Sweet Baklava (29 page)

But after the honeymoon . . . Paula shuddered to think about the resentment that might follow.

"Let's go to dinner now," she said.

They walked in silence, hand-in-hand, to the car. Paula didn't try to make conversation until they turned off Alternate 19 toward Bon Appetit.

"I've always loved this place."

"Yes, I know." Nick smiled as he pulled into a parking spot. "I wanted this to be a night to remember."

Nick had reserved a table overlooking the water. Paula felt her pulse surge merely by looking at the man across the table from her. If she'd ever doubted his love, she couldn't any longer. That made her want to please him even more.

"Nick, please don't leave the Air Force. I can't stand the thought of you being miserable here in Tarpon Springs."

"I won't be miserable."

"But you won't be happy either."

He tilted his head downward and shut his eyes. Paula knew he was praying.

When he looked back at her, he said, "I still have a few weeks after I get back to the base to let them know my decision."

She smiled. "You're an amazing guy, Nick."

"That's what I keep trying to tell you."

At that moment, Paula knew what she needed to do. But she needed to wait for the right time to make sure Nick wouldn't do anything he'd regret.

D
on't breathe a word of it to Nick," Paula said. "And please make sure Lance doesn't slip up and say something."

Beth giggled. "I love surprises—especially when I'm the one doing the surprising."

"I haven't been on this end of the surprise very often," Paula admitted. "But I have a feeling I'll enjoy it."

"Okay, so let me get this straight. I'm picking you up at the airport, and we're coming back to my place. Lance will get Nick to come over with him." She paused for a couple of seconds. "That might be the hard part. Lance said it's getting harder to talk Nick into anything lately. All he wants to do is mope around and think about you."

"Ironic, isn't it?"

Again, Beth giggled. "Yeah, but we have to figure out a way to get Nick here."

"I have an idea. Why don't you have Lance leave his car at your place, so he can tell Nick he needs a ride? Nick is a good guy, so he can't turn Lance down."

"You are brilliant, Paula."

"When it comes to conniving, apparently so."

After they made their plans, Paula came out from the back room and told Alexa everything was confirmed. Alexa pumped her fist.

"Nick will be so surprised he won't know what hit him."

Paula rubbed her neck. "I just hope you continue to like working here. If that ever changes, this whole plan will tank."

"I can't see that happening," Alexa said. "But if it does, at least you have backup with Steph, Amanda, and Kate."

"That's another thing. What made you think Kate would be so good at sales? She sold more during her shift yesterday than I ever sell in a week."

"I dunno," Alexa said as she placed the palm of her hand on her abdomen. "Just a gut feeling, I guess."

"I'm just glad you and I are on the same team. You've been amazing."

Alexa beamed. A small amount of praise went a long way with her.

Paula left to check on the folks at the Senior Center. Mildred met her at the door. "We're already getting applications for the new jobs. I don't think we'll have any trouble filling them. Every senior citizen in Tarpon Springs and Palm Harbor has heard about the perks of working for you." She snickered. "We love our freebies."

"And I love my Mildred," Paula said. "You're doing a great job. I just stopped by to see if you needed anything."

Mildred shook her head. "Not now. When are you leaving for Texas?"

"Next week. I would have liked to do this next month, but there's a time element for Nick. I have to do this before he makes his decision about reenlisting."

"My Frank was in the Army. Career man. Loved serving, and when he got out, we had his retirement to fall back on."

"How did you feel about moving every couple of years?" Paula asked.

Mildred shrugged. "It had its good points and bad, just like everything else. I liked making new friends, but leaving the old ones was difficult. However, many of them showed up at other posts, and I've been able to find the ones who are still around, thanks to the Internet." She put her hand on Paula's shoulder. "How do you feel about all these decisions?"

"Surprisingly at peace about them. Everything has fallen into place so well, I know it's a God thing."

"You're a good girl, Paula. Nick is a fortunate man."

Nick stared at Lance. "Why did you leave your car at Beth's?"

"We went out last night, and after I got there she said she wanted to drive." Lance wouldn't look Nick in the eye, so he knew something was up. "We forgot my car was at her apartment, so she dropped me off here." That was the final hint. Lance loved his car.

"So I need to take you to Beth's place, but not until six o'clock." Nick narrowed his eyes.

"Right."

"Man, this is strange."

Lance lifted his hands. "I know, but Beth said to wait until six and not to get there before that."

So Beth was in on whatever was up too. Nick sure wished he knew what it was, but he guessed he'd find out soon enough.

He left for the gym then came back to the barracks, where Lance waited out by the parking lot. "Ready?"

Lance shook his head. "You're not going like that."

Nick opened his arms and looked down. "I just got back from the gym. Whaddya expect?"

"Take a shower and put on something decent."

This sounded very suspicious. "Is this a blind date? Because if it is, I don't want any part of it."

"Blind date?" Lance cleared his throat and looked everywhere but at Nick. "No, it's not a blind date. Go shower and change, and I'll wait. Just don't take too long."

Nick wasn't falling for something so obvious, so he stood his ground. "No. If you want a ride, I'll take you now."

A look of concern washed over Lance's face, but he quickly recovered. "Okay, whatever."

"Just to make it very clear," Nick said firmly, "I'm not going in."

After they pulled onto the main road in Beth's apartment complex, Lance whipped out his cell phone and speed-dialed Beth. "Meet us outside." He listened then cut a nervous glance over at Nick. "No, just come on out. We'll see you in the parking lot."

Nick rounded the corner to Beth's apartment and blinked. He had to be seeing things. He blinked again. Nah, it couldn't be. So he slowed to a stop and turned to Lance. "Tell me that's not Paula."

Lance shot him a grin. "Can't do that because it would be a lie."

"Paula's here." He said that more for his own sake than for Lance's. No wonder Lance wanted him to shower.

"Yeah." Lance gave him a smug grin. "Wish you'd listened to me and taken a shower?"

Nick slapped his palm on the steering wheel. "I can't believe this." At least he'd known Paula long enough that she'd seen him all sorts of ways—including after his high school football games.

He whipped the car into the closest empty spot and hopped out of the car. Paula walked toward him, slowly, tentatively, until he opened his arms. Then she ran straight for him.

As he lifted her off her feet, she put her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Surprised?"

He put her down and gestured toward himself. "What do you think? If I'd known you were here, I would have done what Lance told me to do and taken a shower."

"I don't care. I'm just happy to see you."

Nick cupped her face and kissed her on the lips. "What are you doing here? I'm happy to see you too, but what's up with not telling me?"

"It's my turn to surprise you."

"Okay. What else is going on?"

Paula cast a glance over her shoulder, where Beth and Lance stood watching. She gave them a thumbs-up, and they headed inside.

"Wanna go somewhere?" she asked.

"If you don't mind how I'm dressed."

"I've never cared how you dressed, Nick. You know that."

A surreal sensation blanketed Nick as he drove to the closest park. This was the kind of thing he dreamed about. He bit his bottom lip and winced. Ouch. This wasn't a dream. Then he smiled.

"Look. There's a hiking trail." Paula pointed to one of the brown signs. "Let's go for a walk."

If she'd told him to stand on his head and spin around ten times, he would have. "Okay. Whatever you want to do."

She laughed as she led the way. After a few minutes of asking questions about the terrain, she stopped, turned to face Nick, and took his hands in hers.

"There's something we need to discuss." She let go of his hands and pushed her hair behind her ears with a shaky hand.

He leaned in toward her and wrapped his hands around hers again. "Okay, so start discussing."

"You kept saying you wanted us to be together forever."

"That's right," Nick said. "And that's why I've decided not to reenlist."

"It's not too late to change your mind, is it?"

He narrowed his eyes and studied her. "Are you telling me you don't want me to come back to Tarpon Springs?"

Paula nodded. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

What kind of a cruel trick was this? "This makes no sense. If you didn't want me around, why did you bother coming here?"

"I didn't say I don't want you around. Just not in Tarpon Springs." She let go of his hands and took a step back.

"Okay, so exactly what are you saying, Paula? Stop playing this game."

"Do you miss me?" She placed a fist on her hip and tilted her head, not once taking her eyes off him.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Just answer me, Nick. Do you miss me, and do you still want us to be together for life?"

He slowly nodded. She might be playing a game, but he wasn't going to lie. "Yes."

"Then why don't we do something about it?" She stepped closer to him again. "Let's get married."

She couldn't have said anything more shocking if she'd told him his pants were on fire. "What?"

"I think you heard me."

"Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack."

Nick sucked in some air. He didn't know what to do, but he did know that this was an opportunity he couldn't let go. "That does it. I'm definitely getting out of the Air Force. I didn't expect a proposal to go this way, but now that you've asked, I'm all over it."

"Oh, that wasn't a proposal," she said with a coy expression. "You still have to get down on one knee and do the traditional proposal thingy. But I've never been all that good at subtle hints, and I wanted to make sure we were on the same page."

Nick chuckled. "Okay." He started to get down on one knee, but she stopped him.

"We still have to talk about something before you do this. You're not leaving the Air Force—at least not yet."

"But I don't understand."

"I want to know what it's like to be a military wife."

"Huh? What are you talking about, Paula? You have your business, and you said—"

"That's why I'm here. I wanted to tell you my plan in person. I think it's an excellent one, but I can't take credit for it. Alexa and Steph helped me."

Nick had no doubt his cousins would do whatever it took to get Paula in the family—and as long as a scheme was involved, they were part of it. "Okay, so tell me your plan."

They found a bench on the trail and sat down. Paula explained how Alexa had shown her competence in running the shop and now Steph, Amanda, and Kate were working there. She wouldn't give up the shop, but she didn't have to be there all the time.

"How much longer do you have to reenlist for?" she asked.

"Four years."

"How long before you can retire?"

"Twelve years at the earliest."

Paula held out her hands. "That's not very long. We can go wherever the Air Force takes us—that is, if it's what you still want—and I can do my work long-distance. Alexa is capable of handling almost anything that comes up, and I can fly back if needed." She grinned before adding, "The way the business is growing, I can certainly afford it."

Nick was impressed. "Are you sure you wanna do this?"

"Positive. After the last time I saw my mother, I realized how selfish I was being."

Nick hung his head. "I guess I was being selfish too. It started a long time ago with me, though."

"Both of us had dreams, but there's no reason we can't still follow them. We just have to figure out a way to merge them."

Nick was practically speechless at how much thought had gone into Paula's plan. "I like your thinking," he finally managed to mumble.

"We still have some details to iron out," she said, "but I want you to be as involved in the planning as I am."

"Are you sure you're up to moving every couple of years?" he asked. "Because when the Air Force tells me I have to be somewhere, I don't have a choice. I know how important it is for you to have a home."

She nodded. "My home will be wherever you are, Nick." She looked into his eyes. "That is, if you want me there."

His heart pounded so hard he thought it might explode. "I love you, Paula. I do want you with me."

She reached up, cupped his face, stood on her tiptoes, and planted a kiss on his lips. "I've learned that if there's something you want, you can't wait around. You have to go for it. And I want you any way I can have you, even if it means moving every time we turn around."

Paula was right. He got down on one knee, took her hand in his, and looked up into her eyes. "Paula, I've loved you for as long as I've known you. Will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?"

She snickered. "Of course I will. I didn't go to all this trouble for nothing."