Page 41 of Valentine's in Bayberry

“By whom?” When Abby pressed her lips together into a firm line, Carrie asked, “How am I supposed to thank them if I don’t know who they are?”

More shrugging ensued, which caused Carrie to sigh. Who would send her a handmade valentine and buy her... She paused to take a sip... It was her favorite drink. And then she had a thought.

“Who picked out this order? My secret valentine? Or you? And please, no more of the shrugging. You’re going to get muscle strain.”

Abby laughed. “I’m sorry. I’m sworn to secrecy.” Then her eyes widened. “I almost forgot. Don’t move.” Abby rushed to the kitchen.

As the door swung shut behind her friend, Carrie stood at the counter. She searched her thoughts. Was there someone that liked her enough to go to all of this bother?

She once again went through the men in her life. The first, obviously, was Jackson. She hesitated on the thought of him.They had kissed. The memory was still quite fresh in her mind. In fact, it was hard not to think about.

But they’d worked things out. They’d both agreed that they were better off as friends. So, it wouldn’t be him. Right?

Before she could move on to other potential candidates, Abby returned. She wore a mischievous grin as she held something behind her back. And then Abby produced a long-stemmed red rose. “This is for you.”

A smile tugged hard on the corners of Carrie’s mouth. She accepted the rose and sniffed it, enjoying its delicate fragrance.

Jingle-jingle.

Before she could formulate another question to try to extract the name of her mysterious valentine, there were a couple of people in line behind her. It was time to move on.

Still, she had to give it one more try. “Please. Will you tell me who these are from?”

Abby looked pointedly at her. “Don’t you know?”

“No.” She felt like she should, but lately, she’d been too distracted with the grand opening of Totally Chocolate and Jackson’s unexpected return.

As she walked away with the valentine and rose in one hand and a latte in the other, she was a combination of excited and anxious. What if it was from someone she wasn’t interested in romantically? But what if it was someone that she could fall for?Oh my!

He’d left the back door unlocked.

When Jackson arrived back at the house, he’d expected to find Carrie waiting for him. She wasn’t there. That was strange. What could be taking her so long?

He’d taken his time picking up their food to give her time to get her treats. He smiled at the thought. He wished he could have seen the smile on her face, especially with the red rose.

Maybe this would change her mind and show her that he hadn’t given up on the idea of them together. Knowing Carrie like he did, she would probably still have some reservations about them starting something, but he was sure he could sway her to his way of thinking.

Buzz.

He reached for his phone, expecting it to be Carrie explaining why she was late. Instead, it was his office.Again.

When he was in the office, he regularly had one person after the next lined up out the door of his office. Sometimes, their questions could be tiring, but it was an expected part of his job. However, now that he was taking some hard-earned vacation time, he didn’t want to keep thinking about work. Still, he answered the call. After all, it was his responsibility.

When Carrie arrived, he was still on the phone. Instead of the expected smile on her face, her brows were puckered, and her lips were pursed. How could that be? Didn’t she get the valentine? Or had she not found her treats?

He abruptly ended his phone call. “Sorry about that. It was the office.”

“They call you a lot.” It wasn’t a question, but rather a statement of fact.

“Yes, they do. We’re in the middle of rolling out an upgrade, and there are a lot of moving parts.”

She nodded in understanding. “Sorry I was late.”

“No problem. I’ll just grab lunch.” He opened a brown paper bag and withdrew two foil wrapped sandwiches.

He opened the foil to find a giant meatball sandwich topped with thick slices of provolone cheese. He hadn’t had a sandwichfrom Mel’s Grille in a very long time. They made the best sandwiches on the planet.

Carrie unwrapped her sandwich. “This smells delicious. Great choice.”

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