Page 66 of Valentine's in Bayberry

It was then she wondered if he could be her secret valentine. She was tired of dancing around people, and that morning she just didn’t have any patience. Maybe it was the lack of sleep that allowed her to be so straight forward. Or maybe it was herfrustration with Jackson. Either way, it didn’t matter. She just wanted some answers.

“James, you wouldn’t happen to be my secret valentine, would you?”

“Me?” His brows lifted high on his forehead. “Nope. Wasn’t me. I’m honored you’d think to ask me. I hope whoever it is, that he’s good to you.”

She shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”

“That’s not what I heard. Seems like whoever it is has gone to a lot of trouble to make it special for you.”

She couldn’t deny it. “They have. I just don’t know who to thank.”

“Well, tomorrow is Valentine’s. Something tells me that whoever it is will reveal themself.”

She nodded. “I’m sure you’re right.”

“Well, I need to get going. The snow waits for no man. And I have a lot of driveways to clear around town.” He walked to his pickup. “I’ll see you next snow.”

And then he was back plowing the last of the snow from her driveway. She followed him out of the driveaway. He went to the left while she turned to the right.

Even though the roads had been plowed, they were still a snowy white. The tires crunched over the snow-packed roadway. When she approached a stop sign, she pressed the brake pedal. The car kept going, sliding over the ice. She let off the brake and tried it again. The car still kept going. Her heart raced as she glanced in each direction of the four-way stop. Luckily, there was no one at the intersection. Finally, the car stopped, on the other side of the intersection.

Carrie white-knuckled it the rest of the way to the bakery. Once she was parked, she took her first full breath. As she was walking toward the rear entrance of the bakery, the delivery van pulled up and parked near the bakery.

Archie hopped out and made his way to the back of the big brown van. “Good morning.”

“Morning. It’s really slick out...” Her foot hit a patch of ice. Her arms windmilled as she tried to regain her balance, but it wasn’t working. Gravity pulled her down.

And then there were arms reaching out to her. They drew her upright. She was once more standing.

“Thank you.” When her gaze met Archie’s, she realized just how close they were standing.

He didn’t immediately release her. “Looks like I was in the right spot at the right time.”

His gaze dipped. Was he looking at her lips?No.... No. No. No.

She braced her hands on his chest and pushed back until he released her. Thank goodness because there was absolutely no chemistry there—at least none on her side.

If he was her secret valentine, she had to tell him here and now it wasn’t going to work. She’d have to figure out a way to do it gently, of course.

“Archie, you wouldn’t happen to be my secret valentine, would you?”

He smiled at her with an eager gleam in his eyes. She looked at Archie’s uniform. It was a bit wrinkled as well as being askew. And his blond hair was mussed up, as though he’d just rolled out of bed without combing it. He didn’t strike her as the type to pay attention to details like her secret valentine had done.

His smile broadened. “If I say yes, does that mean you’ll go out with me tonight?”

Archie was a nice guy, but she didn’t think she’d ever said or done anything to encourage him. And she didn’t want to do anything to hurt him. So, she had to handle this carefully.

“I have to work this evening for the Happy Hearts event. And...” She really hoped that this wouldn’t upset him. “And I think we’re better off as friends.”

He sighed and shrugged. “You can’t blame a guy for trying.” He opened the back of the van. And then he turned back to say, “And to answer your question, I’m not your secret valentine.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled before unlocking the door.

She let herself inside and found the lights were already on. Alice must be in early. That would be a big help, since business should be brisk that day.

As she took off her coat and boots, her thoughts quickly returned to figuring out who her secret valentine might be. With Archie and James off the list of suspects, that only left Codi, her ex-boyfriend. She didn’t think it was him. Alice had informed her that he’d been in the shop to buy chocolates for his new girlfriend.

So now, Carrie didn’t have any guesses of who her secret valentine might be. But she didn’t have time to worry about it. She had chocolates to make. She entered the chocolate shop and got to work.

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