Raspberry Kisses (The Bakery Romance Series Book 1) (24 page)

“Why are you frowning?” Martin’s terse tone made Rhea pause. He gripped the steering wheel, staring at the windshield.

“Why are you upset?”

“Because we were having a nice dinner, I finally feel like you’re getting to know more about me. Then Raven’s friend interrupts our meal, and ruins the whole mood. You were comfortable before we were interrupted, and now you’re upset. I didn’t want to end our meal this way.”

She didn’t want to end their meal like this either, but, it couldn’t be helped. Raven’s change in attitude still puzzled her, and she wouldn’t feel better until she’d spoken to her about her dinner date with Martin. She needed to know if Raven was okay with Rhea’s romantic interest in Martin.

He took a deep breath. “You told me that your sister thrives at her job. Once she’s back at work, among more people, she’ll probably be okay.”

“I don’t know…”

“Don’t go looking for trouble. Let’s just wait and see what happens.” Silence filled the vehicle as they sped down the highway.

When they finally pulled in front of her apartment building, she opened the car door. “I had a great time,” she murmured as she hurried out of the car. She needed to get away from Martin before he attempted to kiss her again. She wanted him to kiss her, but, for some reason, she needed to speak to Raven before she found out about their date. She really needed to visit her twin tomorrow and clear the air. She didn’t even care about honoring Raven’s request to keep her distance. Discussing Martin with her sister would be important.

Martin slammed his door, rushing behind her. He pulled her into his arms, kissing her forehead.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

She nodded, just wanting to get away from him as soon as possible. What if he tried to kiss her again? “I really need to talk to Raven first, before I see you again.”

“Okay, I understand. I think you need to let your sister know that we went out tonight.” He cradled her face, pressed his lips against her cheek. She hurried up the stairs. Without saying good-bye, she slammed the door.

Chapter Twenty-two

The next morning, Rhea was barely awake when she heard pounding on her door. Opening her eyes, she put her glasses on and glanced at the clock. Who’d be visiting at 6:00 AM? The thrum of a car motor purred outside. As the thumping continued she pulled on her robe on and ran to the door. She glanced through the peephole.

It was Raven.

She opened the door and gazed into the familiar face of her twin. Raven shoved Rhea, stumbling into the house on a pair of crutches. Rhea grabbed Raven’s skinny arm. “Don’t push me. I’m not in a good mood.” She released Raven’s arm, glancing out the kitchen window and spotting a taxi parked at the curb.

“If you wanted to come and visit, I could have picked you up.”

“I don’t need a ride this morning! I want answers!”

Rhea groaned inwardly. Had her dreaded nightmare come true? “Is there something you want to tell me?” She tried to keep her voice calm.

Raven glared at Rhea before she plopped onto the couch, dropping her crutches to the side, propping her leg on a footstool. “Don’t be acting all innocent with me. Myra called late last night and told me what happened. She said you were with a good-looking guy named Martin and when she described him, I knew she was talking about the same Martin whom I wanted to marry!” As her voice raised, her words ran together, and Rhea struggled to understand her.

She rubbed her forehead, sitting on the couch beside Raven. Man, she needed a few aspirins, or maybe something stronger to get through this conversation. “Look, Martin and I were out last night. He took me out to celebrate the opening day of my bakery.”

“A celebratory dinner?” she spat.

Rhea nodded so hard, she felt like her head would become disconnected from her neck. She needed to ease into this conversation slowly. She’d let Raven know about her attraction to Martin after she’d told her the initial reason why they initially decided to go out. “Yes, a celebratory dinner. Since Martin has been working with Candy and I, our sales have increased almost 40 percent! That’s a big deal since I thought I’d have to close my bakery before the year was over!” She swallowed, took a deep breath. “I was going to visit you today to tell you—”

Raven held her hand up toward Rhea in a stopping motion, interrupting her. “You can save it, Rhea. You’re guilty, even if you don’t want to admit it.”

“What do you mean?” Rhea asked in a small voice.

“What I mean is, you need to cut out the act. Myra told me everything!” She leaned closer to Rhea, until she was right in her face. “Everything! Myra told me that Martin kissed you in the restaurant!” She threw her hands into the air as she continued her tirade. “Tell me, when was the last time you kissed a business associate!” As her voice became louder, tears poured from Raven’s eyes. Rhea stood, walked to the other side of the room. Raven needed some space and she was willing to let her rant for a bit.

“I was going to tell you about Martin, and that we might be going out, but, you made it clear that you didn’t want to hear from me.” She looked directly into Raven’s eyes. “I thought you were over him from the way you were acting during our last visit.”

Raven wiped tears from her eyes, bowing her head.

She swallowed, disgusted with herself. She’d never hurt Raven so deeply. Raven had already been hurt badly enough when they were little, almost losing her life to cancer. She knew her parents had always wanted to make Raven’s life full of as much happiness as possible. However, their overly-caring nature, their sheltering Raven from unpleasantness, had backfired.

Raven had been spoiled throughout their childhood and had turned wild as a teenager, used to getting her own way. They’d started to second-guess the way they’d raised Raven during her tumultuous teenaged years, always comparing Raven’s wild nature to Rhea’s softer, more obedient personality.

She had to think of a way to fix things. In spite of last night’s romantic appointment with Martin, she was still unsure about dating him. Going out with him last night had been the first step. She’d wanted to see what would happen between them, and now, Raven was going into a torrid rant and she didn’t know what to do to make her feel better.

Raven’s whiny voice interrupted her thoughts. “You haven’t kissed
any
man since Stan died!”

Rhea closed her eyes.
Lord, please help me through this.
She knew Jesus would want her to tell the truth. But, could she? Could she tell Raven how she’d been attracted to Martin from the very beginning, back when she first met him at the retreat? Did Raven really need to know that?

There could be no more secrets between them, so she took a deep breath and decided to tell Raven everything. She told her about the retreat, and of her confusion at first since Martin reminded her of Stan. She also mentioned Martin’s apprehensions about having a relationship since he’d had two broken engagements, and he didn’t consider himself to be a good choice for a husband. As she continued her explanation, Raven’s mood did not get any better, in fact, she cried harder.

Raven gasped. “If you had never come onto him at the retreat, he’d be dating me right now!”

Had Raven lost her mind? “I did
not
come onto him! You blackmailed me into going to that retreat by offering me a loan. If anybody’s to blame, it’s you.” She stood, leaned closer to Raven. “You’re not a Christian, Raven. Martin said he’d only date a Christian woman. He was worried about your soul! You misunderstood what he was doing!”

Raven screamed, her brown skin reddened and her eyes filled with tears. She slapped Rhea’s cheek, her eyes burning with anger. Rhea cried out, then slapped Raven’s face. She gasped—this was the first time they’d ever hit one another.

Raven whimpered. “I can’t believe you hit me.”

“I think it’s time for you to leave.” Rhea balled her hands into fists. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d been so angry at her sister.

Raven struggled to stand but Rhea grabbed her wrist. “Let me go!”

“Don’t you ever hit me again, Raven!” She released Raven’s wrist before placing her hand over her stinging cheek.

Raven glared at Rhea, balancing on her crutches. “Martin was attracted to me!” She paused. “He’s only attracted to you because you look like me.”

Rhea winced. Those same thoughts had echoed through her mind when she first met him. Raven gathered her purse and crutches and walked toward the door. Raven opened the door, looked back at Rhea, tears pouring down her cheeks. “I’m never speaking to you again.” She hobbled into the hallway.

Rhea slammed the door before dropping onto the couch, cradling her aching forehead. She knew Raven would become unhinged, upset, when she found out about Martin. But, because of her laid-back, stand-offish attitude during their last meeting, she’d held a tiny hope that Rhea’s attraction to Martin wouldn’t bother her so much.

Looks like she was wrong.

Now what was she going to do?

Her hands shook, and her head buzzed. Bright spots danced before her eyes, and she squeezed them shut. “Lord,” her lips quivered as she prayed, “Help me with this anger. I’m so mad that I feel sick. Please help me Lord.” She swallowed, imagining life without her twin. She’d had always been a part of her life. She couldn’t imagine never speaking to her again.

Her phone vibrated. She opened her eyes, lifted the phone from the table. The call was from Martin. 

She couldn’t speak to him right now. She’d need to talk to him another time, once she’d calmed down and was in a better mood. She needed to digest what had happened between her and Raven. Was Raven serious? Were they never speaking to each other again?

Rhea spent the rest of the day in her pajamas, her mind cluttered with thoughts of Martin and Raven. He’d already called her eight times, but she needed to take the day to pray and think.

Eager to take her mind off all her troubles, she pulled out supplies to bake a chocolate cake.

Once the delicious smell filled her small kitchen, she felt a little better. She paced her apartment, looking out the window, watching kids playing on the street.

A new family had moved into the apartment above her, and they had a newborn baby. Rhea could hear the baby crying in the middle of the night, and it interrupted her sleep. She’d been looking for a new place since Leonard needed her apartment later this summer. Oh, how she wanted to move from this small, noisy building and into her own house! She had to save enough funds before she could purchase her own home.

Thanks to Martin, her bakery would be turning more profit, making it easier for her to afford a more expensive rental. Thoughts of her business brought Martin to mind again. She fantasized about kissing him, being held in his arms. Her breathing deepened, and she closed her eyes, realizing she wanted to do a lot more with Martin than kiss.

She turned on the TV, trying to get her mind off her troubles. She tried watching a romantic comedy, but she couldn’t concentrate. She sighed, tears rushing to her eyes. Perhaps she shouldn’t see Martin anymore. Maybe her sour mood was the Lord’s way of letting her know that Martin was not the right man for her.

Should she continue dating Martin if Raven never spoke to her again? Wasn’t it dishonest and manipulative for Raven to place such high stakes on their relationship? Raven never revealed why she’d been so angry. Granted, she’d had a huge crush on Martin, but, she never shared what
things
in her life she’d been trying to straighten out.

Raven was hiding secrets, and Rhea needed to find out the reason behind her sister’s cryptic attitude the last time she’d visited her home. If she found the courage to accept Martin into her life, would her sister ever come to terms with Rhea’s relationship with Martin?

She sniffed, leaned back on the couch, eating a slice of chocolate cake. She ate four slices, skipping lunch and dinner. She guzzled two cold glasses of milk, the sugar temporarily relieving her tension. She closed her eyes, dozing on the couch, the TV still on.

A pounding knock awakened her. She slowly stood, walking to the door, her slippers slapping against the scarred floor. Checking her peephole, she spotted Mary standing in the hallway. What was she doing here?

Rhea knew she looked a mess, but she was too tired and depressed to care. She opened the door, staring at Mary, silent.

Mary looked chic in a black dress that hugged her thin body. Bright red lipstick colored her mouth. She glared at the broken toys littering the dirty hallway. Rolling her large blue eyes, she stepped into Rhea’s apartment, scrunching her nose. “Hello…”

Realizing her lack of manners, Rhea finally found her voice. “Hi, Mary. What are you doing here?” Rhea closed the door. 

She’d been wondering about Mary since she’d returned the key to her house, but had been hesitant about contacting her. Rhea’s concern seemed to anger Mary, and she didn’t really know how to show her sister-in-law that she cared about her. “I’ll tell you in a minute, but I wanted to ask you something first.”

“Yes?”

“Who is that dreadful man outside standing on a ladder? I think he’s changing a light bulb.”

Rhea frowned, going into her kitchen, looking outside. Leonard. The light bulb had burned out months ago and tenants had complained about it. Leonard was too cheap to hire a maintenance man, so he did all repairs himself, when he got around to it.

He looked up, spotted Rhea staring at him. He gave her a slow, lazy smile, showing his tobacco-stained teeth. “That’s Leonard, my landlord.” She returned to the living room, giving Mary a brief rundown about how he was forcing her to move from her apartment.

“You need to find a new place to live.” She shuddered, eyeing her apartment. “That man gives me the creeps. He looked at me as if I were a piece of meat.”

Mary continued glancing around, frowning. Rhea figured she was finding fault with her home. “You needed to ask me something?” Rhea prompted.

“Yes, before I ask, I wanted to tell you something. I wanted to say I’m sorry.” She looked away, her pale skin flushing. “I acted dreadful when you returned the key to my home. I never properly thanked you for taking care of my cat. I snapped at you when you inquired about my health. Will you accept my apology?”

“Yes.” She studied Mary, realizing she didn’t look as if she’d improved. “Have you been feeling better?”

Mary shook her head, her blonde hair glimmering. “No.”

If Stan were alive, what would he do to help Mary? Could he have helped her? She’d tried to help but had failed. Should she take Martin’s advice, surrender the entire situation to prayer? “I’m sorry to hear that.” Rhea gestured toward the couch. “Would you like to sit down?”

“No, thank you.” Mary peeked into the kitchen. “Something smells good.”

“I baked a cake.” Mary’s eyes widened and she gazed at Rhea from head to toe, probably thinking about Rhea’s weight gain. “Would you like some?”

“I’d love some, but I can’t. I’m in a hurry, and I don’t eat cake. I haven’t had a piece of cake in two years.” Her voice filled with pride while she patted her flat stomach. “I just came to drop off the stuff I’d mentioned when I saw you at the restaurant.” That’s when Rhea noticed the small packet in Mary’s hand. “I don’t know if you remember, but when you and Stan were married, and you came to family events, I was always taking pictures. It was my favorite hobby, and I loved it.” She pressed the packet into Rhea’s hands. “I was cleaning up and found these pictures, and I thought you’d like them. I believe I have the digital copies somewhere. Once I find them, I’ll email them it to you.”