Paradise Disguised(26)

He stopped with the beer halfway to his mouth when he heard the band  stop in mid chord and the sound of a spoon hitting a wine glass. He  almost dropped his beer to the floor as he watched Anna climb up on the  tall mahogany bar with Brian's help, her long legs exposed for everyone  to see.

"Hello. . .When did this turn into Coyote Ugly?" Mitchell asked.

"Shut up. What's she doing?" Dylan stood up to get a better look and to run to the rescue if need be.

Anna looked around at the crowded room and knew she'd lost her mind.  There was no turning back now. She'd already stopped the band and  crawled on top of a six foot bar. There wasn't any chance in the world  that she'd gone unseen and could just sit back down like nothing had  happened.                       
       
           



       

"Could I have everyone's attention please?" she asked, though everyone's  eyes were riveted in her direction, her father's included. Sorry, Dad.

This was a far cry from the girl she was two months ago. Panic seized  her and she tried to relax before she ended up hyperventilating or  worse, throwing up on some poor innocent patron. Mel gave her a thumb's  up sign and she took a deep breath.

"Um, hi. Most of you have known me my whole life, and if you don't  you've probably been talking about me the last few weeks anyway." She  paused for the chuckles she heard in the crowd.

"I've got a few things to say. I need to say them in front of all of you but they're mostly directed to one person."

She scanned the crowd and found Dylan's eyes. He was standing towards  the back of the room, the love shining so plainly on his face she didn't  know how she could have possibly doubted him.

"As you all know, I've been seeing Dylan Maguire for several weeks now.  Off and on," she added. "He's told me on several occasions that he loved  me, but I didn't believe him. Why would someone like Dylan Maguire want  me? I asked myself that question over and over again. I didn't trust  him enough to think that he could be sincere."

Anna watched as Dylan started walking slowly to the front of the bar.  "I've been selfish, and I almost let my past decide what my future  should be." Tears coursed down her cheeks slowly. "I've finally come to  the realization that my future is with Dylan, the good and the bad. I  want to live my life with him and cherish every moment we have together.  I want to apologize for the countless hurt that I've caused him over  the past weeks, which I'm sure you've heard all about," she said with a  watery laugh.

"But most importantly, I want to tell him that I love him, and  hopefully, I haven't blown all my chances. I'd hate to have gotten up  here and made a fool of myself for nothing. I promise I'll never run  again and to stay with you as long as you want me."

Anna kept still and watched Dylan's reaction with bated breath. He stood  with his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels slightly,  his expression somber. The air in Shiney's was thick with anticipation,  and several women blotted their damp cheeks with napkins.

"I guess I have something I need to say also," Dylan said as he walked  up closer to Anna and held out his hand for her to grasp. He squeezed  her shaking hand gently, knowing how much it had cost her to make a  public announcement like that.

"I've spent many weeks chasing this woman around town, much to the  delight of most everyone in this room. I never thought that love was  something for me. It was something that happened to other people in  other places. But then I met Anna, and from the first moment she walked  into my life I knew she was the one for me, and I'm not afraid to say it  scared the hell out of me."

He looked around the room to all the familiar faces that had become  family to him over the past years and knew he'd never wanted to be  anywhere else.

"So with that said, I'm also not afraid to do this here with all of you  as witnesses. This way you don't have to hear it secondhand," he said  winking at Douglas Howard.

He pulled the square blue box he'd been carrying around in his pocket  and held it up so everyone could see. He slipped the top off and let the  black velvet ring box slip into his hand. He heard the gasps and sighs  from everyone in the pub, but Anna's eyes stayed glued to his, love  shining in their depths.

"Anna Hollis," he said. "To respond to your earlier statement, I'll want  you forever. Not even the next fifty years will be enough to satisfy my  love for you. I've loved you since the first moment I laid eyes on you.  Will you marry me?"

He flipped the top of the ring box open and displayed the beautiful  diamond sitting inside it. A token of his love forever. He watched the  tears fall faster and her hand closed over her mouth in surprise. All  she could do was nod her head in response to his question.

"I take that as a yes?" Dylan asked, slipping the ring on her finger.

The room erupted in applause as Dylan swung Anna down from the bar and  enveloped her in his arms. Their lips found each other easily, and the  passion ignited just as it always did when their bodies touched. He  picked her up and swung her in a slow circle, never taking his lips from  hers and feeling dizzy with love.

Dylan felt the hand on his shoulder just as he placed Anna back on the  floor. He turned and saw Jack waiting for his attention, and he  remembered he hadn't asked Jack's permission to marry Anna as he'd  prepared to do when he'd first bought the ring.                       
       
           



       

He was surprised to see Jack stick out his hand. "Congratulations, son,"  Jack said, pulling them both into a hug. "You two sure were slow about  this. I'm not going to live forever you know, and I would like some  grandbabies before I get too old."

"We'll definitely take your request under consideration," Dylan said, smiling broadly. Hopefully, they'd already gotten started.

The crowd surged around them and he saw familiar faces congratulating  them. What he didn't expect to see was Veronica lean over to hug Anna  and wish them both well.

"Thank you, Veronica," Anna said graciously.

"Make sure you come by the boutique when you're shopping for your  trousseau. I've got some things that will make your honeymoon  interesting," she said with a wink.

Veronica went over to stand by Brian and ordered another drink. The two  of them put their heads together so they could hear what the other was  saying, and Dylan turned around in time to get hugs from both Mel and  Mitchell.

"Geez, it's about time," Mel said. "Now I can go back to my boring life and actually get a little work done now and then."

"Amen," Mitchell said. "You two have worn me out. I think my vacation is going to come sooner rather than later."

Mitchell ushered Mel out of the crowd so they were isolated against a  corner of the bar. It looked like he wasn't going to let Jeff put too  many moves on Mel without him butting in to remind Mel that he'd been in  her life first. There was no way Mitchell could win that bet. Mitchell  was as fascinated with the complexity of Mel as he had been with Anna.  The poor guy didn't have a chance.

Dylan led Anna to the door of Shiney's planning to make an escape so he  could get her alone. He'd been dying to make love to her for weeks and  now she was in his grasp forever. The crowd followed them out, cheering  and wishing them well as they made their way to his truck.

The explosion rocked all the buildings that lined the Towne Square, and  fire and metal shot into the air with the force of a canon.

Dylan threw Anna to the ground and covered her body with his own, others around them doing the same.

The heat was intense but mesmerizing at the same time. A twisted column  of metal sat in the same place that Anna's car had been earlier in the  evening. People were beginning to get up and watch the display, more  exciting than the Fourth of July Parade they held every year.

"My car," Anna said, shock setting in. "My beautiful new car." Her eyes  were dilated and her body was shaking with small tremors.

Dylan had never wanted to hurt anyone so bad in his entire life. Anna  could very well have been in or near the car when the explosion went  off. It was time to put an end to this.

"Some fireworks," Mitchell said, as he came up to stand next to Dylan.

"Yeah, and I think I know who's responsible," Dylan said angrily. "Anna,  I want you to go home with your father and take Mel with you. I want  you to promise me you'll stay inside until I get back. Don't go anywhere  else," he demanded. "Do you promise?"

Anna was frightened enough to take his words to heart and not argue. He  only had her safety in mind, but she wasn't too sure she was the only  one in danger.