Page 28 of The Magical Tea Shop

As she wound her way toward her table, Jaxon rose from his to follow Hazel toward the exit. When he came face-to-face with Ivy, his expression of wonder, followed by elation tinged with guilt made her take a step back.

“You knew I was here, didn’t you? Were you going to slip out without a word?” At his astonishment, she added, “I ran into Hazel outside the restroom.”

“Yes, well,” he leaned down and spoke in a loud whisper like Hazel, “We’re on a date.”

“She told me, rather gleefully. Oh, and I doubt anything’s wrong with her car that a few gallons of gasoline can’t fix.”

“Probably not.” They smiled at each other.

“You should get back to Rob.”

Ivy nodded. “I wouldn’t want to miss another detailed description of covered perils.”

“Or how to report a claim.”

“You’ve spent time with Rob.”

“It doesn’t take long.”

They grinned at each other.

“Thank you,” said Ivy.

“For what?”

“For being you,” she said to Jaxon’s bewilderment. She returned to her table to find Rob had finished the entire dessert by himself. Well, she thought, that’s one problem solved.

Rob drove her home and walked her to her door. The light was on in Holly’s apartment at the end of the row, so even though her own outside light was burnt out she felt secure. Rob, his hand brushing her shoulder, eased in for a light kiss which Ivy decided might be okay until, apparently encouraged, his right hand eased around to her back and crept in the direction of third base. The nerve! Ivy adroitly sidestepped, avoiding both the kiss and the groping, to swiftly unlock her door and slip inside. “Good night,” she said cheerily, “I had a lovely time.” She shut the door firmly.

She leaned in, forehead on the door, until she heard his car start and then pull away.

Good lord, all the Rebels were good-looking guys, but she lacked real chemistry with any of them, except one. If it weren’t for running into Jaxon, the evening would’ve felt like a complete waste of time.

Was she doing the right thing? Going on dates, giving these guys a chance? One might turn out to be amazing.One of them already has, said the voice in her head. But, for all that Jaxon always acted pleased to see her, that Hazel claimed he couldn’t take his eyes off her, he’d never once asked her out.

Her breath came out in a whoosh. She would not give in to defeat. She was learning from her dates. At the theater, she learned Holly was selling baked goods at local events. If she hadn’t gone out with Joel, she never would have known that.

The Hazard Historical Society’s fundraiser was in less than two weeks, and her scones were every bit as good as Holly’s pastries. She would guarantee her own success. Winning the bet would be fun, but improving her business remained her real goal. Nothing was going to mess that up. She’d lucked out in having her shop on Main Street, right on the square. Foot traffic was vital for a tea shop. Her business would never survive on the outskirts near Kaley’s Refresher and Hopewell Nursery. People didn’t drive to the edge of town for a spot of tea. So, fine, she would keep up the learning curve, and continue giving the Rebels a chance. She’d wasted too many years dreaming and watching from the sidelines.

Chapter Eleven

Ivy plopped intothe chair across from Marjorie. It was almost six p.m. and she needed to close up, but Marjorie, absorbed on her laptop, was muttering mild curse words at an Excel spreadsheet. Ivy hated to disturb her. She’d locked up at five p.m., but left Marjorie alone. Now, she needed to move her day along. She had a date with Kyle.

Ivy started pouring her latest tea blend experiment featuring Assam extra fancy with black mango and tangerine into delicate Russian teacups. For now, she was calling it Chinese Tropic. She sweetened one and set it off to the side of the laptop.

Marjorie sighed. “I’m holding you up. Thank you for letting me work late on my accounting for the tree farm.”

“No problem, it gave me time to prep for tomorrow. How does chicken salad panini with pimento sound? I was able to get all the meat cooked, and I’ll chill it overnight before I turn it into chicken salad in the morning.”

“Delicious. What does Holly think about your new lunch items?”

“She hates them. I don’t think she’ll ever approve of what I do. Her ventures are always so successful, and mine always fall short.”

“I wouldn’t say that. I bet she’s envious she didn’t create lunch specials first.”

“Her bakery is so successful. If she planned to serve lunches, she’d need to put in seating.”

“She has the same amount of space as you.”

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