Page 30 of Valentine's in Bayberry

“Jackson, I just need to see you so I can get the sales contracts for your mother’s house and the commercial building in town. She contacted me and said they were ready to be picked up.”

“Oh.” Suddenly, he felt foolish for thinking this meet-up was something more than business. “Right, I knew that. Why don’t I drop them by your office tomorrow morning?”

“I would appreciate it. And Jackson, do I need to worry that Carrie isn’t going to have a special menu in time for Happy Hearts?”

“No worry necessary.” He hoped his voice sounded confident because he wasn’t sure about anything these days. “Carrie won’t let you down.”

“I hope you’re right.”

He did too. Maybe this was the excuse he needed to speak to Carrie again.

After they ended the call, his thoughts spiraled back to the kiss. It was a good kiss—a great kiss. He was a hundred percent certain that the feeling had gone both ways. So, why was she fighting it?

There was so much to do.

Carrie rushed around the kitchen of Totally Chocolate. Her priority was creating a menu for Happy Hearts. She sat down at the little desk in the office. She grabbed pen and paper. And then she stared at the blank sheet.

Whatever she selected for the menu needed to be something extra special. The only problem was that she’d drained her imagination when she’d come up with the items for the shop. How was she supposed to come up with something new in such a short amount of time?

Refusing to give up, she opened her laptop and scoured the internet. She rejected every idea because she’d either already done it or because it wasn’t special enough. The minutes quickly ticked by. Her stress level rose as she tapped the pen on the blank pad of paper.

Then she had an idea. She wrote down fresh strawberries and a bowl of chocolate fluff for dipping. And there should be dark chocolate champagne truffles. She smiled. That was two items, but it was the final item that was stumping her.

She moved to the kitchen to make sure there wouldn’t be a problem creating these sweet treats. She grabbed a pan, some molds, and the chocolate. As she worked, her mind raced.

Of course, she might have resolved these issues if she wasn’t utterly and thoroughly distracted by Jackson’s kiss. Truth betold, she’d barely gotten any sleep the night before. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Jackson and then felt his lips pressed to hers. It made her heart race and her lips tingle from the memory.

Why had he done it? He knew they were friends. Nothing more. After all, he lived thousands of miles from her with a great-big ocean between them.

Even if they gave a relationship a chance, when it ended—and it would end because relationships always ended in her experience—she would lose not only a boyfriend but a lifelong friend. The price was far too high to give in to a Valentine’s fling or whatever label he wanted to put on it. They would remain friends. Nothing more.

“What’s wrong?” Alice’s voice drew her from her thoughts.

“Uh… Nothing.” Carrie looked up at her friend, not sure what she was talking about.

“The chocolate is burning. I can smell it from here.”

Carrie smelled it now. She turned to the stove, grabbed the saucepan, and rushed over to the sink. She ran water, but it was going to take a lot more than water to clean up that mess. She sighed.

Alice approached her. “Hey, if there isn’t enough time to put together a menu for Happy Hearts, we’ll be okay without it. Our customers seem very happy with what they’ve tried so far, and I’m sure word will quickly spread, drawing in more customers.”

“That isn’t it.” She worried her lip, not sure she should mention what was really bothering her.

Alice’s gaze narrowed. “Let me guess, it has something to do with Jackson.”

“How did you know?”

“Who doesn’t know? Every time you two are around each other, there are sparks zinging around the room.”

“There are not.” Were there? No. They were just friends. And yet there was that kiss...

Alice shrugged. “Think what you want, but there’s something going on with the two of you. And if I was you, I’d definitely want to investigate things with him. That man is sohooooot!”

“Alice.” She mocked shock, but inside she knew her friend was right. The man was made to grace the cover of one of those glossy magazines. But modeling wasn’t his thing. He rarely posed for a selfie, much less a formal photo session. Over the years, she only had a few of him.

With a mischievous grin on her face, Alice said, “I have to go back to work. But consider what I said. Because if you don’t pounce, someone else will.”

That was one worry she did have. Not that she ever thought they would end up a couple, but now that they were getting older, it was only reasonable to assume they would each get involved in a long-term relationship. And that would definitely change their friendship.

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