by Jamie Pope
“I’m lucky to be loved by you.”
She smiled at him, but she was feeling a little sad because she wanted him to say it back. She needed to hear him say it back that time. It was what she needed in order to know if this relationship could move forward or not.
She got to the center early for a staff meeting that ended up being canceled. She was glad for the extra time she had before her class started. It was time away from Chase to think, away from his soothing deep voice and his warm arms. They hadn’t discussed their relationship once, what he wanted from her, what was next.
Part of her was tempted to let it go. To just be with him as long as she possibly could before it ended. Because she didn’t think she could walk away from him right now. She didn’t want to see him hurt again.
“Excuse me, Amber?” She looked up to see Nadia Drayson just inside her classroom and for a moment she was too stunned to speak.
“Mrs. Drayson. Hello. I—I... Are you meant to be here?”
“Yes, Amber. I don’t often go to places I’m not meant to be. I came to see you.”
“I hope this isn’t one of those ‘stay away from my son or else’ conversations—frankly, after the past few days, I’m not up to it.”
Nadia laughed and Amber was once again blown away by how beautiful she was. She was elegant in a way that Amber could never dream of being and in her she saw little bits of Chase, Jackson and Mariah. “Of course I’m not here to tell you to stay away from Chase. Although, I was surprised when I learned that you had broken up with him. You two didn’t seem very broken up at the hospital. A blind person could see how much you love him.”
“Is it that obvious? Do I look like one of those pathetic, love-struck women with her heart in her eyes?”
“Yes, but only a little. A mother likes to see that for her son. It’s nice to know that he has a woman who will stick by him in bad times.” Nadia walked closer. “What if I told you that Chase got wiped out by a bad investment and he’s starting from scratch again?”
“Really?” Amber perked up. “That would make it easier for me to love him.”
Nadia laughed again. “I must say I was expecting some kind of worry to cross your face, or maybe sheer terror, but you said the last thing I would expect any woman to say.”
“I don’t want anyone to think that I’m with him for what he has. And I don’t want him to support me. I want to be his equal. His partner. I want to take care of him as much as he wants to take care of me.”
“And you do that. You take care of his soul and his spirit. My son is truly happy with you and that is priceless.”
“You don’t think he’s too good for me?”
“He’s my firstborn. I think he’s too good for everyone. But if I had to choose for him, I would choose you. And that’s why I’m doing this for you.” She reached into her bag and handed her a piece of paper with a name and address on it. “Chase called me yesterday, asking me if I knew anyone with connections in the jewelry world because he knew you missed your meeting with the store owner while you were nursing him. I told him I didn’t, but I do and I had already showed the piece you gave me to my friend who is a buyer for all the Fine’s department stores in this region. She loved this piece and wants to start out with an order of one hundred. She wants to see what else you can do, so bring your best work.”
Amber just looked at Nadia, feeling near tears and not sure what to say. “Thank-you doesn’t seem like a big enough word.”
“You don’t have to thank me.” She touched Amber’s arm. “Just make my son happy.”
“Why didn’t you want him to know about your contact?”
“I didn’t want you or him to think that he was doing this for you. I believe in your work and I feel strongly that women need to help each other out when they can. But Chase believes in you. I hope you realize that. My son has never come to me for help before and that’s a testament to how much he loves you.”
“Can I hug you?”
“I think that would be appropriate.”
“Thank you.” She hugged her tightly, feeling a rush of love for the woman she barely knew.
“You’re welcome. I expect a one-of-a-kind piece for the charity ball I’m throwing next month. I would like the stones to be emerald to match my dress. And make sure you have a gown. I think tangerine would look lovely on you.”
“Maybe you can go shopping with me?”
“We’ll bring Mariah and make it a day.” She pulled away from her and left, leaving Amber still feeling a little dazed about what had just happened.
Her students started to funnel in a few minutes later and she started her class. She was in the middle of discussing the upcoming craft fair when there was a knock at the door. She looked up to see Jackson walk in with a large tray, followed by Mariah with bottles of nonalcoholic sparkling cider. Her mother walked in, too, and then Chase who was carrying a small bakery box.
“What are you all doing here?”
“We wanted the kids to try out our new cupcake flavors.” Chase kissed her cheek.
“You came up with a flavor?”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t tell me? We’ve been working on this for weeks!”
He grinned at her and kissed her cheek again, which prompted some giggles from her students.
“I told you he was her boyfriend,” one of them said.
“Help us pass these out,” Chase said to her.
“Okay.” She studied the cupcakes, which had a beautiful thick white icing and a very yellow cake and what looked to be a dash of cinnamon on top. “Mariah, did you bake these? They are beautiful.”
“It’s Chase’s recipe. He did a beautiful job decorating them, too. If I had known he was good at this, I would have had him in the kitchen a long time ago.
“When did you have time to do this? How did you do this?”
“This is what I was doing when I told you I was at the doctor. Your mother helped.”
“Mom?” Amber looked at her mother who was busy pouring cider.
“They used my kitchen.” She shrugged.
“I learned a few things from her,” Mariah said. “I’ll be calling your mother for more advice.”
“What? You were there, too?”
“Of course. I had to be there. This was important.”
“Why wasn’t I invited?” she asked, feeling a little bewildered.
“Because I wanted to surprise you.” He handed her the bakery box that he had carried in. “These are just for you.”
“We’ll take these home. I’ll just grab one of the leftover ones from the tray.” She turned away from him, took one of the cupcakes off the tray and sank her teeth into it. “Wow.” She looked at Chase. “This is my mama’s banana pudding! You made this?” she said, taking another bite. “This is amazing. How did you come up with the idea?”
“You were right. I stopped thinking so hard about it and it came to me. I was eating your mother’s homemade banana pudding and thought this would be perfect.”
“It was smart.”
“Thank you. Now can you stop ruining my proposal?”
“What?” She wasn’t sure she had heard him right, but her heart was pounding uncontrollably.
Chase went down on his knee, a gorgeous grin on his face. “Open the cupcake box.” He handed it back to her.
“Oh.” Her eyes filled with tears. There were two rows of mini cupcakes spelling out the words Marry Me. She looked back down at him and he was holding a diamond ring in his hand. She couldn’t believe it. It was so soon. Just minutes before, she was wondering if their relationship could ever last and now he was before her, asking her to be his wife. “You want to marry me?” she whispered.
“I had no concept of what love really was until I met you. I think I fell in l
ove with you the first time you smiled at me. You make me think about life in a different way. You make me happier than I have ever been and there is no one else in the world I would rather be with. So please, Amber, will you marry me?”
There were a hundred practical reasons to say no, but she couldn’t think of any of them right now. She only knew that she wanted to be with him, that life without him was unbearable. “I love you, Chase. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you. Of course I’ll marry you.” Chase got to his feet and pulled her into a long kiss. There was an explosion of cheers from their family and the girls.
“I want the world for you,” he whispered in her ear. “Your dreams are my dreams and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure they come true.”
“I want to do something for you, Chase. But there is nothing I can think of that’s enough.”
“You can love me. That’s enough. You can let me love you and spoil you sometimes and give you things because that will make me happy.”
“I know. I’m a work in progress. Promise you’ll be patient with me.”
“I’ll promise if you let me take you away.”
“Take me away?”
“First on a pre-honeymoon to Snoqualmie Falls. Next to see the world. I want to see the world with you. My whole life I was looking for someone to have an adventure with and now I’ve found that person in you.”
“I love you.” She kissed him. “I’m excited. We are going to have one hell of a great journey.”
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781488003615
Love and a Latte
Copyright © 2016 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Jamie Pope for her contribution to The Draysons: Sprinkled with Love
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