The Perfect Gift by Kathleen Brooks

Gosh knows, he and Mo had tried.
    “Are you sure about this?” Grace’s soft voice stopped his hand from reaching for the screen door.
    “I am. Are you?” Nabi asked, admittedly a little nervously. He wasn’t one for wearing his heart on his sleeve, and in Keeneston, taking a woman to the café was telling the whole town your feelings.
    Grace slipped her hand into his. She looked down at their intertwined fingers and smiled. His hand engulfed hers, but he was so gentle and strong at the same time. The feeling gave her comfort. “I am now. Let’s do this.”
    Nabi opened the screen door, fully aware that all conversation had stopped as the patrons waited to see whether he and Grace came in or not. Daisy Mae Rose pushed the young waitress out of the way.
    “I got this, dear.” Daisy paused in front of them. “Are you joining us for dinner?”
    Nabi smiled and gave Grace a reassuring squeeze with his hand. “Yes, table for two, Miss Daisy.”
    “Dang, we really needed new pew cushions,” Father James said as most of the patrons joined him in groaning over their lost bets. He looked into Nabi and Grace’s surprised faces and smiled. “May you have a blessed dinner. Tell me, are you thinking of a fall wedding?”
    And with that, the bets erupted. Daisy waved the waitress over to take their order since she was too busy taking bets on the potential Nabi/Grace wedding.
    “Well, that certainly wasn’t what I expected,” Grace said as she suspiciously sniffed the iced tea placed in front of her.
    “The last I heard, I was the longest outstanding bet. I think most people had me dating a Belle.”
    Grace absently looked away. Nabi was starting to recognize that as her signal for getting nervous.
    “Thank goodness I found you. The Belles are practically children. I’ve always wanted a woman who was already secure in herself and didn’t need a husband to define her. I would rather be your partner than your social catalyst.”
    Grace smiled at him then and he felt as if all the betting patrons had simply disappeared. His new mission in life was to make Grace smile. She was so beautiful, and he didn’t want to lose her. He already knew . . . she was like a warm blanket wrapped around his heart. Grace was the one. He was going to delete that email as soon as he got home.
    “I just want you.” Grace flushed bright pink and stuttered. “Not like that—well, yes, like that, too. But I was trying to say I like you for who you are, not for what you can do for me. That’s a pretty selfish type of love, isn’t it?”
    “I couldn’t agree with you more—I want you, too. In every way I can get you.” Nabi winked and enjoyed seeing the surprise and then desire spark in her eyes.
    Grace took a large drink of iced tea and wished it were spiked. How did she respond to something like that? He was so masculine, so sexual. She was, well, she wore cotton panties that came in a six-pack. How could he want her? And then when he got her, would he be disappointed?
    However, the idea of a naked Nabi leaning over her to kiss her . . . and then so much more, kind of made her panties irrelevant. Grace took another drink to cool off. Why was it so hot in here?
    “So, tell me how you came to Keeneston.” She took a deep breath as Nabi told her of his transfer at twenty-one. It didn’t help. Her eyes were undressing him, and she couldn’t stop them—she didn’t want to stop them.
    Her head shot up from where she was mentally unbuttoning his pants when his hand covered hers on the table. Nabi leaned forward and dropped his voice. “If you keep staring at me like that, I’m going to have to toss you over my shoulder and make love to you as soon as we find someplace semi-private.”
    “Promise?” Grace sighed and then shook her head with surprise. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?”
    Nabi laughed and the roar of betting only increased.
    “Did they just bet that I was pregnant?”
    Nabi only laughed harder. “This is the best