Ronnie grinned. “You are feeling better, aren’t you?”
“Yes, dammit, which is why I don’t need to see a doctor.”
“Too bad. Maybe if you’d made that appointment earlier in the week the way I asked you to, it wouldn’t have come to this,” he said, exchanging one of those superior-male looks with Erik that made her want to clobber them both over the head with a cast-iron skillet. Erik was grinning when Ronnie marched out the back door with her still in his arms.
“Ronnie Sullivan, I have been taking care of myself for quite some time now,” she began, only to have him cut her off with a look that said she hadn’t done a particularly good job of it. She frowned and admitted, “Okay, maybe I’ve let a few things slide. I’ve had a lot on my mind.”
“Annie’s better now,” he said. “And you deliberately ignored me when I asked you to call Doc Marshall and make an appointment. You know you’re in the wrong. That’s why you’ve been avoiding me ever since the night you made that promise.”
“You didn’t ask me to do it. You ordered me to,” she reminded him.
“Sorry. My mistake. I was just thinking about your health.”
“Not your problem,” she said tightly.
“I think we had that discussion the other night, too.” He plunked her down in the passenger seat of his pickup, then got behind the wheel and backed out of his parking place as if in a race. “I’m going to worry about you. Get used to it.”
As soon as they were on the road, he glanced at her and said firmly, “Maybe we need to get something straight. I’m back for good. I thought opening the business would prove that, but I guess you’re going to need constant reminding. In addition, I intend to marry you again. The timing’s up to you, but the outcome’s a given. That gives me worry rights.”
Even though his claim made her heart leap, she scowled at his arrogance. “The outcome is not a given,” she retorted. “You have a lot of nerve coming back here and making assumptions about me.”
“I’m making assumptions about us, actually. We belong together, Dana Sue. That is never going to change.”
She desperately wanted to believe him. “Even now?”
He studied her blankly. “What do you mean, even now?”
“I’ve gained weight. I’m dealing with the possibility of diabetes. I’m a mess,” she said, choking back a sob at how completely out of control she felt even after all the changes she’d tried to make.
He regarded her with dismay. “Honey, you are so far from a mess,” he chided. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. I don’t care about a few extra pounds as long as they don’t hurt your health. As for the diabetes, if you have it, we’ll deal with it. If you need insulin, I’ll even learn to give you shots.”
“You’re terrified of needles,” she objected.
“I’ll get over it,” he said emphatically. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I love you. I love your high spirits, your generous heart, your beautiful face, even your ferocious temper. I’m not quite as crazy about your stubborn streak, but I can live with it.”
Dana Sue held his gaze and saw nothing that would make her doubt what he was telling her. Not even the flicker of an eyelash to suggest he was using sweet talk to get something he wanted, rather than speaking from his heart.
“Okay,” she said at last, giving in to him, to her own heart. She should have done this when he first came back to town, and saved them both months of aggravation, but that stubborn streak he’d mentioned had stopped her.
Ronnie’s gaze narrowed. “Okay what? You’ll go to the doctor without complaining?”
She shook her head. “No—though I’ll do that, too. I’m telling you I’ll marry you.”
He looked stunned. “You’re saying yes,” he murmured, as if he couldn’t quite believe it. The tires squealed as he swerved into a parking space at the hospital and cut the engine. “Yes?”
“I’m saying yes, and believe me, no one is more surprised by that than I am.”
“You’re saying yes when I’m about to haul you into an emergency room,” he muttered with a shake of his head. “That pretty much knocks the romance right out of the moment.”
She grinned at his frustrated tone. “You had something else in mind?”
“Christmas morning,” he admitted. “A pretty velvet box under the tree. Me declaring my undying devotion, while Annie cheered. Something like that.”
“It is a pretty picture,” Dana Sue admitted, wrapping her arms around his neck as he lifted her out of the car. “But something about all this suits us.”
He regarded her with a bemused expression. “A hospital parking lot suits us? How?”
“It’s unpredictable. A little crazy.”
He covered her mouth with his and kissed her till the dizzy sensation came back, this time in a good way.
“I think I’ll include that in our wedding vows,” he told her when he finally pulled away, ending the kiss.
“What?” she asked, still too dazed to think straight.
“I’ll promise to keep things crazy and unpredictable all the days of our lives.”
A smile spread across Dana Sue’s face. “Now that’s a promise I know you’re capable of keeping, Ronnie Sullivan.”
And something told her that once she had her little slice of heaven back again, she wouldn’t have any desire to sneak a slice of Erik’s pies or decadent cakes. Maybe this time Ronnie would turn out to be good for her heart and for her health.
Epilogue
“Mom, would you stand still?” Annie pleaded. “Your veil is crooked.”
“I shouldn’t even be wearing a veil, much less a white dress,” Dana Sue grumbled. “I can’t imagine what I was thinking, letting you talk me into having a fancy, formal wedding.”
“I don’t think it had anything to do with me,” Annie said smugly. “I think it’s because you realized you could still get into your old wedding dress and
