16. Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Sixteen
H e’d finally opened up.
And it felt good.
Jackson placed a couple more hunks of wood on the fire before he sat back down. When he’d invited Carrie over, he hadn’t intended to tell her about his problems. That wasn’t who he was. Normally, he kept all his issues to himself.
But then again, that hadn’t always been true. When they were kids, they would share everything with each other: first crushes, first kisses, first breakups. They had always been there for each other.
Maybe that easiness, that trust, had somehow endured the years and distance. He liked to think so. The more time he spent with Carrie, the more he realized how much he’d missed her—how much he didn’t want the distance to come between them again.
Even if he did convince her to give their romantic relationship a chance, he hadn’t figured out how to overcome the distance that would eventually destroy everything they built over Valentine’s.
He knew the only solution was for one of them to give up the life they’d created for themselves. One of them would have to move.
The thought was daunting. One didn’t just give up their career on a whim. At least, he didn’t. And he knew Carrie would feel the same way about her beloved chocolate shop.
“Look what I found.” Carrie’s voice drew him from his thoughts.
At the sound of her voice, he turned in his seat. He immediately spotted his guitar in her hands. He’d left it in the living room the other night.
“And what do you plan to do with that? he asked.
“Me?” She came to a stop in front of him. “Absolutely nothing.” She held it out to him. “But I was hoping you would play it.”
He accepted it. “I’m rusty.”
“I remember how well you played with your rock band in high school. You became an instant heart throb.”
It had been a while since he’d thought about his days as a band member. They’d called themselves: The Bay Rockers. Not exactly the best name, but they had been kids. They were more interested in playing their songs.
“Don’t you remember?” she said. “You guys were planning to cut a track and travel the country on a tour bus.”
He let out a laugh. The memories brought back a joy he hadn’t felt in a while. “No. It was a private plane. We were going to party with the royals and famous alike.” He grinned as more memories flooded his mind. “My seventeen-year-old self never would believe that I would end up spending my days behind a desk in a skyscraper.”
“Dreams evolve and change,” she said.
“Your dreams didn’t change,” he pointed out. “You always wanted your own business right here in Bayberry.”
She nodded. “It was the details that switched from a bakery to a chocolate shop. And with the help of your mother renting me the spot at a reasonable rate, I was able to make my dream a reality. Do you think you’ll be able to get the new owner of the building to agree to let me go on using that space?”
“Don’t worry. It’s my top priority.” He meant it. He would make sure she was taken care of.
“Thank you. Now on with the music.”
He strummed the guitar and then adjusted the cords until it sounded right. “What’s your request?”
“Hmm...” She thought about it for a moment and then said, “Small Town.”
He couldn’t help but smile. They’d played that tune all of the time back in the day. And Carrie had loved it. The only thing was that she was living it, and he’d gone in search of something bigger, and if he were honest with himself, something better.
In the end, he was finding that the better was waiting right there in Bayberry for him. And she was smiling back at him. As much as he was trying to put the brakes on his feelings for her, he found his heart was like a runaway locomotive, and he was falling hard.
He played a few songs, and she sang along with him. He’d forgotten how sweet of a voice she had.
And then all too soon, it was time to call it a night. She had work in the morning, and he had some serious decisions to make. Right now, his heart wanted one thing while his mind wanted the opposite. And he had no idea which of them was going to win.
When Carrie stood, he did too. “I can walk you home.”
She shook her head. “That’s not necessary. After all, I’m just next door.”
Just like she had been for all of his youth. He couldn’t help but wonder if this was some sort of second chance to get things right with her.
“Well, thank you for tonight,” she said. “I loved it.”
“I love... loved it too.” Had he almost told her that he loved her? No. Yes. Maybe.
As they stood next to the fire, he stared into her eyes. His heart pounded. All he wanted to do then was to wrap his arms around her and pull her close. And then he would lower his head and press his lips to hers.
Just as he was about to put his daydream into action, Carrie stepped away. “Goodnight.”
“Night.”
The opportunity had slipped through his fingers—like it had so many times in the past. He couldn’t afford to squander any other opportunities to show Carrie what she meant to him. He worried that they were running out of chances to get it right.
It was time to work on his next secret valentine project. Somehow, he had to get her to see him as more than her friend. He felt as though he were making progress. But was it enough?
She was still smiling.
The next day, Carrie felt as though her steps were lighter. The sun was shining a little brighter. And it was all because of Jackson. He reminded her of the good times they used to have, and in the process, they’d created new memories.
She’d spent a lot of the morning before the shop opened, working on her version of a s’more, but it didn’t have the same full flavor. She knew the problem was the marshmallow. She’d tried marshmallow cream from the store. It was too sweet and soft. And the chocolate felt separate. It wasn’t blending together like it had the night before at the fire.
And then there was the part about making the whole thing a cohesive unit. She had to give it some more thought.
Alice came rushing into the kitchen. “What are you still doing here?”
“I, uh, work here.”
“I know that. But it’s lunchtime.”
“It is.” Her gaze moved to the wall clock. It was a quarter after twelve.
“Shouldn’t you be checking your mailbox about now?” Alice grinned at her.
In all honesty, it hadn’t escaped Carrie’s attention that there might be another valentine for her. She couldn’t deny the giddy feeling she got having someone go to such lengths for her. It’d be even better if it was Jackson who was doing the wooing.
Her thoughts skidded to a halt. Had she really thought that? Oh, yes, she had.
Knock-knock.
The back door opened, and the man at the center of her thoughts stepped inside. His gaze immediately sought her out. He smiled. It was one of those smiles that made his brown eyes twinkle and caused a fluttering sensation in her chest.
Alice’s gaze moved between Carrie and Jackson. “Well, I should go back out front in case someone needs their lunchtime chocolate fix.”
As Alice made a quick exit, Carrie continued staring at Jackson. Her heart beat erratically.
“I hope I’m not interrupting you.” He approached her.
She swallowed hard. “You aren’t.” She glanced down at the table, trying to think of what to say next. “I was just working on a s’more recipe for the shop.”
He nodded. “You really liked those last night, didn’t you?”
“Definitely. But nothing I’ve tried so far even comes close.”
He stepped up to her work table. “Is this one of your experiments?”
She glanced down at the s’more. “Yes. You can try it.”
He picked it up and took a bite. He slowly chewed as though observing the various flavors. After he swallowed, he said, “You’re right. It’s not quite right.”
“Any suggestions?”
“Start a bonfire and roast a marshmallow.” He smiled at her.
“I don’t think my landlord will appreciate me starting a fire in here. But...” She walked over to a drawer. She opened it and withdrew a small torch. She turned to him. “Would this work?”
He eyed up the torch. “I don’t know, but we could try.” He slipped off his jacket and slung it over the back of a nearby chair. He washed his hands and turned to her. “I see the bag of marshmallows. Now where are your forks.”
She moved to a cabinet and returned with a fondue fork. When he held out a marshmallow, she stabbed it before handing it to him.
She set up a graham cracker and a square of milk chocolate. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
He held up the marshmallow while she started the flame. He turned the fork slowly until the marshmallow was golden brown.
And then before it could cool down, he placed it against the chocolate and sandwiched it with another graham cracker.
He turned to her and held out the s’more. “Try this and see if it’s closer.”
She took a bite. After she swallowed, she said, “It’s closer. What do you think?”
He nodded. “It’s good.”
“But it still needs something.” And then she knew what would pull it all together.
They created another s’more. Then she tempered some chocolate and drizzled it over the s’more until it was completely covered.
“This is going to have to cool and set,” she said. “And I was just going to run out for lunch.”
His brows rose. “Going to see if you received another valentine?”
Heat started in her chest and shot north to her cheeks. “Maybe.”
“Uh, huh. Well, I was just going to stop by the house, would you like a ride?”
She shook her head. “That’s okay. I don’t want to put you out of your way by having to bring me back.”
“It’s fine. I have to come back anyway. I’m meeting with Mark after lunch.”
She shrugged. “Okay. Let me tell Alice that I’ll be right back.”
A few minutes later, they were on the way home. Carrie wasn’t sure this was a good idea. She felt weird about getting a valentine from another guy in front of Jackson.
In the days of their youth, she’d gotten a few valentines. Back then, she hadn’t felt strange about mentioning them to Jackson, but now something had shifted. She blamed it on the kiss. Try as they might to forget it had happened, it was impossible. She was aware of him in a different way—a romantic way. And there was no way for her to put that genie back in the bottle.
Maybe this was a mistake.
Jackson noticed how quiet Carrie had become on the ride. He’d just wanted to spend some more time with her. Because when she was away, he missed her. It made it worse knowing that soon he’d be leaving for London.
But he didn’t want to dwell on that. Right now, he wanted to focus on this sunny day with the most beautiful woman next to him. He kept glancing in her direction, but she had her head turned toward the side window.
He cleared his throat. “Since the s’mores were such a big hit, maybe we should have a repeat again tonight. After all, it would give me a chance to win back my title.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed she turned her head in his direction. “I don’t think so. I’m not giving up those bragging rights.”
“Does that mean you won’t meet me in the backyard tonight?”
She sighed. “I would love to, but I need to stay at the shop this evening. I’ve been a bit distracted lately, and I need to catch up on my work. The chocolates are flying out the door this week.”
“I understand.” He couldn’t deny that he was disappointed.
“I shouldn’t have left for lunch.”
“But you just had to find out if you got another valentine?”
She nodded. “I keep wondering when the secret valentine is going to tell me their name.”
“Maybe today.” He pulled to a stop in front of her driveway.
She hopped out of the car and rushed around the front of it to reach the mailbox. She yanked it open and pulled out a few pieces of mail. He knew exactly when she’d spotted the valentine because her face totally lit up.
After closing the mailbox, she turned around with a great-big smile on her face that puffed up her cheeks and lit up her eyes. He loved that he’d been able to bring her such happiness.
There was a part of him that longed to tell her he was her secret valentine, but he wasn’t sure she was ready to hear that he loved her. The truth was that he’d probably loved her ever since that kiss back in high school. It was the reason that none of the other relationships he’d been involved in over the years had worked out—they weren’t Carrie.
When she opened the car door, the frigid winter air rushed in. “It’s here.”
He put the car in gear and drove to the next driveaway and then turned in. Once he parked, he turned to her. “Why didn’t you open it?”
She shrugged. “Sometimes the fun is the anticipation.”
“Anticipation of what?”
“What it might say? If there’s another surprise? If he reveals his identity?”
“I see. That’s a lot for one valentine. Well, I have to go grab some papers. I’ll be back.” He left the car running while he entered the house.