Endless Love (Santa’s Secret Helpers #5) - Leeanna Morgan Page 0,20
jacket on the coat stand. “You’re not doing too much, are you?”
“It felt like that today but, hopefully, after next week, things will settle down and I can look forward to marrying you.”
“I hope you’re looking forward to that,” John said with a smile. He held Shelley’s hand and led her into the kitchen. “I’ve got another surprise for you.”
“You decided to give in and paint the kitchen pale yellow?”
“Not yet, but I’m thinking about it.”
“You’ve been thinking about it for three weeks.”
John laughed. “It takes time to imagine seeing yellow walls when I make my coffee in the morning. This surprise is better than a paint color.”
There was only one other thing Shelley thought it could be. “Did your suits arrive?”
“Good guess, but it’s not that, either. They won’t be delivered until three days before we get married.”
Shelley’s mouth dropped open. “Three days? What if something goes wrong and they go missing? Or they might send the wrong—”
John silenced her overactive imagination with a kiss. “Nothing will go wrong. I made a special request to the Big Guy and he hasn’t let me down yet.”
“He might not let you down, but the courier might.”
His blue eyes looked onto hers. “It will be all right. Nothing will go wrong but, if it does, we’ll improvise.”
Shelley thought about her personal improvement plan. Before she’d met John, she’d made three lists of things she wanted to work on. Then she’d carefully prioritized each bullet point, added extra notes, and made a start on creating a better life for herself.
At the top of her list was being more spontaneous. For someone who planned their life down to the last detail, it wasn’t easy. And asking her to improvise was almost as bad.
John leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “Close your eyes.”
For once in her life, she did as she was told. “Okay. I’m ready for your grand reveal. But if it involves lots of hot fudge and tubs of my favorite ice cream, I might have to eat dessert before dinner.”
“No hot fudge, but I did buy some ice cream.”
Shelley smiled. “You’re my hero.”
“And you’re someone else’s.”
With that cryptic comment, he led her through the house.
“Okay,” he said after they came to a standstill. “You can open your eyes now.”
Shelley blinked a few times before looking around the hallway. “I don’t understand. Why are we in the—”
John pointed through the laundry door.
Her hand lifted to her chest and a rush of tears filled her eyes. A large box sat on the floor. Inside, the two little kittens were sound asleep, curled around their mom. “Are they all right?” she whispered.
“They’re fine. I called the animal shelter to see if anyone had adopted them. No one wanted to share their home with three cats, so I brought them back to Sapphire Bay. How do you feel about starting our family a little earlier than we planned?”
“I think it’s a wonderful idea.” Shelley wrapped her arms around John’s waist. “Thank you. I’ve been worried about them.”
“The lady at the shelter mentioned something about you calling them each day.”
“It wasn’t every day, but I did call a few times.”
“Well, you won’t have to call them again. We’re officially the parents of three abandoned cats. What do you want to call them?”
The heat of a blush spread across her face. “When I took the kittens to the shelter, the person at the front counter asked me the same thing. I called the tabby kitten, Tiger, and the fluffy black one, Sooty.”
John looked at the kittens. “Tiger and Sooty. I like it. What about their mom?”
Shelley leaned against his chest. “You choose.”
“What about Faith? Out of all the places she could have gone, she found shelter for her kittens beneath your house. Something other than luck led her there.”
“And a special person brought her back to Sapphire Bay. Have I told you how much I love you?”
John’s arms tightened around her. “Not for a few days. I love you, too.”
And, with three sleepy fur babies curled in a ball, John held Shelley’s hand as they walked to the kitchen for her second surprise—a lovely candlelit dinner for two.
On Monday afternoon, Shelley received an emergency call from Kylie at Blooming Lovely. They were struggling to serve the customers who’d come into the store wanting to buy the fundraising flowers.
“Thank goodness you’re here,” Kylie said as Shelley hurried into the flower shop. “It’s been crazy. Could you help Paris in the workroom?”
“Of course, I can.” The shop was still