My Sweetheart (Book 3 in The Love and Dessert Trilogy)

by Guymon, Shannon

  Jane pulled back after a moment, laughing softly as she stared up into his bright warm brown eyes. “That’s a nice way to start the day,” she said as he kissed her again quickly before putting his arm around her.

  Jane sighed happily and then blinked in surprise at Kit’s and Layla’s shocked expressions. Tate moved forward, standing in front of her.

  “Layla, Kit, I guess Jane hasn’t told you, but we came to an understanding last night. Jane and I have decided that we belong together. I hope that’s okay with you. As her sisters and her only family, your blessing would mean the world to me,” he said.

  Layla’s eyes went wide and bright and she threw her arms around Tate’s neck, hugging him tightly. “Tate, I’m so happy! You have my blessing,” she said stepping back to cup his face in her hands. “I always said you were the brother I always wanted.”

  Tate smiled happily and turned to Kit. Kit tilted her head, smiling at him. “My only complaint is that it took you so long. We already love you Tate, you know that. Welcome to the family,” she said and reached up and kissed him on the cheek before hugging him.

  Jane grinned happily as Tate moved back and put his arm around her again. “Thank you both. I know I’ve made mistakes and I’ve been stubborn but I want you both to know that I’ll treat Jane like a queen. I love her,” he admitted quietly.

  Layla sighed happily and clapped her hands together. “This calls for a celebration. Tate, you’re coming for dinner Sunday at our new house. Kit, I want you and Hunter there too.”

  Kit smiled happily and then looked at Jane raising an eyebrow. “You know, you could have gotten out of that little lecture a minute ago, if you’d just opened your mouth this morning and told us everything. Seeing you dance around the kitchen all morning singing, had us wanting to kill Rob.”

  Tate looked down at Jane curiously. “Why didn’t you tell your sisters?”

  Jane shrugged before leaning her head against Tate’s chest and wrapping her arm around his waist. “Well, Kit you were tired and grumpy and Layla was kind of quiet and not herself either. I wanted to wait for the perfect moment to tell you my news.”

  Kit glared at her and reached over and yanked on her pony tail. “I’m tired, not dead. Next time you better tell me you stinker.”

  Jane laughed and nodded. Layla smiled at Jane and reached over and patted her cheek. “You’re right. I was tired and out of sorts this morning. I’m just not feeling well is all. But that doesn’t stop me from being ecstatic that you’re happy.”

  Jane sighed happily and closed her eyes to soak in the moment. A customer came in and Kit jumped to help her.

  “Tate, I know you have to go soon, but come in the kitchen for a minute. I made you something special this morning,” she said, pulling on his hand.

  Tate followed her to the kitchen. “You know falling in love with a baker is the best thing I’ve ever done,” he said glancing around the kitchen for his treat.

  Jane went to the fridge and pulled out a plate. “It’s a triple chocolate mousse torte. I thought of you the whole time I was making it,” she said handing him the plate and a fork.

  Tate took a bite and his entire face was lit up with pleasure, closing his eyes as he always did when tasting something she’d made. He shook his head before opening his eyes and smiled at her. “I think you’ve made the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted and then you surprise me with something even better. You’re an angel,” he said and put his half eaten dessert down.

  Jane glowed from the compliment. “You didn’t finish,” she said as he put his arms around her and pulled her in, kissing her. All thoughts of dessert immediately disappeared as heat and warmth wrapped around her.

  Layla’s voice had her jumping back though. “I guess this is payback for all the times Michael and I have tortured you.”

  Jane laughed and Tate looked slightly red in the face. “Sorry Layla. I’ll be on my way. I just had to stop by and see her for a moment,” he said picking up his plate and fork and eating the rest quickly.

  Jane walked him to the front door and kissed him quickly. Tate’s eyes narrowed a little as he looked down at her. “Come down today and fill out the paperwork for the restraining order. Please,” he added softly.

  Jane grimaced and nodded, waving at him as he hurried down the stairs and to his car. She stared out the window as he drove away, leaning her forehead against the glass as she smiled. She turned around and saw Layla and Kit grinning at her and she couldn’t hold it in any longer. She jumped up and down and pumped her fist in the air. “Whoo Hoo!” she yelled as her sisters joined her, yelling and jumping up and down as if they were at a Rave.

  When they finally calmed down they leaned against the glass case grinning at each other. “Well, you did it Jane. I just don’t know if he loves you more or your desserts,” Kit said with a grin.

  Layla snorted and stood up, stretching her back out. “I can answer that. It’s Jane. You should have seen what I had to walk in on just a few minutes ago. My eyelids still feel singed from the heat coming off those two. And there was the torte, sitting on the counter ignored.”

  Kit grinned and high fived Jane. Jane walked around the counter still smiling. “Well, it serves you right Layla. I’ve been traumatized by you and Michael and Kit and Hunter. It’s horrifying to know that at any moment you’re going to walk in on someone kissing.”

  Kit threw a towel at her and laughed. “Oh you poor thing. But honestly, that was the sweetest thing ever. Asking us for our blessing Layla, can you believe that? And the way he looked at you Jane,” she said sighing happily. “I fully take back all the mean things I was getting ready to say to you because I thought you were mooning over Rob.”

  Layla laughed and nodded her head in agreement. “I forgive Rob but not enough to let you fall in love with him. I was about to send you to Max in Texas if I had to. No, Tate will do perfectly. He’s absolutely beautiful, very sweet, good and kind. But he’s also tough enough to protect you. I won’t ever have to worry about you, knowing that you have Tate.”

  Jane’s eyes went soft and she nodded. “He’s amazing.”

  Kit hugged her quickly and then went to work as people began pouring in the bakery. She worked the counter until one, and Mandee came in to relieve them. She quickly changed into a simple skirt, t-shirt and sandals to go to the police station.

  Tate wasn’t there of course, but the police woman who had helped them when their father had been arrested the first time helped her again. Officer Johnson gave her the paper work to fill out and brought her over a water bottle too.

  “Tate told us to expect you today. All you have to do is fill out the forms. We’ll file them with the court but then you will need to attend a hearing. After the judge grants the restraining order, one of our police officers will serve the respondent.”

  Jane swallowed nervously hating the idea of having to stand in front of a judge and ask for protection, but it would make Tate and her sisters happy so she sat down and filled out the forms. She handed them to Officer Johnson and then hurried outside into the sun. It was supposed to rain later that evening, but right now, the day was perfect.

  She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and looked at the text.

  Help! Kam and his parents will be here in three hours! Help me! Help me! Help me!

  Jane laughed. Meredith was the biggest drama queen, but she was growing on her. Besides that, she had a huge soft spot in her heart for Kam. She stopped by the grocery store and then headed to Meredith’s house.

  She walked into Meredith’s front door and glanced around. Meredith still lived at home with her mom and dad and brother. She was the same age as Jane but was just finishing up her last semester of college. She would be graduating soon with a teaching degree.

  “Where are you?” Jane called, smiling at the cute pictures of Meredith and Tristan all over the hallway walls.

  Meredith poked her head down the hallway. “Back here!”

  Jane hurried to the back of t
he house where she could see Meredith standing over a large pot of boiling oil. It was starting to smoke and Jane squeaked and ran for the stove, turning the heat off and moving the pot to the back burner before turning and staring at Meredith in horror.

  “What are you doing? Are you trying to burn your house down? Holy crap Mer,” she muttered before rushing to the windows and opening them up to let fresh air in.

  Meredith bit her lip and shrugged. “What? I was just getting the oil ready to fry the corn tortillas. See, it says right here, fry the tortillas in oil,” she said picking up a recipe and waving it in her face.

  Jane gave her a half smile and took the recipe ignoring it. “No one likes cold tortillas. That’s the last thing you want to do. Second of all, you just need a shallow skillet to fry the tortillas. You had enough oil going to fry a turkey. When it starts to smoke like that, that’s a sign your oil is too hot,” she said, grateful that she had arrived when she did.

  Meredith slumped down on a bar stool and rested her head on her arms. “It’s impossible Jane. It’s going to be a disaster, I know it,” she said miserably.

  Jane laughed and massaged Meredith’s shoulders. “Don’t be dramatic. Now let’s get started on what you can do now. We can get the lettuce, the tomatoes and onions and everything else ready. I brought some ingredients over so you can make some fresh salsa. We can even do the meat now too and reheat it before they get here. Let’s get going,” she said, clapping her hands together.

  They worked together for the next hour, with Jane walking her through the prep work step by step. When they’d done everything they could do Jane helped her set the table.

  “Oh, what are you going to do for dessert?” she asked curiously as she straightened a water glass.

  Meredith groaned and looked away. “I’ve been so upset over dinner I didn’t even think of dessert,” she said glancing at the clock miserably. Kam and his parents would be there in less than hour.

  Jane frowned. “Why don’t you freshen up while I run to the bakery and see what we have left?”

  Meredith shook her head. “No, it has to be homemade. I have to be able to say honestly that I made everything.”

  Jane walked over to Meredith’s fridge and freezer and looked through her contents and she grinned. “Okay, you are so lucky. Here’s what we’ll do. Me and my friends did this all the time in college. We’ll use your box of ice cream sandwiches and put them in a small casserole pan. Then we layer whipping cream and chocolate sauce, caramel sauce and broken pieces of Heath bars and then we do one more layers. It looks amazing, tastes better and it looks like a dessert that took two hours to make.”

  Meredith’s eyes glowed with hope. “But I don’t have caramel sauce or Heath Bars. Will you run to the store for me and get what I need? I promise I’ll pay you back Jane. I swear, I owe you my life for this,” she said, pleading with her.

  Jane grinned and headed for the door. When she got back, she began unwrapping the ice cream bars and breaking the heath bars into little pieces. Meredith hurried down stairs and began assembling the easy dessert with Jane standing at her shoulder directing her every move. When they were done, Meredith looked at the dessert with her mouth hanging open.

  “I can’t believe I made something so yummy looking.”

  Jane laughed and pointed to the freezer. “Hurry before it melts.”

  The doorbell ringing had both girls jumping nervously. Meredith slipped the dessert in the freezer and shook her head in distress. “Please get the door Jane! I forgot to brush my teeth. Just have them sit in the living room and tell them I’ll be right down. Please!” she begged backing away.

  Jane grimaced and nodded, shooing her away. “Hurry,” she ordered.

  Meredith ran out of the room and Jane walked slowly toward the front door. She was very nervous at the idea of coming face to face with Toa and Pika. Knowing they were so set on Alea being with Tate probably meant that they weren’t going to be very pleased with her. She took in a shaky breath, put on a polite smile and opened the door.

  Tate and Alea were standing on the doorstep. Together. Not Toa. Not Pika.

  Tate’s eyes went wide in surprise although his expression didn’t change. Alea looked at her with a dark frown while Jane closed her mouth, licking her lips nervously.

  “Won’t you please come in? Meredith will be right down,” she said and watched as Alea grabbed Tate’s hand and pulled him inside and past her.

  Tate glanced down at her, with soft pleading eyes, but she looked away stonily. She followed them into the living room and leaned against the doorway as Tate and Alea took a seat.

  “I thought Kam and his parents were coming to dinner tonight,” Jane said dryly.

  Alea ignored her. “Kam told us he wanted us here tonight too,” Tate said somberly, watching her carefully.

  Jane nodded and looked away. Meredith hurried down the hallway looking pale and nervous with a tight smile on her face. Jane gestured to the two people sitting on the couch and she moved back and hurried to the kitchen. She grabbed her purse ignoring the chatter from the front room. She tried to ignore the pain ripping through her heart and pulled open the sliding glass door leading to the back yard. No way was she going back down the hallway past Tate and Alea.

  She hurried around the corner of the house and groaned in misery as she saw Toa, Pika and Kam pull up in a large Suburban. She pulled her head back and as soon as she heard the front door shut, she ran for her car parked across the street.

  This was not how she saw her day going when she’d been dancing around the bakery earlier. Or for that matter, when she’d been kissing Tate right after the man had taken a bite of a dessert she’d made especially for him. She could feel her hurt turn into anger as it simmered along her nerve endings. She ripped open her car door and threw her purse into the passenger seat and then felt a large hand grasp her elbow, pulling her back.

  “Eek!” she yelped as she turned around in surprise to see Tate looming over her. Her eyes narrowed furiously as she stared up at him silently.

  Tate sighed and put both of his hands on her shoulders. “This is not what it looks like,” he started.

  Jane snorted and looked away. “So says every man caught with another woman.”

  Tate closed his eyes and laughed slightly. “Did you see me kiss her? Hold her? Tell her I love her? Sweetheart, you didn’t catch me doing anything but being bullied into giving her a ride over.”

  Jane sniffed and refused to look at him. “So what you’re telling me is that you have told Alea that things are off between you two and that your Aunt and Uncle are fully aware of your feelings for me,” she said clenching her hands at her sides.

  Tate stared at her silently for a moment and then sighed. “Jane, you and I got together late last night and I just got off work an hour ago. I honestly haven’t had the time or opportunity to say anything to anybody. Especially something of this magnitude. I was thinking after dinner I would tell everyone. Jane . . . look at me,” he said softly, touching her cheek with his hand.

  Jane looked up, frowning at him. “How do you think I felt opening the door and seeing you two standing there together?”

  Tate grimaced and nodded. “I’m sorry you were hurt. Will you forgive me?” he asked, leaning down and kissing her cheek right by her ear before moving his hand to cup the back of her neck. “Please?”

  Jane bit her lip and nodded once. “Okay,” she whispered and then he was kissing her.

  After a few intense moments, he leaned his forehead against hers. “Can I come by and see you tonight?”

  Jane wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. “I’d like that,” she said simply and watched as he turned and walked back to Meredith’s house. He stopped at the door and looked back at her with a smile on his face and then he was gone.

  Jane drove home, feeling morose and gloomy. She’d been the one to help Meredith prepare the dinner and dessert. It should be her sitting next to Tate having dinner with Kam and Meredith
and his parents. Instead, she’d be alone.

  Chapter 12 – Forsaking

  Jane went running to get her mind off of the happy little dinner party she was missing. She only went three miles since it had been awhile. Back in college she’d made a habit of running every day to keep the stress down. Now that she was dating Tate, she might have to pick the habit up again. Kit was with Hunter shopping for Tuxedos and Layla was at home probably making dinner for Stella and Michael so she had the house to herself.

  It was strange to think of her sister as a mom and wife, but wonderful too. She finished her run and jogged up the stairs, locking the door and heading up for a shower. She decided to let her long brown hair air dry into soft waves and only did the minimum of makeup. She slipped on some yoga pants and a black t-shirt and took a book out to the front porch. She tried to get into the novel, but her mind kept slipping away to thoughts of Tate and his family.

  At eight o’clock she stood up and stretched her back and headed back inside. Obviously the dinner party was a success, she thought feeling grumpy. She wandered back to the kitchen and scanned the fridge. She took out a cup of crème brulee. She still remembered watching Tate’s face as he’d taken the first bite. She grinned at the memory and jumped as she heard three hard knocks on the front door.

  She walked, with her dessert cup and spoon in her hand to the front door. Tate. She opened the door and looked at him cautiously. He looked worn out and sad. Not good.

  “Hey, come on in,” she said, opening the door wide and stepping back.

  Tate stepped in, still dressed in the dark jeans and white button up shirt he’d worn to Meredith’s dinner. He rubbed a hand over the back of his hair and turned to look at her, his eyes dark and his mouth grim.

  “Come here,” he said and opened his arms to her.

  Jane moved into his arms, still holding her dessert and spoon. “They took it that well, huh?”

  Tate sighed and leaned his chin on top of her head. “They just need a little while to get used to the idea of me being with someone else.”