Page 76 of Valentine's in Bayberry

A big smile lit up her grandmother’s face. “See. My investment is paying off. Feel free to pay me back in chocolate.”

Carrie laughed. “I don’t know if your doctor will approve.”

“What my doctor doesn’t know, won’t hurt me.”

“Gran, I don’t think that’s the saying.”

Her grandmother laughed. “You can’t blame me for trying.” She opened the box and peered at the chocolates. Her grandmother’s gaze rose to meet hers. “Aren’t you here to ask me something?”

Carrie grinned as she nodded her head. “What did Jackson leave me?”

Her grandmother’s brows rose. “How do you know it’s from Jackson? I thought it was from your secret valentine.”

“It’s okay, Gran. I figured it out.”

“Took you long enough,” Gran teased.

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I figured it out a long time ago.”

Carrie opened her mouth to argue, but she knew her grandmother was wily enough to win any verbal debate. Instead, Carrie skipped to the important part. “Where is the surprise?”

“It’s upstairs in the bedroom you used to stay in when you were a kid.”

“Thanks, Gran.” She kissed her grandmother’s cheek and then rushed upstairs.

She moved to the spare bedroom. She flipped on the ceiling light. On the bed were two boxes. She opened the first one and was shocked to find a light-pink dress. The material was soft and elegant. She drew it from the box and held it up to herself. It looked like it would fit.

And then she opened the second box. Inside were glittery silver high heels. Once more they were her size.

She smiled and shook her head. Jackson was good, but he wasn’t this good. Now she understood why he’d involved her grandmother.

“Do you like them?”

Carrie turned to find her grandmother standing in the doorway. She couldn’t help but smile. She felt like Cinderella. “Are you my fairy godmother?”

“Me?” Gran feigned an innocent look. “Goodness no. I might have pointed your young man in the right direction, but he picked these out.”

“In exactly the right size?” She knew that Jackson was detail-oriented, but unless he had rummaged through her closet, he wouldn’t have known her measurements.

Gran sighed. “Fine. I might have helped pick them out for you after I learned about Jackson’s campaign to win your heart.”

Heat swirled in Carrie’s chest and rushed to her cheeks. Was that Jackson’s true intention? Did he want her to fall madly in love with him?

She hoped so. Because she was falling fast. She’d always thought they were better off as friends because then there was no chance of them losing each other. But once he moved away to London and their communications dwindled, she learned that there were other ways to lose a person—distance was one of those ways.

This meant if she was going to commit herself to this relationship with Jackson, then she was going to have to make sacrifices. The thought of stepping away from her beloved chocolate shop wasn’t as agonizing as she thought it would be. This surprised her.

And then she realized that perhaps that was because the shop had already fulfilled its purpose—she’d learned how to spread her wings and start her own business. She’d gained not only the know-how but also the confidence to be able to duplicate it. And the second time around she would know what mistakes to avoid.

The more she thought about it, the more she was confident that this was the right step for her. So, if her relationship with Jackson required her moving, she would do it. She couldn’t imagine the rest of her life without Jackson in it. They’d already lost so much time together.

“Are you going to put that dress on?” Her grandmother’s voice drew Carrie from her thoughts.

She looked at the dress now spread over the bed. She remembered how Jackson would tease her when they were kids that she was pretty in pink. Maybe it wasn’t as much teasing as she’d thought. Maybe it had been his juvenile attempt at complimenting her.

Carrie once more picked up the dress and held it in front of her. “I feel like Cinderella getting ready for the ball.”

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