her eyes shining and her mouth parted in a beautiful smile.
“And lastly, I’d like to thank the woman who’s come alongside me in the past few months and allowed me to cook for her because, ladies and gentlemen, she needs a chef. You might not know, but there are people who can’t heat water without burning it.”
She was still smiling. Good. He reached into his pocket and held her gaze.
“She’s encouraged my dreams and inspired my creations. Thank you, Makenna Marie Johnson. Will you marry me?”
Tony drew out the small box and angled it as he opened it. Camera flashes compounded, some aimed at him, and some aimed at Kenna. He held his smile and his breath and his pose for a very long moment.
Kenna’s eyes widened and her tapered fingers pressed to her chest. She slowly rose to her feet. “Tony!” she gasped as she ran toward him. No small feat with the guests tightly packed. She threw herself in his arms, rocking him backward. “Yes!”
Tony plucked the diamond from its nest and slid it on Kenna’s finger. He kissed her lightly — there’d be time for more later — and held their joined hands so the diamond gleamed in the barrage of flashes. “Thank you to the guild for honoring Antonio’s, but ladies and gentlemen, this woman right here honors me most of all. Thank you.”
He followed Kenna back to their table amid hand slaps and murmured congratulations. He set the award on the table and slid his arm across her shoulders, gathering her as closely as he could in the curved-back chairs. “I love you, sweetheart.”
“I never expected this.” She fingered the ring then looked at him, eyes shining. “But thank you... and thank God.”
“Always and ever.” He nuzzled her hair.
It would be impolite to leave before the final awards had been given, wouldn’t it? Because he could hardly wait to get his fiancée alone and begin planning for their life together.
Read on for a sneak peek of Cadence of Cranberries, featuring Winnie Santoro and Charlie Jalonen. You can order their story right here:
Cadence of Cranberries.
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Acknowledgments
This novel was written in March and April, 2020, during the time the coronavirus pandemic stomped on our world with steel-spiked boots. Like many others, I became paralyzed with anxiety, watching too much online news and too many opinion pieces. I couldn’t bear the thought of writing a “frivolous” romance novel as borders closed, workers were laid off in droves, and hospitals filled with sick. As people died.
But then God reminded me of 1 Peter 5:7, which reads, ‘Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.’ And Philippians 4:6-7, which says, ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.’
And God soothed my soul. He reminded me that I’d already chosen the title and written several chapters where themes of releasing stress and anxiety to Jesus had begun to peek through. God was preparing my thoughts to rest on Him in the midst of a bigger trial than I could ever have imagined.
As Marietta’s family gathered for her eightieth birthday, I wanted to tell all of them they should be self-isolating! That they needed to allow six feet between everyone. I realized that if I allowed the pandemic into Bridgeview, the story of a chef and a nurse would completely veer into left field, just as all our lives did when the globe shut down in mid-March. Will I ever write stories set in the time of COVID-19? Impossible to know, but it won’t be in the Urban Farm Fresh Romance series!
Thanks to Elizabeth Maddrey, first reader, idea-bouncer and excellent author in your own right. Thank you for providing sanity, humor, and kicks in the pants as needed!
Also thank you to beta readers Gretchen, Joy, Paula, and Joelle. Your comments helped tighten and improve this story!
Thanks to some of my newsletter subscribers who gave me hoarding ideas I could use in this story: Diane, Jan, Kimberly, Kitty, Margaret, Marilene, and Erin. I hope you enjoyed your early copies :)
A big thank you to my fabulous editor, Nicole, who sees beyond words, punctuation, and sentence structure to the heart of the