Celebration's Baby by Nancy Robards Thompson

Author:Nancy Robards Thompson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-10-15T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

When she closed the doors to the chocolate shop the end of the first week that it had been open for business, Maya was both exhilarated and exhausted.

Business had been steady the entire week. She was working hard to keep up with the demand—especially for her handmade chocolates. Bia had been in to see her a couple of times. During the last visit, she’d asked if Maya would like to meet Aiden.

Of course she would. Maya had noticed the engagement ring on Bia’s hand, but she hadn’t asked too many questions other than having Bia confirm that she was, indeed, engaged to be married. There would be plenty of time for details, but right now Maya didn’t want to scare her off with too many questions. Even if she was dying to know every last detail of her daughter’s life—past, present and future.

It was such a treat to look up from the wrap stand or from a shelf that she had been dusting to see Bia’s smiling face. It meant that she was ready for a relationship. Maya could feel it in her bones.

The one person who hadn’t returned was Charles Jordan. Perhaps his business in Celebration was finished and he had returned to Orlando before he could say goodbye. Or maybe she had hurt his feelings when she had declined his offer for dinner at the pub.

Whatever the reason for his absence, he had provided an interesting daydream: that somehow Ian was still alive. She needed to stop torturing herself with what could never be and focus on everything that was good in her life.

Even so, on her walk home, she found herself taking a detour. She ended up walking by Baldoon’s Pub. While she was down here, she wondered, what could it hurt to pop into the place and check it out? She might even order a shepherd’s pie to take home for her dinner.

The place smelled of fried food and beer. It was crowded, but then again it was Saturday night. It was nice to see other downtown businesses thriving.

Maya looked around. She didn’t want to sit at the bar. Not alone. But she didn’t want to take up a table, either. She was just about to ask the bartender for a menu when a familiar voice behind her said, “Those were the best salted caramels I’ve ever had in my life.” Maya turned around to see Charles Jordan standing there. A strange excitement she hadn’t felt in ages blossomed in her stomach. It was a dangerous feeling. She knew she needed to be careful. It wasn’t so much that she was in physical danger as it was that her heart might be in jeopardy. She took a long hard look at the tall man clad in khaki pants and a white button-down shirt, his sleeves unbuttoned and pushed up his forearms, his blue eyes and dark hair that was graying at the temples. She saw his broad shoulders, so much like Ian’s that it made her want to weep.

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