21. Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-One
W as it possible she just wanted chocolate?
Probably not.
Carrie stood her ground and waited as Brittany slowly strolled to the counter. All the while, Carrie thought about Brittany throwing herself at Jackson. But she didn’t say anything. This was her place of business. She would be a professional.
Alice’s gaze moved between Carrie and Brittany and then back again. Then she stepped forward. “Can I help you?”
Brittany didn’t immediately respond. She made them wait. When she finally spoke, she said, “I’m here to speak to Carrie.”
Carrie’s body tensed, but she refused to let Brittany see that her presence bothered her. She stepped forward. “If this is about the Happy Hearts, everything is going well. We’ve received many compliments. And everything is ready for tonight.”
“This isn’t about that.” Brittany pursed her lips as her penciled brows drew together. “I want you to quit stringing Jackson along.”
Carrie couldn’t believe her ears. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. I want you to quit playing games with him. We all know you aren’t really interested in him romantically. You just like keeping him guessing.”
Inside, Carrie raged at this woman’s audacity. On the outside, Carrie struggled to maintain an even tone. “Whatever is going on between Jackson and myself is none of your business.”
Brittany’s gaze narrowed. “That’s not true. We’ve been spending a lot of time together.”
“I’ve heard.” The words rushed out before Carrie could stop them. She didn’t want Brittany to know that she cared enough to listen to the gossip. When Brittany smiled, Carrie said, “I also heard you threw yourself at him.”
“I don’t throw myself at anyone. He was flirting with me, and then we kissed.”
“That’s a lie.” When she caught Alice’s surprised look, Carrie realized she was being dragged down to Brittany’s level. She pressed her lips together.
“I don’t lie. You’re just jealous.” Brittany tilted her chin upward.
Alice spoke up. “Carrie, you told me to remind you when it was time to leave.”
Carrie had no idea what Alice was talking about, but she welcomed any excuse not to have to deal with Brittany. “Thanks.” She turned back to Brittany. “Alice will help you with whatever you need.”
Carrie turned her back on Brittany’s gaping mouth and walked away. It wasn’t until she was in the kitchen and the door closed behind her that she took her first easy breath.
She was thankful to Alice for giving her an excuse to step out of the shop and get a breath of fresh air. And so, Carrie jotted a quick note to let Alice know that she’d be back in fifteen minutes. She grabbed her coat and slipped on her snow boots before heading out the back door.
Snow was falling in small, fine flakes. The air was crisp. She hunched her shoulders and snuggled deeper into her coat. When she reached her snow-covered car, she regretted her decision to leave. But it was too late to change her mind now. She unlocked her car and started it, hoping it would warm up quickly.
After clearing the snow from her car, she headed toward her parents’ house. The drive was slow as the road conditions were still not great.
As she neared the house, she noticed the mailbox. She’d been so upset about Jackson she hadn’t had time to think about her secret valentine.
She told herself it didn’t matter if there was a valentine in the mailbox. She wasn’t interested. But she knew that was a lie.
Had her secret valentine delivered her another one? Or had he given up? She wouldn’t blame him, since this wasn’t going to work out the way he’d planned. Because there was only one man she was interested—Jackson. But was she willing to risk their friendship in order to give them a real chance at a future?
She contemplated what that would mean as she parked the car in the driveway and walked back to the mailbox. There was only one envelope inside. She pulled it out. It was red, and her name was printed in big block letters on the front.
What did it say this time? Would it send her on another adventure? She resisted the urge to open it right there on the side of the road. And she might have done just that, except the wind picked that exact moment to blow snow right in her face.
She tightened her grip on the envelope and hurried up the driveway and climbed back into her car. Even though she’d just turned off the motor moments ago, the cold was already seeping into the interior. She started the engine and turned up the heater.
Not able to wait a moment longer, she slipped her finger beneath the envelope flap and ripped it open. Inside was a valentine’s card. It was cream-colored with a raised red heart. Across the top it read: Be mine…
When she opened it, she found a handwritten note in those block letters:
Tomorrow your questions will be answered. But until then, I have a surprise for you. Go to: 514 Main Street.
Your Secret Valentine
Carrie instantly recognized that address. She’d had to write it so many times in the past year. It was the address of the chocolate shop.
She was so confused. How could he have a surprise for her there without her knowing about it? Impossible.
Unless he had help. Would Alice have helped this secret valentine?
There was only one way to find out. She set aside the valentine and put the car in reverse.
The drive back to the shop was the longest of her life. If Alice had been this person’s accomplice, then she could tell her who it was—the identity of her secret valentine.
At last, she reached the shop and rushed in the back door. The only problem was that Alice was busy with a customer. In fact, the shop was so busy Carrie needed to assist her. There was no time to question Alice or to find her surprise.
But Carrie wasn’t complaining. This rush of business was more than she’d even dared to dream about. She felt quite blessed.
It wasn’t until they closed the shop at five o’clock that Carrie finally had a private moment to ask Alice about her Valentine’s surprise.
When Carrie locked the door, she turned to her friend. “Do you have something to tell me?”
Alice looked at her with widened eyes. “Uh... What are you talking about?”
Without a word, Carrie moved to the kitchen. Alice followed her. Carrie reached into her purse and pulled out the red envelope. “Does this trigger your memory?”
“Oh.” Alice sent her a big smile. “Wait here.”
Alice walked to the front of the store and returned with her hands behind her back.
Carrie eyed her suspiciously. “What are you hiding?”
Alice held out a long-stemmed red rose. “This was dropped off for you.”
Carrie accepted the rose and sniffed it. She was getting spoiled. She loved the fresh flowers. She would add it to the vase of roses at home.
When she turned her attention back to Alice, her friend produced a white square box with a red silk ribbon.
Alice placed it on the work table in front of Carrie. “This was also ordered for you.”
“Who is it from?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Alice...” She pleaded with her eyes. “You can’t keep their name from me. It’s driving me crazy.”
“I promise you’ll find out soon.” She pointed to the gift box. “Open it.”
Carrie looked at the pretty box. There was no reason she couldn’t open the box and then proceed to interrogate Alice. She untied the ribbon and let it fall to the countertop.
Excitement pulsed through her body. She hadn’t been this excited about opening gifts since she was a kid. And yet there was a part of her that felt guilty. She couldn’t keep these gifts, because she already had feelings for someone.
Still, it didn’t hurt to look inside the box. She lifted the lid. Inside there was red tissue paper. After she removed the top sheets, she found a big milk chocolate heart nestled in a bed of red tissue paper.
Written in white chocolate across the heart it read: Break my heart.
Carrie’s gaze rose to meet Alice’s. “Did you make this?”
Alice smiled and nodded.
“But when?” And then she remembered Alice had been at the shop before her that morning. “Wait. Is this why you were in early this morning?” When Alice smiled and nodded, Carrie said, “You did a really good job.”
“But you didn’t even taste it yet.”
Carrie looked at the six-inch chocolate heart with a white chocolate ribbon around the edge. She knew it wasn’t easy to make perfectly molded chocolate, especially this size. “I can’t break this.”
Alice approached her. “Sure, you can. How else are you going to be able to taste the chocolate?”
Carrie turned her head and arched a brow. “What does it taste like?”
Alice smiled and shrugged. “Guess you’re going to have to try it and see for yourself.”
That was a challenge she couldn’t resist. She reached for a spatula and then she tapped the edge of the heart. It left a tiny nick in the chocolate, but there were no cracks.
“Silly,” Alice said, “you have to hit it harder.”
Carrie knew it, but she still hated breaking it.
As though sensing her inner struggle, Alice took the spatula from her and whacked it against the chocolate. The edge shattered into pieces.
Alice looked at her. “Go ahead.”
Carrie didn’t have to be told twice. She reached for a piece of the chocolate. When she put it into her mouth, she was surprised with the explosion of flavor. The silky milk chocolate was accentuated with...
“Is that honey I taste?” When Alice nodded, Carrie asked, “And chili pepper?”
Alice nodded again. “Just a hint of it. I didn’t want it to overpower the chocolate. And there’s one more thing.”
Carrie took another bite, letting the chocolate melt over her tongue. “Is it sea salt?”
“Yes. Do you like the mix?”
“I love it. Did you make it up?”
“Yes. I wanted something special for your gift.”
“You definitely achieved your goal. You have to make it again. We can feature it in the store. Would you like that?”
“I would love it.” The happiness shone in Alice’s eyes. “But you still didn’t find your present.”
Carrie reached for the heart and peered into the hole, but it was too dark to see anything. When she turned it over to shake it, she heard something move inside of it. When she turned it over, a small box came tumbling out.
Carrie set aside the heart in order to pick up the red velvet box. Oh boy. She opened the box and found a white gold chain with a diamond heart pendant.
Her mouth gaped. This gift was way too much. And yet she loved it.
She turned to Alice. “Did you know about this?”
Alice shook her head. “I had no idea what was in the box.” She took a closer look. “Do you think it’s real?”
Carrie looked at the diamonds as the light played upon the stones. “I do. Now tell me who gave it to you so that I can take it back. I can’t accept it.”
Alice looked worried. “I promised I wouldn’t tell. Can’t you just wait one more day?”
“Even if I wait, I’m not going to change my mind about accepting the gifts.”
Alice shrugged. “A lot can change in twenty-four hours.”
Was that some sort of hint? Carrie looked at the necklace again. Her fingertip traced the pendant. Too bad it wasn’t Jackson who had given it to her. She stifled a sigh. Why did life have to be so complicated?
She looked at Alice again. “Please tell me.”
Alice hesitated. She looked torn between keeping her promise and honoring their friendship. Carrie felt awful for putting her friend in such a position.
Before Carrie could take back her request, Alice said, “It was Jackson.”
Jackson? Carrie blinked and asked, “Did you say Jackson?”
Alice smiled and nodded. “The guy is crazy about you. I’m not sure why he kept his identity a secret, but I thought it was romantic.”
Jackson. He hadn’t given up on her.
She knew why he kept his identity a secret. He was giving her time to get used to the idea of him and her romantically intertwined. She wasn’t sure how it was going to work, but living with regret this week had taught her that she would rather have love and lose it than never know Jackson’s love at all.