Keely stared down at the ring. "But we barely know each other. Even though we met in October, we've only really been together a month."

"Do you love me?"

"I do," Keely murmured.

"And do you want to marry me?"

"I do," she said. "But there are so many things-"

"Then you keep this," Rafe said. "You don't have to put it on now. When you're ready-when your family is ready-then I'll slip that on your finger and we'll make it official." Rafe leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "I want you to go back inside now. They're going to wonder where you went."

"But I want to stay here with you."

"Sweetheart, we're going to spend the rest of our lives together. For now, I think it's best if you smooth things out with your family. You dropped a pretty big bombshell in there. Next time, I don't think you need to provide the details of our love life."

Keely stared up at him and smiled. "I don't know why I said that. Sometimes even I can't believe what comes out of my mouth. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say with my brothers standing there ready to kill you."

"Can I believe that you're going to marry me?"

She pushed up on her toes and kissed him. "Yes, Rafe Kendrick. I will marry you."

Rafe captured her mouth once more and kissed her long and deep, a kiss that he knew would have to hold them until they saw each other again. But now that he had the answers he wanted, he didn't care if it took a day or a week or even a month. Keely Quinn was his and nothing could stand between them.

"Call me tonight," he murmured. "I want to hear your voice before I go to sleep. Better yet, come over and you can spend the night in my bed."

"I can't," Keely said. "I've been staying with Conor and Olivia when I'm in Boston. They'll know something is up if I don't come home."

"You already admitted to them that you weren't a virgin. Do you think they'll be surprised?"

"I just don't want to stir up trouble," Keely said. "Give them all a chance to cool down and then I'll tell them how I feel. Everything is still so new between me and my family."

"And between us, too."

"But I know you love me, Rafe. That's something I can count on. I can count on that, can't I?"

Rafe pulled her into his embrace and pressed his lips into her fragrant hair. "Forever," he murmured.

RAFE GLANCED DOWN at the address he'd scrawled on a scrap of paper. "This is it-210 East Beltran." Pulling the car to the curb, he parked a few doors down the street from McClain's Bakery in Brooklyn. After switching off the ignition, Rafe stepped out of the car and drew his overcoat more tightly around him against the January cold.

The old building was impeccably maintained on a quiet street that had a mix of old brick town houses with quaint storefronts at each corner. As he walked to the door, he stared through the wide plate-glass windows to a display filled with cakes of all shapes and sizes. Rafe paused. When Keely had told him she made cakes, he'd had something a little more ordinary in mind. But the samples in the windows were works of art, sculptures made of cake and frosting and a wild imagination. Keely's imagination.

He straightened his tie, then reached out to grab the front door. He hadn't bothered to call to let Keely know he was coming. Over the past week, they hadn't had a chance to see each other, though they had managed a nightly phone call and some pretty amazing phone sex. Rafe smiled to himself. Though having sex over the phone had been exciting at first, it really didn't compare to having Keely in his arms, to looking at her and kissing her and touching her at will. So he'd decided on a surprise.

He'd had Sylvie call for him under the guise of a bride wanting to discuss her wedding cake. Then he'd rented a suite at the Plaza as part of his plan to spirit Keely away from work for lunch, an afternoon of shopping and an evening of real passion, without a phone line between them.

A bell above the door rang as he stepped inside. The front part of the bakery served as a showroom, with narrow mouldings on each wall holding photo after photo of increasingly elaborate cakes. He studied a photo of a brightly colored cake that resembled a Hawaiian shirt. The next photo showed a cake decorated with tiny little fruits cascading over each tier.

"That's one of our marzipan designs."

Rafe turned to find an older woman standing a few feet away. "It's beautiful," he said. "But where do you find fruit that small?"

"It's not real fruit," she said. "It's marzipan, modeled and colored to look like real fruit."

"Marzipan?"

"Almond paste. Everything on that cake is edible and very delicious." She held out her hand. "I'm Fiona McClain. How can I help you?"

Keely's mother, Rafe mused as he shook her hand. He'd known that Keely resembled her brothers, but there was a fair amount of Fiona McClain in her as well, in the delicate nose and the warm smile. He hadn't thought he'd get a chance to meet Fiona on this trip, but now that he had, he was going to take advantage of it. "I want to order a cake."

"And what kind of cake would you like to order?"

"A wedding cake?"

Fiona laughed. "You speak as if you're not sure. Perhaps your bride should be here to help make choices?"

"I'm afraid that won't be possible. At least not on this trip. Maybe you can show me a few things?"

"Well, my daughter, Keely, designs all of our cakes and every cake is a one-of-a-kind creation. She likes to meet the customers and discuss their ideas."

"Is she around?"

Fiona shook her head. "She just stepped out for a few minutes, but she should be back soon. Maybe I could get some information from you first? It would help to know what you have in mind for the wedding."

"How much does a cake like this cost?" Rafe asked, pointing to a multitiered confection that seemed to be draped in layers of lace.

"We do cakes for all budgets." She pulled out a photo album and flipped through it. "That cake was ten thousand dollars. And this one was eight thousand."

Rafe gasped. "For a cake?"

"It all depends on the size and complexity. You must think of the wedding cake much like the wedding gown," she explained. "The gown is the focal point of the ceremony and the cake is the centerpiece of the reception. There will only be one gown and one cake for that one special day. So it must be the best. We often suggest to the bride that she spend as much on her cake as she spends on her gown. Now, when is the wedding?"

"Well, we don't exactly have a date yet," Rafe said.

Fiona frowned. "We can't put you on the schedule unless we have a date. And we do get booked very quickly. Right now we're booking clients for at least a year from now."

"Really?"

"Are you sure you're ready to choose a cake?"

"Actually, you're right. I didn't come here to pick out a cake. I just wanted to meet you."

Fiona blinked in surprise. "Me?"

"My name is Rafe Kendrick and I'm in love with your daughter and I plan to marry her. So I guess you'll have to ask her about the date."

Keely's mother frowned. "I-I don't understand. Do you even know my daughter?"