Part 37 (2/2)
”Come on, be a sport,” he coaxed.
”Oh, all right.” She turned and shaded her eyes as if she were, indeed, searching.
And that was when she saw the figure of a woman flitting behind the waters. The hairs on her neck stood on end and she gasped.
”That's perfect,” Blake said. ”Got it.”
She turned back to him, wide-eyed. ”Did you get her?”
”Get who?” he asked, puzzled ”Oh, yeah. Ha, ha.”
”No. Really. She's right there.” Samantha followed the direction of her pointing finger and saw...nothing. ”She was there. I saw her.” She took the camera and flipped back to the shot. There was only one woman in it, one crazy woman.
Now Blake was staring at her earnestly. ”Did you see her?”
Well, that was the power of suggestion for you. She shook her head and blew off the legend of the lost bride with a flick of her hand. ”Nah. It must have been a shadow.”
Or a promise of things to come.
Epilogue: Dreams Coming True
The much-antic.i.p.ated episode of All Things Chocolate aired on the Food Network the following week. The Sterlings had a viewing party, squeezing as many friends as possible into Muriel's new digs-Pat's charming little cottage overlooking Ed York's vineyard.
”I must say-and I don't say this very often-these chocolates are to die for,” said Mimi LeGrande, holding up one of Samantha's new creations. ”But I think I can guarantee you'll die with a smile on your face.”
Everyone applauded as she put in a plug for visiting the Sweet Dreams shop and Icicle Falls.
”You did it, Sammy,” Bailey said. ”You saved us.”
”No,” Samantha corrected her. ”We all did it.”
”Thank G.o.d,” Ed murmured. ”And this.” He waved a hand in the direction of the TV. ”This should bring in a ton of orders.”
”And visitors,” Olivia added. ”I bet we'll have twice as many people at the chocolate festival next year,” she predicted gleefully.
”Let's not rush our festivals,” Ed told her. ”We still have an Oktoberfest to put together.”
With Mom and Cecily involved, Samantha suspected it would be spectacular.
Her sister had jumped into community life with both feet when she moved back, volunteering at the food bank and getting herself (and Mom) on a committee to plan future festivals-a real benefit to the town. She was also a benefit to Sweet Dreams and was doing a great job of promoting the company.
In addition to the festival planning, Mom was writing a new book, a cookbook t.i.tled A Chocolate Lover's Sweet Dream, but that didn't stop her from coming into the office a couple of times a week to a.s.sist Cecily with marketing.
Curled up on the sofa next to Blake, looking around at all the people who meant so much to her and thinking about how they'd all helped one another through a difficult time, Samantha felt almost overwhelmed with grat.i.tude. Waldo would have loved this party, she thought with a smile. Everything worked out, Waldo. You're off the hook.
Blake gave her a kiss that promised fireworks when they were alone, then went to the kitchen counter where the champagne was sitting to freshen their gla.s.ses. That done, he turned and cleared his throat. ”While we're celebrating, I have a very important question to ask Samantha.”
”Like when am I going to pay back the money?” she joked.
He returned to the couch and held out a champagne gla.s.s. ”Like how about making me a silent partner?” At the bottom of the gla.s.s something bright and sparkly winked at her.
”Oh, my gosh, it's a ring!” Bailey cried.
”I knew you were a match all along,” Cecily crowed.
Samantha was the only one of the sisters who was speechless. She stared at the gla.s.s and the diamond in it. Then she stared at Blake. Her company was safe, the future was looking good for Icicle Falls once more, and now the most wonderful man in the world was asking her to marry him. Great-grandma Rose couldn't have dreamed up anything better than this.
”I know I can never properly appreciate your chocolate, but I sure do appreciate you. Samantha Sterling, I'm crazy in love with you. Will you marry me?”
”Yes!” She kissed him and everyone applauded.
While she fished out the ring and slipped it on her finger, her mother and sisters circulated among the guests, making sure everyone's champagne gla.s.s was filled.
Once that was accomplished Ed York raised his gla.s.s. ”A toast. Here's to a sweet future for both of you.”
”I'll toast to that,” Blake said, and kissed his bride-to-be.
Samantha closed her eyes and savored the moment. No chocolate could compare to Blake's kisses. Like Waldo said, did it get any better than this?
With the man she'd chosen, she was sure it would.
Recipes from the Sterlings
If you're ever in Icicle Falls we hope you'll come visit Sweet Dreams. Meanwhile, enjoy trying some of our favorite chocolate recipes.
Samantha Sterling
THE CHOCOLATE ROSE WHITE CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE.
(Our friend Sheila Roberts tried to make this and failed miserably, but her pal Doreen Geidel came through and saved the day. Doreen, you're a real chocolatier!) Yield: 48 candies Ingredients: 2 14-oz bags of vanilla candy disks,
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