“Thank you,” Kelly said.
“You should’ve told me you were going to be on my favorite television show! I almost dropped my dentures when I saw you on there. I cheered for you the whole way. No offense,” she said to Andrew.
Mrs. Leary leaned her forearms on the table. “And this, Kelly. This man. He’s the one. I knew it before they even revealed that you two had been a couple before the show. I just knew it.” Mrs. Leary tapped the side of her head. “I have special gifts. I just know things.”
“I’m glad that was in my favor,” Andrew said.
“Oh, yes.” Mrs. Leary leaned in close to Kelly, but her whispering skills lacked. “Trust the happiness that’s coming your way, my dear.”
Kelly blushed. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I could listen to you talk with that little southern accent all day.”
Y’all are the ones with the accent, Kelly thought.
A robust man wearing white came toward the table, carrying two huge plates of cheesecake. One with cherries on top, one plain. “For my new friends. I saw you both on the Four Square Bake-Off. I’m so glad to meet you. Candace told me all about you, young lady.” He slid the plates onto the table—the cherries in front of her, and the plain in front of Andrew. “Eat up.”
Andrew and Kelly locked eyes, then with a laugh she switched the plates. “Just like old times,” she said.
“Even better.”
They dug into the cheesecake, and when both plates were clean, Henry asked, “So, what do you think?”
“You’re right. This is the very best cheesecake I’ve ever had.”
“Fabulous. Hold on. I need to get a picture of us together. You’ll sign it for us!” Henry ambled over, carrying an old Polaroid camera. “Franny. Come take a picture of us. This lady won the Four Square Bake-Off!”
Franny squealed and came racing to his side. “I lawwwve that show. I can’t believe you’re in the diner. I’m Franny. My mom and I watched. I was almost late for work because of you.”
“Oh no, I’m sorry,” Kelly said.
Henry, Candace, and Kelly stood together. “Get over here, boy,” Henry said to Andrew.
“Me?”
Candace pulled Kelly closer to her. “Yes, you. I want the four of us together in the picture.”
Andrew stepped in close to Kelly. She leaned back against his chest, then tilted her chin back to him with a broad smile. “This is great,” he said.
Three pictures spit out of the camera at an alarmingly slow rate with a buzzing that sounded like a big bumblebee.
Candace grabbed them and started flapping her arms, stopping every few seconds to see if the picture had come in to view yet. “These are going to be so good.”
Henry walked over to the cash register and came back with a marker. “How’d we do?”
Candace eyed each one. “This one goes on the wall.” She shoved it toward him. “You two sign this.”
Henry handed him the marker, and Andrew signed along the very bottom, leaving the rest of the white cardboard-framed border for Kelly.
She wrote, “Best cheesecake I’ve ever had!” Then signed above his name, finishing with a curly ampersand.
Kelly & Andrew. Seeing it written like that brought back so many memories.
“Can I have one of the other pictures?” Andrew asked.
“Of course.” Candace handed them both to him. “Take your pick.”
Andrew tried to pay for their cheesecake, but Candace and Henry insisted it was on the house. It was like a family goodbye of hugs and handshakes as they left the diner.
“That was amazing, but we’d better get back to the hotel and pick up your things to go to the airport,” he said.
Kelly’s mood softened. She hated for this to end. “When do you fly back out?”
“I’ve got something to tell you.”
She closed her eyes, bracing herself.
“I’m coming back to Bailey’s Fork. We’re on the same flight.”
Her head jerked up. “We are?” Her heart was full of hope, but then she paused. “For how long?”
“All the way. You were right. Home can only be one place. I want to make my home in Bailey’s Fork. I hope it’ll be with you. It’s where we belong. With our families. That’s home.”
“I—”
“Please let me finish.” He placed his hand on her arm. “I know I messed up. I know we have a long way to go to repair the damage I’ve done, but with all that said, if I’d asked you to marry me on that stage, tell me…would you have at least for one tiny second considered saying yes?”
She sat there trying to not hyperventilate while gathering her thoughts.
Andrew sat quiet, almost looking defeated.
She grabbed her purse and pulled out the macaron he’d given her on stage. “Yes.” She handed it to him. “Yes. I’d have considered it. I’ve thought about it so many times since you’ve been back.”
“You scared me for a minute there.” Laughing, he pulled her in for a kiss. “Please tell me this means you’ll give me a second chance. I love you, Kelly. I’ve never loved anyone but you.”
“Me too. Well, I was really mad with you for a long time, but no one could get to my heart. It’s always been yours.”
“I’m coming home,” he said.
“Home. That sounds so good.” Her brows pulled together. “Wait.”
“What’s wrong?”
“We have a problem. It’s Gray.”
“That’s not a problem.” Andrew’s smile was broad. “I love Gray. I think that pig is cool.”
“We’re going to need a new name for him.”
“Why?” Andrew sat back. “I was only teasing about it being a weird name. It suits him.”
She shook her head. “No. It’s a long story, but I’m thinking maybe we need to call him Whay now.”
“Okay, I have no idea what this is all about, but you can call him whatever you like as long as we can be together. What’s the big deal about Gray anyway? I think he kind of looks like a Gray.”
She bit down on the left side of her lip. “It stood for Good Riddance Andrew York.”
“Ouch.” He winced. “Really?”
She shrugged. “I could have gone the burn-all-our-pictures route, or
