Page 68 of Love's Home Run

“I have a different offer for you. My friend, Crystal Owens, is selling her very successful breakfast and lunch café, and she and I have come up with an idea that could include you. Is there any way you and Jason can come to Lilac Lake to talk to us? It’s best if you see the situation before seriously discussing it.”

“Let me ask Jason. Moving and owning a café would be a big change for us. I’m not sure he’ll want to do it, though he’s become discouraged about keeping the restaurant profitable here in the city. As I mentioned to you, rental rates are skyrocketing. You know how low the profit margin is in the restaurant business.”

“Indeed, I do. Please think about the concept. It would be great to have you in town. I’m sure you’d both love it here.”

“I admit the idea is very tempting,” said Nettie. “The pace in the city is sometimes overwhelming. The idea of listening to birds sing or watching them swim in a lake sounds pretty darn tempting. But Melissa, I’m pretty sure our siblings won’t be willing to leave Boston. So, we’d have to find staff there.”

“Call me back as soon as you and Jason have had time to discuss it. You’re welcome to stay at my house.”

“How’s that hunky neighbor of yours?” asked Nettie.

Melissa felt a smile cross her face. “We’re more than neighbors. I don’t know how long it will last, but as my friend Crystal said, ‘Things will work out how they’re meant to be.’ Keeping that in mind, I’m letting things evolve on their own.”

“A wise plan,” said Nettie. “I’ll let you know if or when we want to come to Lilac Lake. Thanks for thinking of us.”

Melissa ended the call and did a little dance. The thought of having Nettie involved in her plan was thrilling. No matter what the future might bring, she loved having time for herself and beingable to keep a hand in professional cooking.

She’d just poured herself a glass of mint lemonade when Ross appeared at the sliding glass door of her kitchen.

Glad to see him, she went to greet him.

Grinning, he kissed her. Then, he handed her a bottle of chilled white wine. “Nice to be back home, huh?”

“Yes. Come in. I want to tell you about my day.” She glanced around. “Where’s Mike?”

“He went to Jake’s to meet with some of the gang. I think there’s someone he’s interested in. He said something about a new teacher in town.”

“Speaking of new people in town, Dirk introduced me to his ex-girlfriend, whom he is now dating again. Her name is Samantha Waters, and she seemed nice.”

Ross gave her a steady look. “So that relationship is definitely behind you?”

Melissa smiled. “It was never going to work.”

“Good,” he said, kissing her again.

Melissa’s body grew heated as his lips told her how much he liked her. But thoughts of feeling unworthy and of her screwing up the situation appeared in her mind, and she pulled away.

“How about something to drink?” she asked. “I’m making something simple for dinner, but I’m willing to share.”

“That would be great,” he said. “I don’t know about you, but nothing tastes better than your home-cooked meals.”

“I want to tell you about an idea that Crystal and I are working on,” said Melissa. She led him into the kitchen and got him a beer from the refrigerator.

They went out to the porch, took seats on the couch, and faced one another.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

Melissa told him about Crystal possibly selling the café, her friends from Boston hopefully visiting, and her idea of monthly gourmet meals. “There’s a lot to think about, but this is something worth working toward. It could be so much fun.”

“If the café doesn’t work out, maybe you could use the Sports Center in some way for those dinners.”

“We need a commercial kitchen,” Melissa said. “That’s why the café is so perfect. But, as I said, there’s a lot to work out. The thing is, I don’t have to give up cooking altogether. That’s important to me if I ever want to get back into it. If the café doesn’t work, I suppose I could apply for work at the Inn.”

“I thought you wanted to take time before jumping back into something,” said Ross.

“I do. But I don’t like the idea of not doing anything creative for myself,” she replied. “I’m waiting to see how things unfold.”

Ross was quiet but nodded thoughtfully.

---