Hello Love (23 page)

FORTY-ONE

“Anni, Andrea, and Dan,” Joan said, delivering their lemonade and sandwiches. “My favorite trio. The ones to beat.” On the floor next to Andrea’s chair, Anni’s tail thumped happily as if she understood every word. Joan flipped her a dog treat, and with ladylike precision Anni snapped it between her jaws. “Enjoy your lunch, you two.”

“We always do, thanks, Joan,” Dan said, flashing a grin. He and Andrea had started thinking of the Café Mocha as their lunch place around the same time as they started thinking of Anni as belonging to both of them. In the last year, Anni had spent most workdays with Andrea at the office, and between the two of them, and Cliff and Doreen, they drove her back and forth. Anni adjusted fairly readily; it was Lindsay who’d had the meltdown. “Exactly why are we sharing our dog with this person?” she’d asked, hands on hips when she heard the plan.

Dan had explained that it was payback for Andrea saving Anni, and that Andrea loved Anni as much as they did, something Lindsay found hard to believe. He added, “And you know, Lindsay, when I work late and you’re busy, Anni is sometimes here all by herself for eight or ten hours. It’s better for her to be with Andrea than stuck inside our house.” He’d also made it sound like it would only be for a few weeks. A transition period, he’d called it.

After that, Lindsay had begrudgingly accepted it, calling Andrea the doggy day-care lady. Not really a compliment, but their paths didn’t cross much, so it wasn’t really a problem. Yet.

Dan had several good reasons for sharing his dog, but the real reason was something he couldn’t quite put into words. He admired the way Andrea set aside her own desires to return Anni to her rightful owners. He saw the pain in her eyes when Anni leaped into Lindsay’s arms, but there was happiness too. Happiness for them. It was clear she was a woman of great empathy.

That was when he suggested what they’d come to call “the arrangement.” The dating had started as an offshoot of driving Anni back and forth. First it was lunch at the Café Mocha, and then it was the occasional dinner when Lindsay was working or out with friends. And then one day, she mentioned a movie she wanted to see and it turned out he wanted to see it too. It only made sense to go together. Finally, one day something funny happened at work and he thought,
wait until I tell Andrea about this
, and it occurred to him that they had somehow gotten into the habit of calling each other every single day. Still, it wasn’t until Lindsay asked, “So are you
dating
this Andrea person?” that he realized what had happened.

“Yeah, I guess I am,” he answered. Lindsay didn’t say anything, but she wasn’t jumping for joy. “Is that okay with you?”

“I guess it’s fine,” she said, exhaling dramatically, “as long as you don’t, like, marry her or anything.”

“Actually, I am planning on asking her to marry me. Not now, but sometime in the future.” Until that moment, he hadn’t planned anything of the sort, but now he knew it had been in the back of his mind for some time. Hearing Lindsay voice an objection had brought it to the forefront. “I don’t know if she’ll say yes, but I hope she does. And I know it will be a difficult adjustment for you, but I hope you’ll be okay with it.”

“I don’t know about this,” Lindsay had said, her mouth downturned.

“I know,” he said. “Change is hard, and we’ve both been through a lot, losing your mom and then with Anni getting stolen. If Andrea and I do get married, she won’t replace your mom. One person can never replace another. But I think if you give her a chance, you’ll really like her. And I think I deserve some happiness too. I’m only forty. I could live a few more decades.” Almost the exact words Doreen had said to him. It had taken this long for the truth of it to sink in.

That had been months ago and he hadn’t brought it up again, but Lindsay did, periodically saying things like, “If you and Andrea get married, I hope she won’t want to change all the furniture,” and “You guys wouldn’t have another kid, would you? I mean, you’re kind of old to have a baby, right?”

“We’re going to have triplets,” he had said. “And you’ll be babysitting them every Saturday night.”

“Ha-ha,” she’d answered. At least he got her to smile.

Dan had worried that Marco would crop up again, but Andrea had filed for a temporary restraining order for harassment and, between that and the police questioning him, he’d backed off completely. A few months later, Doreen heard that Desiree now sported a very large diamond ring; she and Marco were engaged. When Dan relayed the news, Andrea said, “Now he’s her problem.”

Andrea visited her grandmother every week and always took Anni, who’d become a celebrity at the nursing home. Dan often joined them and they made a point to stop in and see Nadine as well. He wasn’t sure if Nadine really appreciated it. In fact, she’d once snapped, “Why are people always bothering me?” but the sight of Anni softened her and they’d even managed to get her to smile, which was no small thing. Dan thought of it as a good deed done in Christine’s memory. Gram was another matter. She was always happy to see them, and usually knew Andrea, but never quite got the knack of who Dan could be. Still, her face lit up at the sight of the dog and she loved petting Anni. Their visits made a difference.

As the months went by, Andrea spent more time at Dan’s house. He cooked meals for her and she helped him plant tomatoes and green beans in his garden. They took Anni for long walks in the fields around his house, and once, when Anni raced off after a squirrel and they were momentarily alone, he impulsively pulled Andrea into an embrace and found himself saying, “I love you.”

“I was starting to think I’d never hear you say that,” she said, which was odd because he felt like this was sudden. Like he’d rushed things. She smiled. “I love you too, Dan.”

That fall, Andrea had come over to help pack Lindsay up for the dorms and the two of them seemed friendly-ish, which might be as good as it was going to get. By the time he’d decided the timing was right to propose, his daughter had accepted the idea. She was at college and immersed in her new life there. One weekend when Lindsay was home, he took her along to the jewelers to help pick out the ring. He’d narrowed it down to two different styles, and let her choose between them. “If she says no, can I have it?” she asked, an evil glint in her eye.

“Not a chance,” he answered.

Dan wasn’t a romantic guy by nature, but he wanted to do this right. He’d thought of a dozen different scenarios for a proposal, but only came up with one that was a good fit for the two of them. The Café Mocha, the place where they officially met, seemed apropos, and Anni needed to play a part as well. When they were done eating, he casually said, “Did you notice Anni’s new ID tag?”

“New ID tag?” Andrea said, puzzled. She reached down to Anni’s collar and found the heart-shaped tag. “When did you put this on?”

“When you left to go to the bathroom,” he said, trying to hold back his grin. “Read it.”

She squinted and read, “Anni. If found please return to Andrea Kelle
r . . .
” She looked up, confused. “My name and your address?”

He got out of the chair and down on one knee, pulling the box out of his pocket. He flipped open the lid to show her the ring. “Andrea Keller, will you marry me?” He took it all in at once, the way her hand flew up to her mouth, Anni jumping on him, licking his cheek, and the hush that fell over the surrounding tables. He silently prayed he wasn’t making a fool of himself. Everything hinged on her answer.

“Yes, I will,” she said, tears spilling from her eyes. She leaned down and put a hand on either side of his face and planted a kiss on his lips. A smattering of applause came from around the coffee shop, accompanied by the sound of someone whooping in the background.

“I promise I’ll make you very happy,” he said.

She whispered into his ear, “You already have.”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My gratitude to those who helped get
Hello Love
out into the world is endless.

Terry Goodman, Jessica Poore, and the rest of the team at Amazon are simply the best of the best. Terry, thanks for listening and for making me laugh. Jessica, you’re a valuable ally. I hope I stay on your good side.

Many thanks to Kay Bratt, Kate Danley, Kay Ehlers, Khris Erickson, Geri Erickson, “Eagle Eye” Alice L. Kent, Rachel Leamond, and Michelle San Juan, all of whom took the time to offer advice and suggestions.

To Michelle and Ivan San Juan, who would never leave their precious Anni tied up to a signpost outside of a business, thank you for lending me her name and likeness. I’m sorry the fictional Anni had to endure such trials.

Kay Bratt, Chapter Forty is dedicated to you. You know why.

My family—Greg, Charlie, Maria, and Jack McQuestion—are my reasons for living and writing, and I love them all.

Last, and most importantly, I thank the readers who enable me to write novels for a living. You matter more than I can say.

If you have enjoyed this book, and it’s not too much trouble, a short review posted on Amazon or Goodreads would be very much appreciated. And if you’d like notification of my upcoming book releases, visit
www.karenmcquestion.com
and sign up for my newsletter.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen McQuestion has written books for kids, teens, and adults, and is published in print, e-book, and audio through Amazon Publishing, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Brilliance Audio. Many of her titles have spent time on the top 100 Kindle list. Her publishing story has been covered by the
Wall Street Journal
,
Entertainment Weekly
, and the national NPR show,
The Story with Dick Gordon
. She has also appeared on ABC’s
World News Now
and
America This Morning.
She lives with her husband and kids in Hartland, Wisconsin.