The Sweet Golden Parachute Page 30
“What’s all this now?” Des wondered as she watched him light the candles, one by one. “We holding a séance?”
“No, I’ve got something for you.”
She flashed her hugest smile at him. “Is it your magic feather?”
“You really like that feather, don’t you?”
“Baby, what is this?”
“Have a seat, will you?”
“Okay…” She arranged her long, taut self on the blanket. “Now what?”
Mitch swallowed hard and plunged ahead. “I’ve been thinking that when I talked about us getting, you know, married, I didn’t exactly go about it the right way. I didn’t tell you how much you mean to me. I didn’t tell you that I can’t possibly live the rest of my life without you. And I didn’t give you this.” He handed her the small box that was in his jacket pocket.
It was not a fancy ring. The diamond was small. It was not a new one either. The gold had a burnished glow.
“It was my grandmother’s. I had my mom send it to me.”
“Baby, baby…” she gasped. “I thought you gave Maisie your grandmother’s engagement ring.”
“You’re the detective. See if you can work it out.”
Des nodded her head sagely. “You had two grandmothers.”
“This one was Sadie Mandelbaum’s. I’m sorry I bungled this whole thing the way I did. I should have made it more special. I can be a bit socially challenged, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“Mitch, this is all so incredibly sweet of you, but that was never the issue. You were never the issue. It was all about me needing to get some things straight in my own mind. And I have. And the answer is yes, in case you’re wondering. Soon as you want.”
“I’m sorry, what did you just say?”
She frowned at him. “Are you okay?”
“Absolutely. Just feeling a little dizzy all of a sudden. Must be that climb up here. So, wow, I’m going to be Mr. Des Mitry.”
“Tell you what—you can keep your own name.”
Beaming, he worked the cork out of the champagne and filled their glasses. They drank, her pale green eyes shining at him in the candlelight.
“Do you have a where in mind?” she asked.
“Anywhere is fine by me, just as long as it’s not the inside of the Congo church. Deal?”
“Deal. Shall we shake on it?”
He leaned over and grazed her lips with his. “Oh, I’m absolutely positive we can do better than that.”
Des left Mitch’s little island in the Sound shortly after dawn, utterly sleep deprived and caring not one bit. She felt positively giddy as she piloted her cruiser up Old Shore Road toward home. Didn’t feel the road beneath her at all. All she could feel was Sadie Mandelbaum’s ring around her finger.
She was so dreamy that she didn’t notice someone sitting in the sedan parked across the street from her house. Didn’t even notice the car there.
She put the coffee on as soon as she walked in. Changed into her sweats, then woke up Bella, who was snoring away in her room like a lumberjack. They were planning to check out that Dumpster behind the Rustic Inn this morning.
“We’re on dawn patrol, girl,” she sang out. “Ready for your coffee?”
Bella groaned, blinking at her.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Des headed toward the kitchen to get it. That was when her doorbell rang.
It was so early in the morning that she couldn’t imagine who it could be. Which was pretty amazing, considering how big a believer Des was in self-preservation. And yet no survival instinct warned her that here was trouble. No inner voice said, “Something’s got to go wrong because I’m feeling way too good.” She was simply caught there, flat-footed, when she yanked open that door.
And standing there before her, wearing a charcoal gray flannel suit and a smile, was the single most beautiful black man she had ever seen in her life.
The air went right out of her body as soon as she saw him. Her knees wobbled, stomach clenched. “H-Hello, Brandon…” she stammered, barely getting the words out.
“Right back at you, Desi,” he said in that rich burgundy voice of his. “We need to talk. It’s important. May I come in?”
Table of Contents
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Epilogue