Chocolate Heart Killer: A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 14 by Kathleen Suzette (guided reading books .TXT) 📗

“You and your pineapple,” I said and chuckled.

He smiled and laid the menu down, glancing around the room. “It’s packed in here.”

“Valentine’s Day is a happy occasion. Everyone wants to do something special to celebrate.” I was wearing a red dress with a cute scalloped neckline and he had worn a pair of black slacks and a pink buttoned-down dress shirt. He was adorable.

“I like Valentine’s Day,” he said with a nod. “And you look beautiful tonight.”

“You look pretty beautiful yourself,” I said, one eyebrow raised.

“Thanks. I love it when you notice things like that. I spent forever on my hair.” He fluffed his hair with one hand.

I shook my head at him. “Silly.”

“Guilty.”

“I wonder if Mel will keep the garage open? When the news of his father being Logan’s killer gets around town, I don’t know if his business will survive.”

“It makes me wonder. I know I won’t be taking my car back there.”

“Do you think Mel knew his father had killed Logan?” I asked, leaning forward.

“I talked to him, and he denies it. But between you and me, I think he had to have known. Or at the very least, he had to have suspected it. How could he not?”

I nodded. “I would think Fred would have been acting suspicious. At least, in the beginning. How could he not feel guilty about it and how could he keep that to himself?”

“That’s what I think, but Mel’s keeping quiet about it, if he suspected him of anything.”

We looked up as the waitress came to take our orders. I did order the sirloin in red wine and mushroom sauce and Ethan changed his mind and went with a porterhouse steak and a sweet potato on the side. We didn’t usually do much drinking, but Ethan ordered a bottle of red wine to go with dinner because it was Valentine’s Day. When the waitress left, I looked at him. He was even more handsome in the candlelight.

“I’m so glad you finally got around to asking me to marry you.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Finally? You were the one that kept saying you were just happy to date for a while.”

I snickered. “You should never believe a girl that says she’s happy to just date. Especially when she’s in love.”

He rolled his eyes. “Now you tell me. I’m just glad you said yes. Otherwise, I would have been extremely unhappy. Crushed, actually.”

I gazed at him. “Me too.”

Author’s Note

There’s something about Valentine’s Day that I love. My grandmother owned a preschool and when I was three or four, I attended there. She would always have parties for every holiday, and for Valentine’s Day she had a box she wrapped in foil and decorated with cut out hearts. She had placed two Valentine’s Day cards for each child into the box. These were regular, full-sized greeting cards and I can still remember the excitement when she called my name when she pulled the cards out.

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