“Good.” Hannah gave them both a tight smile. “That means I’m going to turn both of you down. You’re off the hook. You can stop moping around and waiting for the other shoe to drop. There’s no way I’m going to bow to peer pressure and choose between you.”

“Hold on,” Norman said, looking dismayed. “Does that mean you’re not going to marry either one of us?”

“That’s what I just said.”

“But

is there someone else?” Mike asked.

“No, there’s no one.”

“Then why

”

Norman started to frame a question, but Hannah interrupted. “It’s a matter of principle. Who decided that the man had to be the one to propose, anyway?”

Both men shrugged and Norman finally answered, “I don’t know, but I think it’s always been that way.”

“Well, I don’t like it and I’m changing the rules. I’m taking back my own life and following my own timetable. Nobody’s going to push me into anything I don’t want to do. I’ll decide when I want to get married. And when I do, I’ll ask the man of my choice if he wants to marry me. Is that clear?”

Mike and Norman exchanged glances. Then they both turned to her and nodded.

“Perfect. Now can we all stop acting like characters that escaped from a soap opera and get back to a seminormal life?”

“Yeah,” Mike agreed, smiling for the first time since Hannah had come in the door.

“You bet!” Norman said, but he didn’t smile. “I don’t want to open a can of worms here, but will you still go out with me, Hannah?”

“Absolutely.”

“And me?” Mike asked.

“You, too. Let’s just forget about marriage and go back to the way we were.”

“You’re on,” Mike said.

“Deal,” Norman concurred, smiling at last.

“I’m really glad we got that settled.” Hannah was smiling as she turned to Norman. “Would you please go get me a chair? If I’m not sitting next to either one of you, the customers that are staring at us from the counter can’t speculate on what that might mean.”

“Sure thing,” Norman said, and slid out of the booth.

“And would you go tell Rose I’m as hungry as a bear and I want two eggs over easy, bacon extra crispy, and toast?” Hannah asked Mike.

“Of course.”

Mike slid out of the booth, but Hannah grabbed his hand as he was about to walk away. “Just a second,” she said. “Do you think you can pretend you’re on duty for a minute?”

“I guess. Why?”