***
John drove slowly past the State Capitol building on their night tour of Denver. Rachel peered through the window, trying to see as much as she could. The lights surrounding the building made the entrance look majestic, but it was the dome on top that made her gasp.
“Is the dome covered in gold?”
John looked at where she was pointing. “It is. We’ll have time to come back tomorrow, if you want to?”
“That would be great.” Rachel already wanted to go back to the City Park and the Denver Art Museum. Then there was Larimer Square, with plenty of colorful boutiques, restaurants and cafés. She’d need to visit Denver again just to see those few things, let alone all of the other wonderful places she’d heard about.
She smiled at John as he slowed down for a set of traffic lights. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”
“And thank your interior designer. The list of furniture stores she gave us is great. I didn’t think it would be so much fun choosing sofas and tables.”
John glanced in his rearview mirror. “There’s more to visit tomorrow. By the end of the weekend we’re going to have an impressive list of furniture for her to look at.”
Rachel thought about the stores they’d already visited. Bella had been so excited when they’d found a chair with pink flowers on it. It would be perfect in her new room and give her a lovely piece of furniture to enjoy for many years.
John slowed down for another set of traffic lights and she smiled. The first time they’d stopped for a red light, people had pointed at their car. Rachel had been embarrassed, but after realizing that they were genuinely interested in the Maserati, she’d started enjoying herself.
At another set of lights, she’d pushed a button and her window had rolled silently down. John had wondered what she was doing, until she started talking to the man in the car next to them. By the end of the thirty-second conversation, she’d found out that the Maserati was the man’s dream car.
John had pulled away from the intersection fast, muttering about carjackings and personal safety. Rachel had grinned and told him not to worry so much. He had replied by locking her window from the control panel beside him.
Even with her window permanently closed, Rachel was still enjoying herself.
They drove for a few more minutes before John turned into a parking lot and stopped the car.
“Where are we?”
“Skyline Park. It covers three blocks in the center of town.” He got out of the car and walked around to Rachel’s side of the Maserati. He held the door open, and she tried to get elegantly out of the seat. It wasn’t as easy as she thought.
Rachel looked left, then right. No one except John was around. “Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
“I’m going to scramble out of here.”
“I can help you scramble.”
“Okay, but you aren’t allowed to laugh. It’s not easy wearing a straight skirt and high-heels in a low sports car.”
John held out his hand. “No laughing allowed.” He hoisted her out of the car and Rachel almost fell into his arms.
“My truck is gaining points in the practical department,” she muttered. “How do other women get out of a Maserati?”
“Very carefully,” John said with a straight face.
Rachel buttoned her coat and looked around the parking lot. “There aren’t many vehicles here. Are you sure the stores are open?”
He locked the car and held her hand. “At this time of night, it’s mostly the restaurants that are open. Come with me.”
“But we’ve already had dinner. Are we going to have coffee or are you still hungry?”
He walked quickly across the snow covered asphalt. “I’m not hungry.”
Rachel jogged to keep up with him. “Because if you are, I don’t mind. You’re a big guy and you probably need to refuel on carbs a lot more than I do. The average male needs 2,500 calories each day to maintain their energy levels. But you’re not average, so another meal could always come in handy.”
“Nice to know I’m not average.”
Rachel squeezed his hand. “You could never be average. You’re super amazing.”
John stopped quickly and Rachel nearly slipped on the icy ground. She held onto his hand and smiled. “Oops. That was…”
She didn’t finish her sentence. John’s mouth connected with hers and didn’t move. When they finally came up for air, Rachel smiled. “Your kisses are super amazing, too.”
He gently touched her face before leaving another kiss on the end of her nose. “So are yours. Are you ready for your surprise?”
Rachel nodded. “It doesn’t involve hot dogs or donuts, does it? I’m still full from dinner.”
John held her hand and walked around the corner of a building. “No hot dogs or donuts, I promise.”
Rachel stopped and stared at one of the prettiest sights she’d ever seen. An ice rink, as big as a football field, sat in front of a whole lot of buildings. Twinkling fairy lights had been strung across the area above it, and soft music played from the speakers.
Rachel looked at the seats on either side of the rink. No one was there. It was completely deserted, apart from a lady standing at a booth not far from them.
John pulled Rachel’s hand toward the ticket booth. “Have you ever been ice skating?”
“A couple of times. But we can’t go on the rink. It’s closed.”
“No it’s not.” John walked straight up to the lady. She smiled as she handed him two pairs of skates. He thanked her and handed Rachel the smaller of the two pairs. “These are for you.”
Rachel looked down at the skates and then at John. He led her across to one of the bench seats and sat down. “How did the lady know we were coming? Did you pre-book our tickets?”
“You could say that.”
Rachel sat down beside him and frowned. “Why is no one else here? It’s such a lovely night and it looks like a great place to visit. There must be something wrong with their advertising.”
“You’d better get your skates on before they really do close.”
While Rachel had been wondering about the ice rink’s promotions plan, John had pulled on his skates and was waiting impatiently beside her. She quickly slipped off her shoes and pulled on her skates.
“How do your boots feel?”
Rachel stood on the special mat in front of them and wiggled her toes. “Perfect. How did you know what size I’d be?”
“Bella looked inside your shoes when you visited our place earlier in the week.”
Rachel glanced quickly at him. “How long have you been planning this visit to Denver?”
John cleared his throat. “A few days. Are you ready to skate?”
Rachel was getting a little suspicious about John’s motives for bringing her here. “You haven’t got hidden cameras planted around the rink have you?”
He looked nervous. So nervous that Rachel started to get really worried. She looked at the buildings around them and took a step closer to him. “You haven’t been sent another death threat, have you? We don’t have to go skating if it’s too dangerous.”
John took a deep breath and pulled her onto the ice. “No death threats.”
“What are you so worried about? You’re frowning worse than when I first met you. Your palms are all sweaty. You don’t think you’re coming down with a virus, do you?”
John wiped his hands on the side of his jacket, then grabbed hold of both of her hands. He skated backward, pulling Rachel across the ice until her legs stopped wobbling.
He let go of one of her hands and skated beside her. “Are you okay?”
Rachel looked up and smiled. “I think I’ve got it. I still can’t believe no one else is here. It’s got so much potential.”
“Maybe someone booked the whole rink?”
Rachel laughed. “No one would do that. It would cost a fortune…??
? She stumbled on the ice. John’s grip on her hand tightened, but it wasn’t enough. She lunged for his arm with her other hand and landed bottom first on the ice.
“Oww.”
John knelt beside her. “Are you all right?”
Rachel rolled onto her side and rubbed her bottom. “I think so, unless you count wounded pride as an injury? Tell me you didn’t rent the whole rink for the two of us?”
“I didn’t rent the whole rink for the two of us.”
Rachel breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness for that.”
“I…umm…booked it for the four of us.”
“Four?”
John pointed to somewhere behind Rachel. She turned around and scrambled to her feet. Tank and Bella were skating toward them.
She looked at John and frowned. “Didn’t they drive back to the hotel?”
“They did. Bella got changed.”
Rachel looked more closely at what Bella was wearing. She’d changed out of her pink coat and into a pretty powder blue jacket. With her hair in braids and glittery red boots on her feet, she looked like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.
Bella stopped in front of Rachel. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I slipped on the ice, that’s all. You look lovely.”
Bella grinned and spun in a circle. “I’m Dorothy.”
Rachel looked at Tank.
“I’m not Toto.”
“You’d look cute with pointy ears,” Rachel teased.
John cleared his throat and lifted his arm. “Can everyone remember what we talked about?”
Rachel watched Bella put on her serious face. The music that had been playing in the background rose louder around them, filling the rink with a soft romantic feeling.
Rachel watched Bella and Tank turn around and skate away from them. “Are we pretending to do a scene from The Wizard of Oz?” she asked John. “It could be like Disney on Ice. Did you know that…”
John shook his head. “I know your mind is buzzing with facts, but I don’t need to know how many ice skaters Disney employed in the last year.”
“Good. Because I don’t know. But I do know how many Disney princesses have featured in their productions in the last ten years.”
John put his hands over his ears and Rachel laughed. “I’ll save that fact for later.”
She looked at Bella and Tank. They were holding a silver tray in their hands. On the tray was a container covered with sparkly jewels. “Do you know what they’re doing? I don’t remember this scene from The Wizard of Oz.”
“It’s not from the play.”
“It’s not?”
“No. Listen to the music.”
Rachel focused on the music coming from the speakers. “It’s a Nat King Cole song. Tess played it at her wedding. It’s called, When I Fall in Love.” She still didn’t understand what was going on.
Bella and Tank stopped in front of her. Rachel looked at John, hoping he’d help her work out what they should do next.
He took an envelope out of the container that Bella and Tank were holding. “This is for you.”
Rachel looked at the envelope and smiled. “That’s the card that Bella sent to The Bridesmaids Club. You kept it?”
John nodded. His frown started to make her feel nervous.
“Read it again,” Bella whispered.
Rachel knew what it said. She’d memorized each word, looking for any clue about who could have sent it. She wiped her hands on her jacket and took the envelope out of John’s hand. She slid the flap open and pulled the letter out. “Dear Bridesmaids Club. Can you please help my daddy find a bride?”
John put the letter on the tray and held her hands. “When you came into my office and gave me Bella’s letter, I didn’t know what to think. I’d never met anyone that made me feel so much, so quickly. You annoyed me, and intrigued me, and made me want to know you better.”
He took a deep breath. Rachel’s heart pounded and her vision started to get a little blurry around the edges. Her skates wobbled and John steadied her.
“I love you, Rachel. I’ve loved you from the minute you walked into my office. I can’t imagine my life without you. You make me happy and you make Bella happy. I didn’t expect to feel this way about anyone.”
Rachel tried to think of something to say, but her mind had gone completely blank. John looked at her with so much love in his eyes that she had to remember to breathe.
He looked at Bella. “We wanted to take you to The Wizard of Oz for different reasons.”
“I like Dorothy’s shoes,” Bella said with a grin.
“And I wanted to let you know that you’ve changed my life.”
Rachel let go of John’s hands and blew her nose. “I don’t know what to say.”
John looked at her closely before reaching into the container. He handed her a piece of paper that had been rolled into a tube. Someone had tied a pink bow around the middle.
“That’s from me,” Bella said with pride. “It’s a certificate for being the best teacher in the world. The Wizard of Oz gave the Scarecrow a certificate, too. Except he wanted to be brainy. I’m happy with the way I am.”
Rachel took the certificate out of Bella’s hands and gave her a hug. “Thank you. I’m happy with the way you are, too.”
Tank reached into the container. With one hand he took out a medal attached to a bright blue ribbon. “And this is from all of us. For being brave when we were all scared, and for finding Bella when no one else could.”
With a little help from John, Tank put the medal over Rachel’s head. “The Lion in The Wizard of Oz wanted to be brave.” Tank looked at the medal, then into her eyes. “He deserved his medal as much as you do.”
Rachel wiped fresh tears off her face. “Thank you, Tank.”
Bella looked at her dad. “It’s your turn,” she whispered.
John put his hand inside the container and opened a small red box. “And this is from me.”
Rachel held her breath as he got down on one knee.
“Bella and I love you, Rachel. Will you marry me and be part of our lives?”
She looked at the beautiful heart-shaped diamond. “The Tin Man wanted a heart,” she whispered.
John wiped his eyes and stood up. “He wanted to know what love felt like. Every day that I’ve known you, you’ve shown me what it’s like to be loved. I’d like to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you. Will you marry me?”
Rachel nodded. Tears slid down her face as Bella and John wrapped her in their arms. She glanced at Tank and smiled as he blew his nose.
She closed her eyes and felt joy unfold inside her. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, she’d found what she’d been looking for. And it had been there all along.
THE END
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Keep reading for a preview of Playing for Keeps, Sophie and Ryan’s story in the Emerald Lake Billionaires series!
PLAYING FOR KEEPS
Emerald Lake Billionaires, Book 2
Three billionaires, an emerald lake, and a lifetime's worth of happy endings.