A Thankful Love (A Richards Family Short) by K. Victoria Chase

Author:K. Victoria Chase
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, holiday, interracial romance, short stories, thanksgiving, bwwm, contemporary romance, multicultural romance, african american romance, holiday book
Publisher: K. Victoria Chase

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He was screwing up royally. They hadn’t locked eyes in nearly ten minutes, and he knew she was trying to hide her tears. A terrible marriage that ended in divorce, coming home pregnant, and the father was states away, even though she was due to give birth soon — Jake wanted to see her smile, hear her laugh… be happy.

They settled into their seats at a salad and sandwich shop and before he had his sub unwrapped, Maya had her head down, stabbing her fork into her chicken and fruit salad. “Maya, babe, look at me.”

The fork paused in mid-air. Her mouth still remained open, waiting for food. After a long minute, she placed her fork back into the salad bowl. “I don’t want your pity,” she said softly.

“I don’t pity you. You deserved better than what you got with Tyrone. You should’ve been with me.” Her gaze shot up. With an incredulous look, she scanned his face. If his eyes hadn’t dropped to her lips, he wouldn’t have seen the trembling bottom half.

Her eyes sparked. “What?”

“Maya—”

“I loved Tyrone. Not you.”

“Maya—”

Her fork clattered on the table beside the salad bowl. She leaned back in her chair, arms firmly crossed beneath her breasts. “And now you’re gonna throw it in my face that I didn’t choose you?”

Something wet soaked his fingers and he looked down to see he was choking his meatball sub to the point the sauce was seeping through the flimsy wrapper. He cracked his stiff jaw and released his sandwich. “That’s not what I’m doing. And you still can — choose me.”

Maya sucked in a breath, but didn’t respond. Her eyes held disbelief and he kept them locked with his, unwilling to release her until she displayed a flicker of faith. It was brief, a dim light reflecting off the amber specks in her dark eyes. Jake settled back in his chair, dropping his gaze to something he really pitied: his mushy sandwich.

“Can we just talk about work now, please?”

He appeased her plea by keeping silent and working on unwrapping his sub. After rolling a dislodged meatball back into the sandwich, he took a generous bite. He settled his gaze on her and watched her as she ate. She was deliberate in her actions: filling the spokes of the fork with plenty of green and leaving just the tips to spear either a piece of fruit or a chunk of grilled chicken.

“I was thinking about perhaps lining the outer field with evergreen trees for shade and incorporating a mixture of wildflowers — since they’re so popular in this state — and perennials in a few areas.”

“Mmm.” He wiped the side of his mouth with a napkin and finished swallowing the last bite of spicy meatball and bread. “That would work really well in the mini gardens I was considering incorporating into the design.”

“Mini gardens?”

“Yeah, complete with benches for those who just want to sit down and enjoy the view. Think floral oasis.”

“Oh, that sounds beautiful.”

The upward curve of her mouth and the brightness in her eyes signaled a complete change in the mood.

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