“We should probably check on Kim and my mom,” he said.
“Can we talk later?” she asked.
“We’ll see how later goes,” he said, handing her an umbrella. He opened his door and got out.
Rachel sat there a moment and then followed him. But when they reached the lounge, neither Kim Palladia nor Loretta Morris was anywhere to be found.
Chapter Thirteen
First rain, then Rachel, now this. “The women in here earlier—where are they?” Colin asked the receptionist as Rachel came to stand beside him.
“Oh, they left with their limo driver, who was waiting around for a return fare into the city,” the receptionist said.
At that moment, Colin’s cell phone shrilled and he answered it. After listening for a moment, he hung up. He couldn’t believe this. “That was my mom. She and Kim decided that since the storm would be around for a few more hours, they’d just go back to Manhattan and stay another night.”
“Oh,” Rachel said.
“Oh, yeah. It’s not like I had to work tomorrow or anything.”
“Sorry,” Rachel said.
His shoulders slumped. As he exhaled, though, some of the tension left him. “Then again, my dad owns the place. I’m sure it will be fine. So why am I stressing?”
Because Rachel was standing next to him, wanting back into his life, that was why.
“A new weather brief just arrived,” the receptionist said. “The weather’s supposed to be clear in about forty minutes. The front moved faster than expected.”
“Let’s go back to the plane,” Colin said. They could talk there while he took a look at his charts.
The rain had almost stopped and Rachel climbed into the copilot’s seat. The last time she’d sat next to him, they’d visited Chicago. Now here she was, flying home, to stay.
He wasn’t sure if he could trust her declaration that she was returning permanently to Morrisville. The idea of Rachel settling down in a small town seemed so contradictory because she’d fled at the first opportunity. A thousand thoughts entered his head, all of them speculative. Maybe she’d been fired again. Had run into Marco. She’d said she couldn’t open her own sweet shop in New York. Maybe that was the reason she was leaving a city she loved.
He glanced at her. “So you’re back to stay,” Colin said, breaking the silence.
“I am.”
“Why?” he asked.
She sighed and Colin steeled himself. Here came the moment of truth. “There are lots of reasons. My grandmother dropped by to see me in New York. She was in and out like a whirlwind—which, I realized later, is how I used to visit my family and friends in Morrisville—I’d breeze in and breeze out.”
She stopped for a moment, shaking her head. “Anyway, there I was on a Friday night, sitting in my hole-in-the-wall rented room. I don’t really remember everything that she said, but her words made sense. I wasn’t living the way I’d dreamed. I realized I’ve spent my whole life running away from Morrisville. It wasn’t until two days ago that a huge fact struck me. Like blinders had been pulled off my eyes. I never really appreciated everything I had there. I was so jaded from high school, so determined to escape, that I shut out all Morrisville’s good qualities. I had to do that in order to delude myself that my life in New York was flawless and all I’d wanted.”
“Nobody’s life is perfect,” Colin said.
“That’s not what I meant. I have people in New York I can hang out with, but when I left, no one missed me. No one truly cared that I was gone, except maybe Marco, and that was because his pride was dented. It’s not like he didn’t move on quickly. I heard he’s thinking about marrying his new girlfriend.”
“I’m sorry,” Colin said.
“Don’t be. I’m not. Actually, I’m relieved. I was in love with a fairy tale. I told myself I was going to have my own bakery. I wanted to be like Sprinkles in L.A. or even as renowned as the Cheesecake Factory. But I was simply creating an illusion. I wasn’t going to accomplish that. Not in New York. Not where I didn’t have any true support.”
She sighed before continuing. “I’m a third-generation cook. I have to live up to both my mother’s and grandmother’s reputations. I’ve been so afraid of being a failure, of not being good enough to be a part of Kim’s, that I never tried to fit in in Morrisville. Not until February, when I had no other choice but to return. Did you know that Harold likes my bear claws better than my grandmother’s? She told me that.”
“My father thinks Harold’s in love with your grandmother.”
“That doesn’t surprise me in the least. If he is, that makes his words even more meaningful. My baked goods are better than my grandmother’s. That means I’m more than good enough. I’m not in anyone’s shadow anymore.”
“You never have been in the shadows,” Colin protested.
“But in my mind I was. I thought you liked someone else. I worried that I’d never be good enough to take over the restaurant, and better I went somewhere else, someplace I had a clean slate. But this morning I realized that I could run a kitchen better than my horrid Bitsy’s Bakery supervisor. The realization was like all the numbers on a slot machine lined up and there was the jackpot.”
Colin didn’t speak for a minute. “So you had a eureka moment? You couldn’t have figured everything out before you broke my heart?” he asked finally.
“I hate myself for hurting you. I can’t apologize enough, but I’ll try.”
“I’m not blaming you,” he said softly. “I’ve been kicking myself. The best moments of my life were these past weeks with you, and they became like a one-night stand. You mean much more to me than that.”
“I’m so sorry,” she repeated.
“I did it to myself,” he insisted.
At that moment, the rain stopped and the sun came out. “Perfect timing. We should be able to take off within the hour, depending on how backed up the runways are,” he said.
“So can we begin again?” she asked. “You once told me that Marco’s offer wasn’t what we’d hoped for, but it wasn’t the end of the world. Well, neither is this situation. I’m open for negotiation. I’m willing to come from my end if you’re willing to give me another chance and come from yours. We’ll end up where we want.”
“And what is it that you want?” Colin asked, his gaze locking on to hers.
Rachel took a deep breath. “You.”
COLIN SAT THERE a moment, savoring the one word she’d uttered. “I want you,” she repeated, as if making certain he knew exactly how important this—he—was to her.
“What if you get bored? What if I’m not enough?” he pressed. He probably sounded like a cad, but he had to be certain.
“That’s not going to happen. Home isn’t a place. Home is being with the person you love, and that’s you.”
His heart skipped a beat. “You love me.”
“Yes.” She nodded and lowered her chin, almost as if embarrassed.
“You’re not being very convincing.” She glanced up then, looked at him. “I’m a lawyer. I’m a hard sell, especially given the evidence.”
“What evidence? You don’t believe your client’s word?” she retorted.
Ah, there was the fighter he loved so much. His Rachel never quit. “I guess I’ll have to reserve judgment,” he said.
She leaned over, halfway into his space. “You can trust me. I’m here. I love you. I’m not leaving you ever again. That was the dumbest mistake of my life, and one I’m not repeating. You’d better get used to having me around, because I’m not going anywhere.”
Exactly what he needed to hear. He covered her hand with his. “Thank you.”
She used her free hand to sandwich his. “I love you. I just hope it isn’t too late for you to fall in love with me again.”
Men weren’t supposed to cry, but Colin felt his eyes tear up. “I never stopped.”
“No?”
He could hear the hope in her quivering voice. He shook his head. “No. I’ve al
ways loved you. I still do. You are the one I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
“Can I kiss you now?” she asked.
Had any kiss been sweeter or more full of promise? His lips could taste the future. “As much as I hate to wait, we should take this somewhere more private. I believe you had some demands you wanted to make, and as your attorney, I’m ready to entertain them.”
“My first is that you stop referring to yourself as my attorney,” she said, kissing him again.
“So what am I to you?”
“Everything,” she replied honestly. “And more. You are my man.”
“I can live with that. Next demand?”
“That you take me home right now and make love to me. Your home, not mine,” she clarified quickly. “I’m rather homeless. And I’d like to stay with you from this moment forward.”
The skies were clearing and the rain had stopped, the fast-moving storm almost done passing through.
“Ah. I can grant that wish. We’ll take off as soon as we get our family members back. We just need to get our family members back.” He pressed her against him and gave her a long kiss.
“Good. Because I have a lot of plans to discuss with you.”
“Sounds serious,” he teased, enjoying the sensation of her body touching his.
“It is. You know how Morrisville likes to speculate.”
“Oh, I do. I lose sleep over the gossip every night.” Colin rolled his eyes.
She laughed at him. “You’ll lose sleep, but not because of that. However, we’ll have to discuss how to handle the grapevine. You see, Morrisville’s going to have us hooked up and married off by next June. They’ll give us a year, tops, before they’ll be clamoring for us to walk down the aisle.”
Colin made a mock-disgusted face. “Sounds horrible. I probably need to hide you quickly before anyone sees this embrace I’m sharing with you.”
She winked at him. “You’ll need to hide me only because what I’m about to do to you isn’t fit for public viewing. As for the citizens of Morrisville, just beware. I’m siding with them. Your parents and mine might just get what they’ve always wanted.”
She meant marriage, and Colin felt the last weight lift from his shoulders. He loved her. He didn’t want one night or just a few months. He wanted forever. When the time was right, he’d surprise her with a ring. For now, the promise of a future was all the assurance he needed. “Well, I believe I told you that you belonged to me. That means I’m yours, as well. So next June, huh?”
“Uh-huh.”
He grinned, happiness filling him. “I’m not afraid,” he joked. “I’ve lived in Morrisville all my life. Shall we get going?” He reached for his phone to call his mother. He was ready to leave. Rachel was moving home. She’d marry him. She could start her Internet bakery, use Kim’s Diner as a base of operations. And one day, just as Lancaster and Morris would be Colin’s, Kim’s Diner would be hers.
Hours later they drove up into Colin’s driveway.
“Let’s go inside,” Colin said. “You have some promises to keep.”
Rachel smiled and Colin knew they’d travel life’s path together. At the moment, any appropriate quote slipped her mind, so she simply held his hand and gestured toward the door. “Yes. Let’s.”
And meeting in the middle, they took that first step.
Rachel’s Recipe for Happiness
Start with multiple dashes of laughter, two hearts full of love, four handfuls of understanding.
Blend in heaps of patience, generosity and understanding, and then season with a bushel of tenderness.
Sprinkle generously with abundant kindness.
Add endless faith, hope and trust and mix well.
Set the timer to match a lifetime. You’ll know you’ve achieved perfect results when you have multiple joyous memories that bring many smiles to your face.
Feel free to pass along this recipe to everyone you meet.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-1553-9
THE MARRIAGE RECIPE
Copyright © 2008 by Michele Dunaway.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
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The Marriage Recipe Page 18
