Rachel Read online

  “Celine, are you sure...” The line had gone dead and all Rachel could do was gather anything half decent together, then sit, and wait.

  True to her word, Celine appeared on her doorstep in ten minutes, looking in a state of disarray, so different from the well groomed image she always portrayed.

  “I hope no one saw me, I can’t remember the last time I left the house without make up.” She pushed her hair from her face. “I only had time to drag a comb through it. Still, it can wait. Now let’s see what we've got to work with.”

  Celine slipped into business mode, there was a reason she had the most popular plus size boutique in town. She gave Rachel three different dresses to try on, all suited her colouring and complexion, and emphasised the best bits of her fuller figure.

  “There, this one is great, it’s dressy enough for any restaurant, but not so much that you might look out of place walking along the beach or at a movie. Are you sure you have no idea where you are going?”

  “None.” Rachel looked at her reflection in the mirror. The woman looking back at her was someone she had never seen before. Celine had pinned her hair up, and the whole look was both feminine and sophisticated. “I don’t think I can do this.”

  “Sure you can. You look beautiful Rach. He will be bowled over, believe me.”

  “I don’t know.” Rachel said worriedly. “I can’t see why he asked me out.”

  “Because he’s got good taste. What does he do?”

  “He’s a builder.”

  “Oh, my. The guy from across the road? That sounds like fun. I bet he’s fit, you go for it.”

  “I think he’s very rich.”

  “Even better.”

  “But he must be used to taking out women that know how to behave. It seems as though I always say the wrong thing.”

  “Nonsense. I’ve seen you in your shop, your customers love you.”

  “That’s different.” Rachel sighed, the clock told her she had to leave in two minutes or she would have no cakes to sell. “When we were growing up I always seemed to be upsetting someone.”

  Celine laughed. “There are seven of us, we we're always upsetting each other. You got the hardest job, you were trying to play with dolls while half of us had hit the teenage years. In no way do I envy you that.”

  “I always thought you all resented me.”

  Celine wrapped her arms around Rachel, looking at her little sister in the mirror. “No. We all love you, and it’s time you accepted yourself and gave love a chance. It’s time you stopped being the little sister and became a young woman.”

  “Celine, thank you so much.”

  “That’s what sisters are for. Now, you get changed for work, and I’ll come half an hour before you close to help you dress and do your hair before you go on your date.”

  Rachel hugged her sister, and then carefully took the dress off and gave it to Celine. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. If nothing else I am going to come and make sure you don’t talk yourself out of this.”

  “Thank you. It might be a good idea.” She smiled at her sister weakly.

  Celine laughed. “You will be OK. Now, if you have finished with me, it’s time I went back to bed.”

  She let herself out; Rachel quickly dressed for work, scraping her hair back into a ponytail before heading out the door to start her day. Within an hour, she was back on schedule, her nervous energy doing wonders for her speed at mixing ingredients. Luckily, it did nothing to stop her cakes turning out perfectly, and by the time the shop opened, she was settled in work mode, having pushed everything else out of her mind.

  Thankfully, she had a busy day; the sunshine increased the amount of passing trade. Most of the cakes had sold out by the time Celine arrived as promised, she had already made a start on clearing away and washing up display trays. She had the routine down to a fine art, thankfully, especially as this was Rosemary's day off and she had to get everything done herself.

  “Hey there. You look as though you’ve had a busy day. I will happily take anything you have left with me.”

  “Sure, I’ll box them up for you. Any special reason?”

  “No, I’m meeting up with Susie later. She’s really down in the dumps.”

  “I know. She was in here a couple of days ago. She really thought Mark was the one, didn’t she?”

  Celine was hanging the pretty dress up, and sorting out her hair accessories in the small bathroom ready for Rachel. “Yes, she did.”

  “Do you ever wonder if it’s worth it? Dating?”

  Celine burst out laughing. “Oh yes! Wait and see when you are head over heels in love. I forget that you’ve lived like a nun.”

  Rachel blushed. “I guess seeing you all in floods of tears over men put me off.”

  Celine stopped what she was doing and looked hard at Rachel. “Rach, I am sorry. I never gave it much thought how it looks from the outside. Is that really why you avoided men?”

  She thought for a moment. “I guess that was a big part of it. And then I decided I wanted my own shop and worked at that instead of wasting my time with men.”

  Celine sighed. “Promise me you will stop thinking like that. Relationships are never a waste of time. OK. We need to get you dressed.”

  Rachel slipped her dress on while Celine minded the shop. Luckily, it was quiet at this time of day and so with Celine’s quick fingers she soon had Rachel’s hair under control and looking neat and tidy. Not a dusting of flour in sight.

  “There.” Celine now let Rachel look in the mirror, and the image was remarkable.

  “I can’t thank you enough.”

  Celine looked at her watch. “You are more than welcome. Now I am going to help you finish here and then disappear. But you have to promise me you will let me know how you get on.”

  “I promise.”

  Celine took care of any jobs that might mess up Rachel’s dress. They worked quickly, and Rachel was thankful to Celine for being there, it meant she could not sit and dwell on her date. Instead, Celine joked and chatted, giving her a brief kiss on the cheek and disappearing out of the back door with only five minutes to spare.

  Her final words to Rachel were, “Promise me you will enjoy yourself. Do not obsess over everything. Be yourself.”

  “What if he doesn’t come?”

  “Then he’s a fool. And from what you’ve said he isn't.” She hugged Rachel again. “Don’t obsess.”

  “I don’t.”

  “Of course you don’t. I love you. Call me.”

  All at once, Rachel found herself alone, and scared to death. The dress and her hair felt ridiculous. For a moment, she nearly pulled the pins out of her hair, and wondered about changing back into her work jeans.

  Before she had a chance to act the shop door opened, and there he stood. She could hardly breathe, and more than anything wanted to duck behind the counter and hide. When he smiled her heart clenched with panic, but her face did something completely involuntary and she knew she was grinning back at him like a fool.

  Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward, going around the counter, forcing herself to put one foot in front of the other. She could do this. Panic took over again though when she saw his face. He was taking a good look at her, from the style of her hair to the way the dress hung on her, making her waist look smaller and her breasts look voluptuous.

  “Wow!”

  She should have been pleased with such a reaction. Rachel did not know how to take it, and blurted out, “Am I over dressed?”

  “No. You look beautiful. Perfect.”

  She blushed and ran her hands over the dress, smoothing the skirt down, trying not to shake with nerves. “My sister let me borrow it.”

  He came towards her and touched her arm, kissing her on the cheek. “You don’t have to tell me all your secrets.”

  “Sorry.” The word tumbled out, although she did not know for sure if she had anything to be sorry about. Instead, her mind was consumed by the closeness of him; her
body reacted so easily to him she felt out of control.

  “Don’t be.” He took her hand, the warmth of his skin searing into her. She tried to listen to what he was saying, but it was hard to concentrate. “Have you locked up?”

  “I need to lock the front door and then we can go out the back if that's OK with you. Unless you want to go out the front door and wait for me out there.” Babble mode had firmly been engaged.

  “Oh, no. I am not letting you out of my sight. I’ll come with you.”

  She locked the front door and they went out through the kitchen. Her memory of the night before and the way he had touched her so intimately still vividly etched in her mind. Needing to get out of there fast she shot outside, enjoying the cool breeze on her cheeks, although it did nothing for the other kind of heat that filled her.

  “I spoke to a friend who's a mechanic. He'll come and look at your van on Monday,” James said, standing back and letting her lock up.

  “You didn’t have to. I could sort it out.”

  “I wanted to. Although I can’t say I’m sorry it broke down on you. If it hadn't then we would never have had a chance to get to know each other a little bit more.”

  She turned and looked at him, taking in the way he was dressed for the first time. He was casually smart, dark pants with a light blue shirt that skimmed his muscles. The top button was undone, and she could see his tanned skin above it and she wanted to stand here right now and undo one button at a time, kissing his flesh as it appeared.

  Her fingers itched to touch the springy hair of his chest and then to rub his nipples, and kiss them. Her gaze lowered, and the bulge in his pants told her he was having similar thoughts.

  He cleared his throat, breaking the spell. “I think we should get going, if you keep looking at me like that I really am going to have trouble keeping my hands to myself.”

  “Sorry,” she said again.

  “It is not your fault. I know the effect I have on women.”

  She looked at him sharply, surprised by his conceited attitude.

  “That was a joke. I am more worried about the effect that dress might have on other men. I hadn't intended to have to fight for your attention tonight.”

  “Do you want me to change?” Her voice showing her obvious naivety around men.

  He came towards her, and put a hand on each of her arms. She looked up at him confused.

  “No. I do not want you to change. But you have to stop apologising about everything.” He kissed her lips lightly. “My sense of humour takes a bit of getting used to. But in this, I am not joking. You have no idea how ravishing you look. But I am on my best behaviour.”

  He let her go and took her hand again, leading her towards where his car was parked around the front. “Unless you say otherwise. Of course.”

  She grinned, and decided to enjoy his company. No more apologising, she was going to have fun with him. Although she still thought he was joking about how good she looked.

  He took her to a restaurant by the beach. They were seated outside, which was perfect. It offered them a fantastic view, and it seemed more private than being seated in a room full of strangers. Looking around she was pleased she had taken Celine’s advice on the dress. She fitted in perfectly.

  After sipping her chilled wine, she began to relax and enjoy herself. A thrill rushing through her body every time she remembered she was on a date, with James. She could have sat and stared at him all night, if they did not say a word she would not mind, he was heaven simply to look at.

  However they soon got into a conversation about their respective upbringings, and so she had to stop staring. Although every time he smiled, she could not drag her eyes away from his lips, something he noticed, and found amusing.

  “So, six sisters. Where do you fit in?”

  “At the bottom. I am the youngest.”

  “The baby. Was that tough?”

  “I didn’t think so when I was really young. They all mothered me. There are three years between me and Clare, the next youngest. I think my parents had made up their minds not to have any more children, and then my Mom fell pregnant with me.”

  “And when you got older,” he prompted.

  “I found myself in a perfect storm of female hormones. I have no idea how my father lived with us all. There always seemed to be some kind of drama going on. Boys, clothes, you name it girls seem to be able to argue over it.”

  “Do you get on better now?”

  “Yes. We all live independent lives. I think that helps, we are always there for each other. I still feel like the outsider, the baby.” She sipped her wine; this was the first time she had talked about her upbringing with anyone. It made her a little uncomfortable to examine her feelings about her family, so she changed the subject. “How about you? Do you only have one sister?”

  “Yes.”

  Their food arrived and he paused while the waiter served them and lingered for a few minutes to check everything was satisfactory. The food was delicious; in fact, the evening could not be more perfect. Rachel tucked into her food while James continued.

  “I can relate to your childhood, my sister Jane is seven years younger than me. We had a bit of a fractious childhood relationship. When she was a toddler, all she wanted to do was steal my Lego, and then when I was a teenager she just cramped my style. It wasn’t until she grew up that we started to have any kind of a relationship.”

  “And now she's getting married.”

  He snorted. “Yes. Boy was that hard to get my head around. She’s barely out of college and she's getting married. At first I thought she must be pregnant or something. It’s taken a long time to realise she's doing the right thing. Now I want to make up for the past and give her a good start. They don’t have much money, but they're happy. My parents are paying for the wedding, but they don’t know about the house. It’s a surprise.”

  “Quite a surprise I would imagine.”

  “Yes. But then I want to thank her for teaching me about love. I went mad about her getting married. She taught me that you never know where love is going to come from, and when you see it, you can’t be afraid to grab hold of it with both hands and hang on. No matter what.”

  “I can’t wait to meet her,” said Rachel, then realised how presumptuous that sounded. “Not because I want you to tell them I’m your girlfriend. I meant about the wedding cake.”

  “I am more than happy to introduce you to them as my girlfriend.” His hand covered hers. “Like I said, I have learned that love can come out of anywhere. I think I found mine in your cake shop.”

  All of a sudden, the night seemed incredibly hot, and Rachel could no longer taste her food. James consumed her senses.

  Chapter Four

  James insisted on settling the bill, despite her efforts to pay half. She was used to paying for herself, and did not want to feel indebted to him in any way.

  “Shall we make the most of the evening and go for a walk along the beach?” he asked.

  “That would be lovely,” she answered, hoping she would not ruin Celine’s dress.

  Walking hand in hand it all felt so natural, as though they had been together for years. He told her about his business, and asked her about hers. She never thought it was possible to have so much in common with a man like James.

  “Your parents must be very proud of you,” Rachel said.

  “Yes, they are. However, they have always told me to be happy. Money means nothing if you are not happy in what you do.”

  “I suppose they are right. And are you happy?”

  He looked at her strangely, and her stomach did a back flip, causing a delicious tingling sensation to spread through her body. “I thought I was. But more and more I’m beginning to realise that there is a part of my life that I have ignored for a long time.”

  He stopped walking, and turned towards her, placing his hands on her shoulders. His touch caused her to shiver, but it was not from the coolness of the evening air. It was from the thrill of excit
ement that was growing more and more intense with every moment he was near.

  She knew that if he asked her she would do whatever his body demanded of hers. No matter what the consequences. Maybe it was her naivety showing itself again, a more experienced woman would be able to resist temptation.

  Her heart almost stopped beating when he bent his head and kissed her. His lips brushed hers, and he waited for her reaction before deepening the kiss. Rachel had no choice but to open her mouth for him and allow him access. His tongue slid along her soft, sensitive flesh, and she clung to him, her hands fisting his shirt to support herself.

  She pressed her body against his, unaware of the effect she had on him. However, he planned to be a complete gentleman tonight. He had learned from their previous encounter in the kitchen that she did not realise the way her curvaceous body made him react. It was for this reason that he broke the kiss and took her hand again, leading them on along the beach in silence.

  Rachel was racked with confusion, had she done something wrong, or did her lips not please him. She had wanted more, and would have allowed him to take what he wanted. Now she worried he did not want her at all. Her lack of experience exasperated her.

  “I wondered if you would come and meet my sister tomorrow. If you aren't busy.”

  Well at least he wanted to see her again, even if it was for business rather than pleasure. “Of course. I’ll bring my portfolio, then we can discuss ideas for her cake.”

  “That would be fantastic. She is getting a bit stressed about it all, so any advice you can give her would be great.”

  “When is the wedding?”

  “June. So you have some time, Emily is worried nothing will be ready on time so it would be great to have this sorted out for her.”

  “No problem. It must be nerve racking, arranging a wedding.”

  “My Mom's helping, but she wants everything to be perfect. I guess all brides do.”

  “I guess. None of us have got married yet, so I have no first hand experience.”

  “Maybe you'll be the first,” he said, turning to her and winking.