Finding Promise (The Promise Series, A Small Town Romance) (21 page)

This was perfect, he thought, for his own little surprise
too. It was as though she’d read his mind. Walking up to her, he pulled her up,
holding her close and kissed her. “This looks good. Thank you. But you look
better.” He mumbled between kisses. “What are we celebrating tonight?”

“I’m going to New York.” Seeing him frown, she explained,
“Just to go and see my parents and pick up some things. Remember the shop idea
I spoke to you about?” He gave her an encouraging nod. “Well, there’s a shop is
for sale and it is a lot cheaper to buy it than rent it in the long run. Faith,
Rachel and I went to view it today. We’ve reviewed and adjusted our business
plan and Rachel has worked out the finances. They each have money set aside to
contribute towards the start-up costs but I don’t nearly have enough.” Caroline
described the adjustments to the business plan, surprising herself with how
much she’d learnt.

“I could lend you the money. My business is successful
enough that I’ve got a nice amount in my bank account. Also, my needs are few. You’ve
seen my house, I haven’t really spent much and the loan I took out to start the
business has been paid off. I’d be happy to give you a hand.”

“No, I need to do this on my own. I never achieved a thing
while I was living with my parents or married to James. I need to be able to
say that my success is my own. It’s different with the girls, they’re going to
invest as much time, effort and money as I will and they’re doing it on their
own, without help from your parents for example. I need to meet them on equal
footing.”  

“I can respect that. I’d still be happy to help if you
change your mind, though.” He sat down next to her, taking her hand in his. “It
was important for me to make it on my own too. My dad has one of the most
successful and long-standing businesses in town, so everyone treated me like I
was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. When I decided to start the
construction company, I refused his offer of assistance, needing to achieve
something independent of him and his influence. So, I understand what you’re
saying.”

“I’m glad you do. Your support means a lot to me.” She
leaned her head on his shoulder, loving the strength she felt in it, from it.
“I may not be able to spend as much time with you in the coming weeks, so I put
this picnic together. But…I learnt from the last celebration, when dinner got
cold, that having it inside may not be such a good idea. I was hoping that the
outdoors will calm our passion long enough for us to eat.”

“Remind me to prove you wrong about making love to you in
the back yard. But, you’re right,” Luke indicated the spread on the blanket, “I
don’t want to waste all the effort you’ve gone through.” And he could share his
own surprise; their lovemaking would be so much sweeter afterwards. “So, what is
all of this? The small town American in me doesn’t recognize the food.”

“I’ve put together some of my favorite dishes. This is a
curry bunny.” She lifted a crispy roll with its centre scooped out and replaced
with a delicious looking stew, to his mouth.

“It’s rabbit?” He asked, not sure if he liked the taste that
much anymore.

She laughed. “No, it’s just called that although I’ve no
idea why.” I had it in South Africa. It’s a basic lamb curry in a basket of
bread. Simple, perfect picnic food but unexpected, so it’s surprisingly
pleasing. You think you’re getting stew in bread but you’re really getting a
great completely edible bowl of curry.”

“It’s good and you’re right about the surprise. Hot though.”
His cheeks heated up and his tongue was burning.

“Some things should be hot.” She said it in such a matter of
fact manner that she didn’t catch onto the innuendo.

“That I can testify to,” he retorted, watching her blush
charmingly when she caught on. He loved how her eyes shone when she became all
passionate about food, so he enquired about the other picnic offerings.

“This is a simple Greek dip, tzatziki, with grilled haloumi
cheese. It should pacify the burn.” She scooped up some dip with a piece of
cheese and the taste of fresh mint, garlic and cucumber exploded in his mouth.
“I like that. Fresh, simple. Are you educating me, Caro?”

“Well, after what you taught me last night, I thought that
it’d only be fair.” She raised a funny looking tart to his mouth. “This is
pastei de nata. It is a Portuguese custard tart, not as sweet as the American
counterparts but rich enough.” Deciding that he liked the way she fed him, he
let her.

“You seem to have traveled extensively.”

“Yes, in that I was certainly very fortunate. It was interesting
seeing other parts of the world and experiencing other cultures and cuisine.
But I don’t necessarily have the travel bug. Sure, there are places I would
still like to see but I’m content where I am. As ungrateful as it sounds, a
palm tree in Hawaii looks like a palm tree in California, you can see
beautiful, breath-taking buildings anywhere and you can find out about any
culture on the internet. While it is exciting to travel, I’m cherishing the
feeling of home I have here a lot more. I remember you telling me that you went
to New York once to see Matt. Would you like to travel?” She asked him,
curious.

“I would, but it’s not high on my list of priorities. One
day, I’d like for you to take me to all those places you’ve been to, your favorite
three and maybe we can even discover some places we’d both like to visit. I’m
happy here too, though. Promise may seem like a small insignificant holiday
destination to many but to me it’s a lifestyle. I can swear to you, though,
that my stomach is very glad you’re well traveled.” He patted his non-existent
belly.

“So am I. In retrospect, as weird as my life was, I have to
acknowledge the advantages it has given me – like the influence it has had on
my cooking and baking.” Feeling at ease, she leaned forward to kiss him, “Not
that any of it tastes as good as you. Mm… mixed berry pavlovas a la
Luke.” 

“God that’s corny; cute but corny.” He laughed swatting her
behind.

The meal was delicious, he thought, finishing his slice of
white chocolate and pistachio vanilla cake or gateaux, as she’d informed him.
“Where did you learn to cook this way? You told me that you never studied, so
I’m assuming that you didn’t learn all of this in cooking school?”

“I’ve always loved experimenting in the kitchen and eating
new things. I picked up a lot of tips from my travels. I also spent a lot of
time alone at home so when I wasn’t attending events, I’d cook and bake. The
internet and food channel took care of the rest of my education. I’m really
happy that I get to carry on cooking here and that I can make a living out of
it.”

“You never did tell me why you started baking and selling
it. To be honest, I pegged you for a wealthy widow that didn’t have to work
when I first met you. It was one of the things that made me move slowly with
you. I didn’t want you to think that I was after your money.”

“The long story made short is that I inherited a very
expensive apartment from James’ estate and not much else. Apparently he and my
father felt that if he passed away before I did then I’d move in with my
parents or alternatively with brothers, if my parents had passed on. So, I had
enough money to buy the house, fix it up and so on but not enough to live on
indefinitely. Rachel and Faith gave me the idea to continue baking but to start
charging for it.”

“If you’d explained your situation to me I could’ve brought
down the price of the renovation work.”

“We’d just started going out so I wouldn’t have felt
comfortable asking you to do that. Besides, I’m glad I started the business. It
provides me with a sense of accomplishment.”

“Now that we’ve eaten, I guess I better pay up. I can’t
condone double standards. You fed me and I owe you. It’s time to test your
theory about making love in the back yard, sweetheart.” Pulling her down on top
of him, he flipped them over, capturing her hands and holding it above her
head, allowing him to feast on the taste of her mouth. His mouth moved along
her body, biting, pulling at her clothes, making her arch her back, and offering
him more.

“Is my payment going down?” His voice was husky from the
sight of her in the moonlight, her skin luminescent and alluring. She couldn’t
speak, just shook her head, clearly saying no. He chuckled, glad that her hands
were so small, enabling him to use the other with his mouth to tug her clothes
off until she lay naked in front of him. “Honey I love your cooking but this
right here is a feast to remember.” He licked and tasted, the smell of the
herbs she planted permeating the salt-tinged air, mingling with the smell of
sex. “How’s my payment now?”

“I think you’ve paid off the main course but you still owe
me for dessert.”

“Well, we can’t have that now, can we?” He stooped down
again, aiming for the sweet honey between her thighs and gave her one long lick
from top to bottom, making her squirm from desire. It was so good; it was
nearly more than she could take.

She was hot, wet and ready for him. He made her come one
more time, nibbling all the way from her ankles to her core where he sucked her
until she screamed his name. Before her orgasm ended, he pushed himself into
her, bringing her to the brink again before he allowed himself to spill into
her. 

It was a while later that she tugged her clothes back on. “Well,
you certainly refuted any assumptions I made about outdoor loving.” Grinning
satisfyingly, she stretched and tossed his clothes at him. “Get dressed, hot
stuff. We’ve still got to clean up the picnic.”

Putting on his pants and shirt, he stopped her when began
stacking the empty dishes, “Wait. Sit with me for a while, Caro.” Nodding,
seeing that there was something on his mind, she complied and waited for him to
speak.

“Caro, have you been happy here in Promise? I get the sense
that you’re settled and here for good.” 

“Yes, I’m happy here. I’ve only been here for a short time
but feel like I belong. Why do you ask?”

“And us? Are you happy with us?”

“Very.” She was getting worried. Was he moving somewhere?
The questions were a bit odd.

“Caro, I love you. You know that. I’ve told you often. And I
hope that I’ve showed you too.” She inclined her head. He was nervous and knew
that he was stalling, so he decided to just get to it. “Caro, will you marry me
please?”

Sharp, immediate fear drenched her like a bucket of ice cold
water. “I’m sorry. Did you just ask me to marry you?” It was barely more than a
whisper.

“This is not the reaction I was hoping for.” He didn’t like
the wary look in her eyes as she started moving away from him. “I’d be honored
if you married me, if you’d be my wife, my partner and the mother of our
children. I love you and can’t imagine spending my life without you.” He was
rambling now, his gut telling him to worry. “I know we’ve only been seeing each
other for a short while but I know what I feel and those feelings aren’t going
to change with time.” He took out the ring he’d kept in his pocket, offering it
to her.

“How do you know? How do you know that it won’t change?” She
challenged him, ignoring the ring that he held between his fingers.

“I just do. I’m not saying that our life will be all smooth
sailing from now on. But nothing in life is. Even the best built boats,
experience rough patches out on sea, but with a good enough crew, they come out
fine in the end, if they work together. We can be that crew, Caro.”

The analogy was lost on her. Her mind was spinning with
thoughts of the implications of marriage. She stood up now, staring down at him
and feeling numb.

“Caro, don’t you want to marry me?” His voice was soft, low
and sounded hurt. She hated that she was hurting him but couldn’t seem to stop
herself.

“I can’t Luke. I can’t marry you or anyone just yet. I came
here to figure myself out and now that I feel like I’m finally doing it…” She stopped,
gesturing in frustration. “I’m happy with what we have. We don’t need to
complicate things with marriage, Luke. We love each other. That’s enough. It’s
more than enough for me.”

“It’s not enough for me, Caro.” He was furious now and shoved
the ring back into its box and his pocket. “You’re still comparing me to that
bastard. That’s why you won’t marry me. Admit it.” After all the care he’d
taken to make her trust him and see him for who he was and after patiently
waiting for her to get over her dead husband, he realised that she still hadn’t
moved on.

“I know you’re not James, Luke. But I was married, very
unhappily and to get over that takes time.” Feeling as though she was losing
him, she nearly begged, “Please. I just need time.”

“Then why do I get the feeling that all the time in the
world won’t change a thing? I’ve tried with you Caro, God knows I’ve tried. He
pointed at himself, his voice steeped in anger and frustration.  “I gave
you time to trust me to come to love me, Luke.” Realisation dawned, “You never
had any plans to marry me. You never saw us together in the future, with a
family and a home together. You were stringing me along.”

“No. No. I wasn’t.” She went to him now, reaching out for
his arm, as he moved away from her. God, the look in his eyes, so hurt and
disappointed. It cut deeply. “Can’t what we have just be enough.”