His brow went up as he took her hand. “Are you mocking fifteen-year-old me?”
She paused, her mouth partly open as she searched for the teasing glint she expected to see in his eyes. “You’re not kidding.”
Hayden squeezed her hand. “No, I’m not. Fifteen-year-old me wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box, though. If I had been, Iwould have asked you out back then. But the feelings were there.”
His honesty touched her. “They were there for me too. I think we had to go through everything we went through, both good andbad, to get to this point.”
He put his arm around her shoulders, and she leaned against him. “See, I was thinking about how many years I wasted beingapart from you, but your explanation is better.” He pressed his lips against her hair. “By the way, I love you too.”
A thought popped into her head, and she didn’t think twice about it. “Now that we have that settled, let’s get married,” shesaid, surprising herself with the proposal, but she didn’t regret saying it.
“Wait, what?” His arm dropped from her shoulders and he faced her, his handsome face filled with shock.
“Married. Your house is almost done. The store is open, the hardware store is doing well. The chamber of commerce is willingto look at your revitalization ideas. Mimi is back to her usual self.”
“That all sounds so logical,” he said flatly.
“It does? Well, I can change that.” She grinned and put her arms around him, kissing him soundly. From inside the store shecould hear the Bosom Buddies applauding and a few shrill whistles from Anita, who had killer whistling skills. Riley laughedas she pulled away from him, still smiling.
“Wow, you’re serious, aren’t you?” he said, looking bewildered. “You want to get married.”
“Yes. I do.” Then she paused, doubt filling her. She was springing the idea on him right before she would have to spend theday dealing with what she hoped would be a barrage of customers. That wasn’t exactly fair. “If you want to wait, though, that’sfine too—”
He helped her to her feet, threw open the door, and gently pulled her inside Knots and Tangles.
“Guess what?” he said to the nosy women who were crowded together only a few feet from the windows. “We’re getting married!”
Erma gasped, her gaze darting from him to Riley. “What?”
Hayden turned to Riley. “We should make it official.”
She leaned toward him, lowering her voice. “I thought it was, since I proposed to you already.”
“I can’t help that I’m old-fashioned.” He dropped to one knee. “Riley, will you—”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Harper strolled over to them, wearing a casual outfit of kitten heels, white slim pants, and a purplecheckered blouse. “You can’t propose without a ring.”
“Yes, he can,” Riley pointed out.
“Harper’s right.” Anita appeared next to her, the bangs from her pixie cut touching her brown eyebrows. “Where’s the ring?”
Hayden, still kneeling, said, “I haven’t gotten that far yet.”
Olivia crossed her arms and peered down at him. “So, you’re doing this backward? What kind of proposal is that?”
“Help,” he squeaked, raising his desperate gaze to Riley.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake.” Erma grabbed a skein of Riley’s brand of hot-pink yarn, then walked back to the counter. A few minuteslater, she handed a strand of it to Hayden. “Use this.”
He took the yarn from her and tied it on Riley’s left ring finger. “Will you marry me, Riley?”
“Yes.” She leaned down and took his face in her hands, kissing him until he nearly fell over as applause filled the store.
“It’s about time!” Bea said.
“Oh, we have a wedding to plan!” Viola clapped.
“This is so exciting!” Peg bounced on her tiptoes.
The women gathered together, all abuzz, the grand reopening of the shop forgotten. Riley met her grandmother’s gaze. Miminodded and smiled, then joined her Bosom Buddies and the younger women. The two generations hugged each other.
Hayden slipped his arms around Riley’s waist. “There’s no backing out now,” he said. “If we did, we’d have the BBs and Musketeersafter us.”
Riley leaned against him, her heart filled with love as she visually embraced the women who had all become surrogate mothersto her and sisters to Mimi. They, along with Riley’s new girlfriends, were the family she had always longed for.
She glanced at the bow on her finger, then turned to Hayden and matched his smile with one of her own. Soon he would be thehusband she’d always dreamed, but never dared hope, she’d have. Happy endings are true after all.
A Note from the Author
Dear Readers,
The Maple Falls series was first inspired by a visit to Arkansas Yarn Co, located in Malvern, AR. After I visited Lorri Helberg’s store (yes, she’s the Lorri in the story!) the idea of Hooked on You was born.
I’m an avid crocheter—some might say addicted, and I’m okay with that—and I love to collect yarn and patterns. I discussed the idea of developing a yarn colorway and a pattern to go along with the book with Lorri, and thanks to her and two fabulous pattern designers, Cheryl Ham (knitting) and Tamara Kelly (crochet), I’m excited to announce an exclusive yarn colorway called Hooked on You and a hat pattern, The Riley Hat, available in both knit and crochet!
To find out more about the yarn and patterns, visit my blog: kathleenfuller.com/books-and-hooks-blog. There you will find everything you need to knit or crochet one of these hats with the beautiful Hooked on You yarn. If you make The Riley Hat, make sure to tag me and the artists on Instagram: Kathleen Fuller (@kf_booksandhooks), Arkansas Yarn Co (@ArkansasYarnCo), Tamara (@mooglyblog), and Cheryl (@hypnoUcyarn) so we can see your creations!
Thank you so much for reading Hooked on You. I hope you enjoyed visiting Maple Falls and reading Riley and Hayden’s story. Look for Tanner and Anita’s story next, along with another exclusive yarn colorway and patterns. God bless you and yours.
Kathleen
Discussion Questions
Riley moved away from
