“That’s a good idea.” Hannah set her wine on the coffee table and took her customary place on the couch. For the hundredth or so time she wished she had a couch with built-in recliners, but there was no way she could afford the expense of a new couch. Perhaps, after they were married, they could save up for one. With two salaries coming in, the budget wouldn’t be as tight as it was right now.
Michelle had turned on the television and switched to the Food Channel, but Hannah barely noticed. She took a sip of her wine and thought about a new couch and perhaps even new carpeting. She’d hated the old green carpet when she moved in, and she’d vowed to save the money to replace it, but something always came up that was of a higher priority. Perhaps she could finally replace the threadbare carpeting once they combined her monthly profits from The Cookie Jar with Ross’s salary at KCOW-TV.
“Hannah! It’s on!”
Michelle leaned over and tapped her on the arm, and Hannah was startled out of her dream of couches and carpets. Her photo was on the screen! “Where did they get that?” she gasped.
“From me. I took it with my phone while you were in the kitchen baking. I had to submit a photo with the application for the contest.”
“Good heavens!” Hannah groaned, staring at her photo as the camera panned the line of photos. There were five in all and her photo was directly in the center. There was a smudge of flour on her nose and her apron, the one that said THE COOKIE JAR on the bib, was rumpled. Every single one of the other contestants had photos that had obviously been taken by professional photographers. They stood posing, smiling at the camera in spotless toques and wearing chef’s jackets. A banner across the bottom of the screen read, DESSERT CHEF COMPETITION—LIVE COVERAGE, and gave the date of the first night’s competition.
Hannah was given another second or two to stare at her photo and wish Michelle had asked Norman to take it, and then the row of photos changed to show the Food Channel cooking set, with Chef Christian Parker standing behind a counter filled with an array of ingredients.
Hannah was about to ask Michelle to turn up the volume, hoping that they could pick up some helpful information about the judge by watching his show, when there was a knock at the door.
“They’re here,” Michelle said, picking up the remote control. “I’ll set this show to record if you’ll go to let them in.”
“Deal,” Hannah agreed, not wanting to tell Michelle that she’d never bothered to learn how to record a show. She opened the door and was surprised to see Ross standing there, all by himself. “Ross!”
“You were expecting somebody else?” Ross asked, but he didn’t wait for her answer. He just pulled her into his arms and kissed her for long, breathless moments.
Hannah was smiling happily when he let her go and stepped inside. He greeted Michelle, gave Hannah another hug, and said, “You didn’t answer my question.”
Hannah looked at him blankly, still feeling the effects of his kiss. “What question?”
“When you acted surprised to see me, I asked you if you were expecting someone else.”
“Oh. Yes. Yes, you did. And yes, we are. We invited Norman and Lonnie to dinner. That was after Mike called Michelle and invited himself.”
“I should have guessed that Mike’s food-dar would strike again,” Ross said with a smile. “If there’s any good food within a fifty-mile radius, Mike will find it.”
Hannah searched his face. “But you don’t mind that he’s coming for dinner, do you?”
“Of course not. Mike is a friend. And you said that Norman is coming, too?” He waited until Hannah had nodded, and then he smiled. “Good. That must mean you asked both of them to be in the wedding party.”
“I did. Mother said she’d called to ask and you said it was fine with you.”
“That’s right. I’m glad we’re having a big wedding, Hannah. I felt a little like we were teenagers sneaking off to get married for fear our parents would stop us.”
Hannah was surprised. “But you never said that to me!”
“You’re right. I didn’t. The only thing I said was that you could plan anything you wanted and it would be all right with me. And it would have been, Cookie. Really, it would have been. It’s just that I like this way better. All our friends will be there, and we can have a real celebration. It’s the only wedding I’ll ever have, and I want it to be special for both of us.”
“Oh, it will be with Mother at the helm! I just hope that we’ll live through it.”
Ross gave her a curious look. “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean that you can never tell what special surprises Mother might have in store for us. She may decide to have the Lake Eden Players do Taming of the Shrew with real shrews!”
Ross threw back his head and laughed. So did Hannah, and then Michelle joined in. “I wouldn’t put it past her,” Ross said. Then he turned back to Hannah. “Have you ever seen a real shrew? I’m not really sure exactly what a shrew looks like.”
“It’s a little like a mouse,” Hannah explained. “As a matter of fact, it’s sometimes called a shrew mouse. My dictionary describes it as a mole-like creature between three and four and a half inches long.”