There was a murmur of agreement that rippled through the crowd. She read off the winning ticket number. Jillian watched as everyone pulled out their tickets. She didn’t have any. She had absolutely no use for a room at the Graff Hotel, much less the honeymoon suite.
Her gaze strayed back to Avery as he moved the cookies from the hot baking sheet to a cooling rack. He looked like a real pro up there. She smiled. Jillian was so happy she’d been able to help him…even if things had gotten a little complicated at times.
“So who is our winner?” Mrs. Monroe scanned the crowd but no one raised their hand. “Come on. Don’t be shy. I know someone here won. Check your numbers again.” She read off the lucky number again.
Still, no one raised their hand.
And then Mrs. Monroe said, “I think I have an idea.” She turned to face the bachelors. “Gentlemen, I know you’re all busy, but if any of you bought raffle tickets, you need to check them now.”
A few men reached into their pockets and pulled out a strip of tickets. Jillian smiled, knowing one of them had won and wondering which one. But when Avery set aside the spatula and reached into his pocket, the smile faded from her face.
Please don’t let it be him.
Her pulse raced. Everyone who was anyone in town was here tonight, including her mother. If he were to win the honeymoon suite, everyone would once again think they were a couple. That at last they had worked things out and they were going to have a happily-ever-after.
But it wasn’t the case. It didn’t matter that when he stared at her, her stomach dipped. And when she was close to him, she couldn’t resist inhaling his manly scent. And that at night, her dreams were filled with him. Because in the end, he’d told her in no uncertain terms that he didn’t want another family. They had no chance for anything more than what they had now—an awkward friendship.
“What was the number again?” Avery asked.
Jillian’s heart sank. She should leave, but her feet were unwilling to move. It was like watching a looming accident and not being able to turn away.
Mrs. Monroe repeated the number and with every digit Avery nodded his head.
“That’s it,” he said, looking pleased that he had the winning ticket.
“Wonderful!” Mrs. Monroe beamed as she rushed over and verified that it was indeed the winning ticket. “Congratulations. I bet Jillian is excited too.”
Oh no! At last jarred from her stupor, she turned and slipped out a side door. She started walking down the long hallway, away from everyone. There was no way she was going to stick around for this.
How could Avery have done this? Didn’t he realize what people were going to say? Anger and embarrassment burned inside her. She headed straight for the back exit. Lucky for her, it was unlocked to let the vendors and suppliers come and go. The cold air felt good against her heated skin.
She wanted to keep going, but she couldn’t. She had to return to the stall unless she found someone to fill in for her.
She reached for her phone and started texting Suzanna:
Jillian: Something came up. Have to leave. Can you watch over the stall?
Suzanna: Are you feeling all right?
Obviously Suzanna had missed the thing with the winning ticket. And then she recalled that they’d sold so many bands that Suzanna had run back to the car to get more.
Jillian: I just got a sudden headache.
It wasn’t far from the truth. Not far at all. Right now her temples pulsed and her stomach churned. She’d be better once she got home. Hopefully by tomorrow the rumors and innuendos would die down. Jillian knew that was as likely to happen as the sun not rising tomorrow.
Suzanna: I’ve got it. Go home. I’ll see you tomorrow.
Jillian got the t and h of her thank-you message typed when she heard her name being called. She glanced up to see Avery charging toward her.
“Hey, where are you going?” he asked, as though he hadn’t realized what he’d done.
“I’m leaving.” She finished typing the rest of her message to Suzanna before slipping the phone in her pocket.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I do. Didn’t you see all of those people? Their gazes were going from you to me and back again.”
“So what? You know they get excited about the slightest thing.”
The slightest thing? Is that what he thought about her feelings? That they were a slight thing? Or was he totally oblivious to everything?
Just in case he really didn’t understand what was at stake here, she intended to tell him. “This isn’t some little bit of gossip. They think that you and I are finally a couple.”
“So they’re wrong.”
She shook her head. “I’m not going through this again.”
“Again? What’s that supposed to mean?”
She was just angry enough at that moment not to be embarrassed when she admitted everything to him. “That when I used to work for you—that they all thought—that I thought—things between us were going to turn serious. The whole town was talking about it. That we made a good pair. They would ask me all the time if we were getting married.”
Avery raked his fingers through his hair. “But I don’t understand. You and I, we never even dated.”
“You don’t have to tell me. Obviously they were all wrong. Because no matter what I did, you never noticed me in that way. Even when I asked you to the Christmas Stroll.”
His eyes widened. “But I couldn’t. You worked for me. And—”
“It doesn’t matter now.”
“Of course it matters.”
“I’m not doing this. I’m not dealing with the questions and assumptions again. I’m leaving.” She turned and started to walk away as fast as her legs would carry her.
“Jillian, don’t go. I’ll fix this.”
She didn’t even want to know what that meant because there was no way he could fix this. Because she’d been fooling herself when she told herself that she was over him. She wasn’t. Not at all. It’s the reason none of her other relationships had worked out.
She was in love with a man who didn’t want a future with her.
Chapter Sixteen
He wasn’t giving up.
Not on purchasing the ranch. And not on Jillian.
The more time Avery spent with Jillian, the more convinced he became that there was something between them—something more than friendship. Perhaps he’d moved too fast. And winning the raffle drawing for the honeymoon suite had been the ultimate in bad luck.
At the time, he thought he’d been doing a good thing when he bought those raffle tickets. He had a history of never winning those giveaways anyway. He’d actually never even bothered to ask about the prize.
And to top it off, his mishap with the butter had cost him the first round of the Bake-Off. As it was the local vet, Matthew West, won it with his chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Avery sighed and shook his head as he sat in his pickup. He sure hoped the second round of the competition went better.
It was Monday evening, time for his prearranged baking lesson with Jillian. They’d settled on lessons three nights a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. He hadn’t heard from Jillian since round one of the Bake-Off. He thought of calling her to see if she still wanted to work with him, but he knew it would be too easy for her to turn him away. And if he were truthful with himself, he didn’t want that. He wanted to continue with these baking lessons.
That fact surprised him. He was the one who didn’t want anything to do with this Bake-Off originally and now he was looking for ways to keep going. He knew he had a competitive streak, but there was something more to this desire.
Jillian’s face came to mind. She’d been so good to him. He just didn’t understand how she’d jumped to the conclusion that he would do anything to hurt her. In fact, the opposite was true.
He pulled his truck up in Jillian’s driveway. He was relieved to find her car there. Now he just wondered how he’d get past the fron
t door. He thought of coming armed with flowers, but he didn’t want to repeat Glenn’s gesture. Instead, Avery arrived empty-handed but armed with a heartfelt apology.
He stepped up to her door and paused. He sucked in a deep breath, leveled his shoulders, and knocked. When there was no response, he knocked with a little more force.
“Coming,” Jillian said.
Well, that had to be a good sign. He was half-expecting her to tell him to go away. Unless she was expecting someone else. The thought of Glenn came to mind. Avery’s jaw tensed.
The door swung open. Jillian stood there in jeans and a red top that clung to all of her amazing curves. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She wasn’t smiling, but at least she hadn’t slammed the door in his face.
“Well, don’t stand out there. Come in. It’s cold out.”
He stepped inside. “You look nice. Were you expecting someone else?”
He braced himself for her answer. The memory of Glenn claiming that Jillian was his girlfriend came to mind. Avery had hoped she would see through that man’s charade. He wasn’t good for her and if Avery could tell that within a couple of minutes of meeting him, he didn’t want to imagine the damage Glenn could do to Jillian’s life if given enough time.
She laced her fingers together. “No. Well, yes. You. We need to talk.”
Oh no. He knew that tone. He was in trouble. “Listen, about the raffle. I’m sorry. I didn’t know what the tickets were for. I thought I was just making a donation. I never thought I’d win. I didn’t want to win. I just wanted to make a contribution to Harry’s House.”
Jillian waved off his explanation. “You don’t have to apologize. But I do. I overreacted.”
What? Had he heard her correctly? She was apologizing?
She moved into the living room and sat down on the chair. “I thought I had put everything in the past—the rumors about us—the expectations that we’d get married—all of it. You know how small this town is. And I’m sure you couldn’t avoid all of the gossip while I was working for you. Everyone thought we were the up-and-coming ‘it’ couple.”
He’d ignored it at the time. It had been so much easier. He’d had so many responsibilities back then that he couldn’t take on any more. But he couldn’t lie to Jillian. And he couldn’t hide from the truth any longer.
“I heard the rumors. But I ignored them and figured the people repeating them had too much time on their hands.”
“And now they are talking again.” Jillian frowned.
“Because I won the honeymoon suite?”
Jillian nodded. “That and because we’re spending so much time together.”
Avery’s thoughts turned to her relationship with Glenn. Avery was certain Glenn wouldn’t have been happy about the raffle win or the gossip. Avery considered inquiring about him but decided he wouldn’t like the answer. After all, Glenn appeared to be well enough off by the looks of his clothes and the car. He could offer Jillian a good life. And if Avery couldn’t purchase the ranch, he wouldn’t have anything to offer Jillian. He’d be heading back out on the rodeo circuit.
Avery gave some consideration as to how best to handle this situation. He could only come up with one answer and he didn’t like it. “I don’t want to cause you more problems. I’ll be going.”
“No. Don’t. You can stay.”
“I think it’s better that I go. This way the gossip will die down. I never meant for anything like this to happen. I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea and make this worse for you.” He just couldn’t bring himself to mention Glenn’s name.
“I mean it. Stay. I shouldn’t let what people say bother me so much.”
He was torn between staying and going. But when he looked into her eyes and saw the open honesty in them, his decision was made. “Then we better get to work. I don’t know anything about making a caramel apple pie except that I enjoy eating it.”
So they set to work. Once the apples were peeled, cored, and soaking, they got to work on the crust. He quickly learned there were only a handful of ingredients: butter, flour, salt, and water. It sure seemed simple enough, at the time.
With Jillian working next to him, he watched as she cut the butter into the flour and salt. He did the same until the mixture resembled coarse crumbs. And then they added the icy cold water, a tablespoon at a time until the dough formed a smooth ball.
He smiled at Jillian. “I think I’ve got it.”
“Now for the next important step, rolling out the dough for the crust.”
Okay. He had no idea what that entailed. But Jillian had thought ahead and borrowed her mother’s rolling pin so she could show him what to do. She went first and explained everything she was doing and then he tried it.
It took a few tries to get the rolling motion down. He spent a lot of time making the dough even. But when he went to lift it, the middle was completely stuck to the counter.
“Oh no,” Jillian said. “You don’t have enough flour on the counter to keep it from sticking.”
He gathered the dough, cleaned the counter, spread a liberal amount of flour over the counter, and tried again. He’d keep trying like he had with the cookies until he got it. And this time he wouldn’t let himself get distracted at the competition like he had with the butter and let it burn. When the two pies were assembled, they slid them in the oven. Avery breathed a sigh of relief.
By the time the pies came out of the oven, the dishes were washed up and he was getting tired. Who knew that baking could be such hard work?
“Well, now that those are done, I should get out of your way,” he said.
“They aren’t done.”
“They aren’t?”
She shook her head. “Well, the pie is but you aren’t. This is a baking competition so you’re going to want to make the top of the pie as appealing as possible. We’ll work on making a lattice top when you come over for your next lesson on Wednesday.”
He swallowed hard. “I have to make it pretty too?”
She smiled and nodded. “It is a competition.”
“But I thought pie was served with a scoop of ice cream on top.”
“Yes, you can do it that way. Or you can slice the pie carefully and let your hard work speak for itself by not hiding it under the ice cream.”
“All right. You’re the boss.”
She shook her head. “Not the boss. Just the mentor. In the end, it’s your pie to do as you see fit.”
At this point, he said good night. This evening had gone far better than he’d hoped. It made him optimistic for the future—their future. But before he could make a serious play for Jillian, he needed to have his life sorted.
His thoughts drifted back to buying the ranch. He’d given the idea of taking on a partner some serious thought. It couldn’t be just anyone. Time and again, he thought of Blake, who respected the land and animals like he did.
Chapter Seventeen
She couldn’t get behind. Not today.
Wednesday afternoon arrived quickly. Jillian had been pushing herself all day to stay on top of things. There were emails to answer, supply orders to place, and a special order necklace to make. It all had to be completed by the end of the day. And she couldn’t fall behind.
Tonight was her next baking lesson with Avery. And not only did they have to go over making a decorative pie top, but she also had to show him how to finish it with a caramel glaze. She would have to see if she could find a fluted pastry cutter on the way home. A lattice top for this type of pie was risky since it was unusual, but she felt it would really set it apart.
Suzanna glanced up from where she was working on a new figurine. “And what has you smiling?”
“Nothing in particular.”
“Uh-huh. I’ve never seen you smile like that for me.”
Jillian schooled her features into a serious expression, even though inside she was still smiling. “Who says that I’m smiling about someone?”
“I do. I’ve known you since we were in
kindergarten. And something is up, so out with it.”
“It’s no big deal.” That was a lie. It was a great big deal. “I’ve decided that I’ve let the town’s gossip dictate too much of my life and from now on I’m doing what I please with whom I please and they can say whatever they want.”
Suzanna smiled. “Well, it’s about time.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That I’ve watched you over the years shy away from things you want because you’re afraid that it’ll upset your mother or get the gossips started. As one person who has recently been the highlight of the town gossip, I can tell you that what they say means nothing. Most of the time they have their facts all wrong.”
Jillian remembered everything Suzanna had to endure after she got stood up at the altar. That had been such a tragic time in Suzanna’s life. It was still only less than a year ago, but Suzanna seemed to have worked through most of it, although she was still leery of dating.
“I’m sorry you had to go through all of that,” Jillian said.
Suzanna shrugged. “I guess it could have been worse.”
“How’s that?”
“He could have married me.”
“That’s true.” Jillian couldn’t imagine getting married to someone who didn’t love her back. “I’m sure you’ll find a really great guy who will deserve you and treat you like a queen.”
Suzanna laughed. “I don’t know about that. First, we have to get you all situated.”
“Situated? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you have two men fighting for your attention. You need to pick one.”
She shook her head. “There’s no one to pick.”
“So you like them fighting over you?”
“What are you talking about? I told Glenn to leave me alone. As for Avery, we’re just friends.”
Suzanna got an oh-no-I-said-too-much look on her face. “I should get back to work.”
“Oh no, you shouldn’t. What did you mean about Avery and Glenn fighting over me?”
Sprinkled with Love Page 15