Sweet Surprise: Romance Collection

by Wanda E. Brunstetter, Kristin Billerbeck, Kristy Dykes, Aisha Ford, Birdie L. Etchison, Pamela Griffin, Joyce Livingston, Tamela Hancock Murray

  “Evan Bailey is one cute guy, right?”

  Lorna nodded and flopped back onto the couch.

  “From what you’ve told me, I’d say the man has high moral standards and is lots of fun to be with.”

  “Yes.”

  Chris leaned toward Lorna. “If you don’t wake up and hear the music, you might lose the terrific guy to this Vanessa person. If I’d been you today, I don’t think I could have been so nice about things.” She grimaced. “Offering to give up the part—now that’s Christianity in action!”

  Lorna crossed her legs and swung her foot back and forth, thinking the whole while how tempted she had been to give that feisty redhead a swift kick this afternoon. She’d said what she felt was right at the time, but it hadn’t been easy.

  “From all you’ve told me, I’d say it’s pretty obvious the woman has her sights set on Evan Bailey.” Chris shook her finger at Lorna. “You need to put this whole age thing out of your mind and give the guy a chance.”

  Lorna cringed. “That’s not really the problem. I think Evan is as poor as a church mouse.”

  “What gives you that idea?”

  Lorna quickly related the story of her and Evan’s bicycle ride and how when they’d had pizza, he didn’t have enough money to leave a decent tip.

  Chris groaned. “Don’t you think you’re jumping to conclusions? Maybe the guy just didn’t have much cash on him that day.” She squinted her eyes. “And even if he is dirt poor, does it really matter so much?”

  “It does to me. I don’t want to get involved with another man who will expect me to give up my career and put him through college.”

  Evan was excited about his date with Lorna tonight. He’d been looking forward to it all week and had even tried his hand at making another online sweet treat, which he planned to give Lorna after dinner this evening. It was called Lemon Supreme and consisted of cream cheese mixed with lemon juice, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Graham cracker crumbs were used for the crust, and confectioner’s sugar was sprinkled over the top. He hadn’t had time to sample it, but Evan was sure Lorna would like it.

  At six o’clock sharp, Evan stood in front of Ivar’s Restaurant along the Seattle waterfront. He was pleased when he saw Lorna cross the street and head in his direction. He’d been worried she might stand him up.

  “Am I late?” she panted. “I had a hard time finding a place to park.”

  “You’re right on time,” he assured her. “I got here a few minutes ago and put my name on the waiting list at the restaurant.”

  “How long did they say we might have to wait for a table?”

  “Not more than a half hour or so,” he said.

  “Guess we could go inside and wait in the lobby.”

  Evan nodded. “Or we could stay out here awhile and enjoy the night air.” He drew in a deep breath. “Ah, sure does smell fresh down by the water, doesn’t it?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Guess that all depends on what you call fresh.”

  “Salty sea air and fish a-frying…now that’s what I call fresh,” he countered with a wide smile.

  She poked him playfully on the arm. “You would say something like that.”

  He chuckled. “Ah, you know me so well.”

  “No, actually, I don’t,” she said with a slight frown.

  “Then we need to remedy that.” Evan gazed deeply into her eyes. “I’d sure like to know you better, ’cause what I’ve seen so far I really like.”

  Lorna gulped. Things were moving too fast, and she seemed powerless to stop them. What had happened to her resolve not to get involved with another man, or even to date? She had to put a stop to this before it escalated into more than friendship.

  Before she had a chance to open her mouth, Evan took hold of her hand and led her to a bench along the side of the building. It faced the water, where several docks were located. “Let’s sit awhile and watch the boats come and go,” he suggested.

  “What about our dinner reservations?”

  “They said they’d call my name over the loudspeaker when our table’s ready. Fortunately, there’s a speaker outside, too.” Evan sat down, and Lorna did the same.

  The ferry coming from Bremerton docked, and Lorna watched the people disembark. She hadn’t been to Bremerton in a long time. She hardly went anywhere but work, school, church, and shopping once in a while. What had happened to the carefree days of vacations, fun evenings out, and days off? Guess I gave those things up when I began working so Ron could go to school. Working two jobs left little time for fun or recreation, and now that Lorna was in school and still employed at one job, things weren’t much better. I do have the weekends free, her conscience reminded. Maybe I deserve to have a little fun now and then.

  “You look like you’re a hundred miles away,” Evan said, breaking into her thoughts.

  She turned her head and looked at him. “I was watching the ferry.”

  He lifted her chin with his hand. “And I’ve been watching you.”

  Before Lorna could respond, he tipped his head and brushed a gentle kiss against her lips. As the kiss deepened, she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Bailey, party of two…your table is ready!”

  Lorna jerked away from Evan at the sound of his name being called over the loudspeaker. “We–we’d better get in there,” she said breathlessly.

  “Right.” Evan stood up, pulling Lorna gently to her feet.

  She went silently by his side into the restaurant, berating herself for allowing that kiss. I’ll be on my guard the rest of the evening. No more dreamy looks and no more kisses!

  Chapter 9

  F armen’s Restaurant was more crowded than usual on Monday night, and Lor-na’s boss had just informed her that they were shorthanded. With God’s help, she would get through her shift, although she was already tired. It had been a busy weekend, and she’d had to cram in time for homework.

  Lorna thought about her date with Evan on Saturday, which hadn’t ended until eleven o’clock, because they’d taken a ride on one of the sightseeing boats after dinner. She’d thoroughly enjoyed the moonlight cruise around Puget Sound, and when Evan walked Lorna to her car, he’d presented her with another of his desserts. This one was called Lemon Supreme, and she had tried it after she got home that night.

  Lorna puckered her lips as she remembered the sour taste caused by either too much lemon juice or not enough sugar. I doubt Evan will ever be a master baker, she mused.

  She glanced at her reflection in the mirror over the serving counter, checking her uniform and hair one last time, as she contemplated the way Evan had looked at her before they’d said good night. He’d wanted to kiss her again; she could tell by his look of longing. She had prevented it from happening by jumping quickly into her car and shutting the door.

  “I only want to be his friend,” Lorna muttered under her breath, as she strolled into the dining room.

  She got right to work and took the order of an elderly couple. Then she moved across the aisle to where another couple sat with their heads bent over the menus.

  The woman was the first to look up, and Lorna’s mouth dropped open.

  “Fancy meeting you here,” Vanessa Brown drawled.

  Before Lorna could respond, Vanessa’s companion looked up and announced, “Lorna works here.”

  Lorna’s hand began to tremble, and she dropped the order pad. Evan Bailey was looking at her as though nothing was wrong. Maybe his having dinner with Vanessa was a normal occurrence. Maybe this wasn’t their first date.

  Forcing her thoughts to remain on the business at hand, Lorna bent down to retrieve the pad. When she stood up again, Vanessa was leaning across the table, fussing with Evan’s shirt collar.

  Lorna cleared her throat, and Vanessa glanced over at her. “What’s good to eat in this place?”

  “Tonight’s special is meat loaf.” Lorna kept her focus on the order pad.

  “Meat loaf sounds good to me,” Evan said.
>
  “You’re such a simple, easy-to-please kind of guy,” Vanessa fairly purred.

  Lorna swallowed back the urge to scream. She probably shouldn’t be having these unwarranted feelings of jealousy, for she had no claim on Evan. He’d obviously lied to her the other day, when he denied any interest in Vanessa. A guy didn’t take a girl out to dinner if he didn’t care something about her. He took me to dinner on Saturday. Does that mean he cares about both me and Vanessa? Or could Evan Bailey be toying with our emotions?

  Lorna turned to face Vanessa, feeling as though the air between them was charged with electricity. “What would you like to order?”

  “I’m careful about what I eat, so I think I’ll have a chicken salad with low-cal ranch dressing.” Vanessa looked over at her dinner partner and batted her eyelashes. “Men like their women to be fit and trim, right, Evan?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t speak for other men, but to my way of thinking, it’s what’s in a woman’s heart that really matters. Outward appearances can sometimes be deceiving.”

  He cast Lorna a grin, and she tapped her pencil against the order pad impatiently. “Will there be anything else?”

  Evan opened his mouth. “Yes, actually—”

  “Why don’t you bring us a couple of sugar-free mocha-flavored coffees?” Vanessa interrupted. She gave Evan a syrupy smile. “I hope you like that flavor.”

  “Well, I—”

  “Two mochas, a meat loaf special, and one chicken salad, coming right up!” Lorna turned on her heels and hurried away.

  Evan watched Lorna’s retreating form. Her shoulders were hunched, and her head was down. Obviously she wasn’t at her best. He could tell she’d been trying to be polite when she took their orders, but from her tone of voice and those wrinkles he’d noticed in her forehead, he was certain she was irritated about something.

  Probably wondering what I’m doing here with Vanessa. Wish she had stuck around longer so I could have explained. Maybe I should have gone after her.

  “Evan, are you listening to me?”

  Evan turned his head. “What were you saying, Vanessa?”

  “I’m glad I ran into you tonight. I wanted to ask your opinion on something.”

  “What’s that?”

  Vanessa leaned her elbows on the table and intertwined her fingers. “All day I’ve been thinking about that solo part I should have had.”

  “You’re coming to grips with it, I hope.”

  She frowned. “Actually, I’ve been wondering whether I should have taken Lorna up on her offer to give the part to me. What do you think, Evan? Should I ask her about it when she returns with our orders?”

  Evan grunted. “I can’t believe you’d really expect her to give you that solo. Professor Burrows obviously feels Lorna’s the best one for the part, or she wouldn’t have assigned it to her.”

  Vanessa wrinkled her nose. “And I can’t believe the way you always stick up for that little blond. She’s too old and too prim and proper for you, Evan. Why don’t you wake up?”

  Evan reached for his glass of water and took a big gulp, hoping to regain his composure before he spoke again. When he set the glass down, he leaned forward and looked Vanessa right in the eye. “I’m not hung up on age differences, and as far as Lorna being prim and proper, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Vanessa blinked and pulled back like she’d been stung by a bee. “You don’t have to be so mean, Evan. I was only trying to make you see how much better—”

  She was interrupted when Lorna appeared at the table with their orders. Evan was glad he could concentrate on eating his meat loaf instead of trying to change Vanessa’s mind about a woman she barely knew.

  As Lorna placed Evan’s plate in front of him, she was greeted with another one of his phony smiles. They had to be phony. No man in his right mind would be out with one woman and flirting with another. For that matter, most men didn’t bring their date to the workplace of the woman he’d dated only two nights before. Dated and kissed, she fumed.

  Lorna excused herself to get their beverages, and a short time later she returned with two mugs of mocha-flavored coffee. She looked at Evan sitting across from Vanessa, and an unexpected yearning stirred within her soul. Why couldn’t she be the one he was having dinner with tonight? All this time Lorna had been telling herself that she and Evan could only be friends, so it didn’t make sense to feel jealousy over seeing him with Vanessa Brown.

  Maybe I don’t know my own heart. Maybe…

  “This isn’t low-cal dressing. I asked for low-cal, remember?”

  Vanessa’s sharp words pulled Lorna’s disconcerting thoughts aside. “I think it is,” she replied. “I turned in an order for low-cal dressing, and I’m sure—”

  “I just tasted it. It’s not low-cal!”

  Lorna drew in a deep breath and offered up a quick prayer for patience. “I’ll go check with the cook who filled your order.”

  She started to turn, but Vanessa shouted, “I want another salad! This one is drenched in fattening ranch dressing, and it’s ruined.”

  Lorna was so aggravated her ears were ringing, yet she knew in order to keep her job at Farmen’s she would need to be polite to all costumers—even someone as demanding as Vanessa. “I’ll be back with another salad.”

  As she was turning in the order for the salad, Lorna met up with her friend, Chris.

  “You don’t look like the picture of happiness tonight,” Chris noted. “What’s the problem—too many customers?”

  Lorna gritted her teeth. “Just two too many.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Lorna explained about Evan and Vanessa being on a date and how Vanessa was demanding a new salad.

  Chris squinted her eyes. “I thought you and Evan went to Ivar’s on Saturday?”

  “We did.”

  “Then what’s up with him bringing another woman here on a date?”

  Lorna leaned against the edge of the serving counter and groaned. “He’s two-faced. What can I say?”

  “Want me to finish up with that table for you?”

  Lorna sighed with relief. “Would you? I don’t think I can face Evan and his date again tonight.”

  Chris patted Lorna’s arm. “Sure. What are friends for?”

  Lorna peered into the darkening sky, watching out the window as Evan and Vanessa left the restaurant. She thought it was strange when she saw them each get into their own cars, but shrugged it off, remembering that she and Evan had taken separate vehicles on Saturday night. Maybe Evan didn’t have time to pick Vanessa up for their date. Maybe she’d been out running errands. It didn’t matter. Lorna’s shift would be over in a few hours, and then she could go home, indulge in a long, hot bath, and crash on the couch in front of the fireplace. Maybe a cup of hot chocolate and some of Ann’s famous oatmeal cookies would help soothe her frazzled nerves. Some pleasant music and a good inspirational novel to read could have her feeling better in no time.

  Lorna moved away from the window and sought out her next customer. She had a job to do, and she wouldn’t waste another minute thinking about Evan Bailey. If he desired someone as self-serving as Vanessa Brown, he could have her.

  Determined to come up with a way to win Lorna’s heart, Evan had decided to try another recipe from his online cooking class. This one was called Bodacious Banana Bread, and it looked fairly simple to make. Between the loaf of bread and the explanation he planned to give Lorna tomorrow at school, Evan hoped he could let her know how much he cared.

  Whistling to the tune of “Jesus Loves Me,” Evan set out the ingredients he needed: butter, honey, eggs, flour, salt, soda, baking powder, and two ripe bananas. In short order he had everything mixed. He poured the batter into a glass baking dish and pulled it off the counter. Suddenly, his hand bumped a bowl of freshly washed blueberries he planned to have with a dish of vanilla ice cream later on. The bowl toppled over, and half the blueberries tumbled into the bread pan, on
top of the banana mixture.

  “Oh no,” Evan moaned. “Now I’ve done it.” He tried to pick the blueberries out, but too many had already sunk to the bottom of the pan.

  “Guess I could bake it as is and hope for the best.” Evan grabbed a wooden spoon and gave the dough a couple of stirs, to ensure that the berries were evenly distributed. He figured it couldn’t turn out any worse than the other desserts he’d foiled since he first began the cooking class. That Lemon Supreme he’d been dumb enough to give Lorna without first tasting had been one of the worst. He’d sampled a piece after their date on Saturday night and realized he’d messed up the recipe somehow, because it wasn’t sweet enough.

  Two hours later the bread was done and had cooled sufficiently. Evan decided to try a slice, determined not to give any to Lorna if it tasted funny.

  To Evan’s delight, the bread was wonderful. The blueberries had added a nice texture to the sweet dessert, and it was cooked to perfection. “I think I’ll call this my Blueberry Surprise,” he said with a chuckle. “Sure hope it impresses Lorna, because I’m not certain I have any words that will.”

  Chapter 10

  G oing back to school the following day—knowing she would have to face both Evan and Vanessa—was difficult for Lorna. She didn’t know why it should be so hard. Evan had made no commitment to her, nor she to him.

  When she arrived at school, Lorna was surprised to see Evan standing in the hall, just outside their anatomy class. He spotted her, waved, and held up a paper sack. “I have something for you, and we need to talk.” His voice sounded almost pleading, and that in itself Lorna found unsettling.

  “There’s nothing to talk about.” Lorna started to walk away, hoping to avoid any confrontations and knowing if they did talk, her true feelings might give her away.

  Evan reached out and grabbed hold of her arm. When she turned to face him, he lifted his free hand and wrapped a tendril of her hair around his finger. He leaned slightly forward—so close she could feel his breath on her upturned face. If she didn’t do something quickly, she was sure she was about to be kissed.