Raspberry Kisses (The Bakery Romance Series Book 1) (3 page)

Zora groaned. “Desiree, stop treating me like a child. I can take care of myself.”

Rhea shook her head. “I’m going down to dinner.” Zora and Desiree obviously needed some time alone.

She exited the cabin, and Zora’s loud voice carried through the closed door. “I can’t believe you asked about my medicine in front of a stranger.”

Intrigued, Rhea remained there, listening.

“Well, I had to say something before you made a fool of yourself. The only reason I agreed to come with you on this retreat is because you need someone to remind you how to act. You need to learn to calm down and not say the first thing that pops into your head.”

Zora groaned. “I don’t need anybody telling me how to act.”

“Well, this whole agenda that you have is just weird. You have no idea how he’ll react when he meets you.”

“Desiree, you’re just jealous of me because you’re short and fat. Men are always attracted to me. I figure Martin Lane is no different than most. As soon as he meets me, I think he’ll want to get to know me better.”

Chapter Four

So, Zora was here to meet Martin, too? She trudged down the path toward the cafeteria. Now what was she going to do? Zora seemed determined to meet Martin, plus, she appeared high-strung and emotional. With Zora’s frosty attitude, there’s no telling what she’d do if she spotted Rhea speaking with Martin.

Her life would be a lot less complicated if Raven had not had her accident. But, if Raven had not been in a car crash, Rhea would still be in dire straits. Raven would not have willingly made a loan offer with these strange conditions. Rhea would still be struggling, praying for a way to save her business. Either way she looked at it, her life seemed doomed. She pushed the negative thoughts from her mind. She needed to stay positive. She was working on rebuilding her faith. She needed to keep praying about her situation, hoping the Lord answered her prayers.

She eyed the others strolling toward the cafeteria. No doubt dinner would start soon. She shook her head, wishing Raven would listen to her advice. Raven would be happier if she wasn’t so focused on Martin. Why had she agreed to go through so much trouble just to get a loan? Is this what she had to look forward to for the rest of the weekend? Watching desperate women target the male attendees?

She stopped at the cafeteria door and peeked inside. So many people! The noise hurt her ears. She had to sit and have dinner with these people? Diners occupied long, rectangular tables. She spotted a line in front of the food service entrance. Would anybody think badly of her if she got her tray and carried it back to her room? Time alone sounded appealing.

She finally got into the line and spotted the cafeteria ladies behind the counter, serving food. She stared at the workers with longing. She saw a red apron hanging on a peg behind the food counter. Why couldn’t she just forget this whole Martin-finding mission and work behind the counter with the cafeteria ladies? She closed her eyes, imagining herself pulling the apron down, placing it over the front of her body, tying the strings in the back.

With her hair already pulled back, she’d be ready to serve food to this noisy crowd. Her feelings of apprehension would disappear as long as she was behind the counter, using food as a buffer. When she served people, giving them something to fill their empty stomachs, she’d feel more comfortable and relaxed.

“Hey, you’re holding up the line!” A woman snapped behind Rhea. Rhea opened her eyes, shocked that the line had moved while she’d been daydreaming. Sighing, she grabbed a tray, slapping it onto the counter in front of her.

*

Martin entered the cafeteria, glancing around the crowd. The conference director told him that the rest of the conference speakers wouldn’t arrive until the following morning. He shook his head. Why had he let Trina talk him into speaking at this singles retreat? Was he being too cynical? Maybe the Lord wanted him here to minister to others, and he needed to accept that and do the best that he could.

He also needed to speak to Raven. If he sat down with her, calmly explaining his opinion, she might finally understand, and stop calling him so much. Perhaps Raven was a stubborn woman who refused to accept the truth. In time, she’d have to learn that he was simply not interested in her and that she’d misunderstood his intentions.

Everybody seemed to be talking at once, enveloping the cafeteria in a cacophony of noise. He placed his hands over his ears. He had so much to do, including studying for his exam in divinity school. After he ate some dinner, found Raven, explained everything to her, then he’d get back to his room and study before focusing on his duties at the retreat.

He looked through the throngs of people. Where was Raven?

He spotted a woman peeking into the cafeteria. There she was! Wait. She resembled Raven, but…something was different about her. She sported glasses over her brown eyes, and her coffee-colored hair was pulled back into a bun. Staring at her from head to toe, he took in her entire appearance.

She wore a loose-fitting outfit, not something he thought Raven would wear. She stood in line, closing her eyes. What was she doing? Was she tired? After being nudged by another attendee, she frowned before slamming her tray onto the counter.

After she’d gotten her food, she clutched her tray, gazing into the sea of faces dominating the noisy cafeteria. She looked like a scared child searching for her mother. Should he rescue her? She carried her meal, sitting at the end of one of the long, rectangular tables. A few of the people sitting beside her tried to talk to her, but she mumbled something before focusing on her food. There was an empty spot beside her. Hopefully, he’d be able to sit there once he got his dinner.

Why did she look so different? Why was she acting so shy? Was she upset about something? Was that really Raven? He stared for a few minutes. Of course it was Raven. It had to be her. Maybe she usually wore contact lenses and that’s why she was wearing glasses. Perhaps she’d been in a rush and didn’t have time to style her hair before dinner.

A beautiful brown-skinned woman sauntered beside him, swaying her slim hips. Layers of makeup caked her beautiful face. He scrunched his nose. Why did she have to wear so much perfume? She licked her lips before speaking. “Hi, I can’t believe my luck.”

He smiled at her. “Excuse me?”

Batting her eyelashes, she grinned, showing pearly white teeth. “Aren’t you Pastor Martin Lane, one of the speakers?”

Still smiling, he nodded, questioning if it was the Lord’s will for him to speak at this retreat. “Yes, it’s nice to meet you.” They shook hands before moving forward in the line. He selected one of the brown trays, eyeing the attractive display of food being served by the cafeteria ladies.

As fast as he could, he took his fried chicken dinner, escaping the overly-made-up, annoying woman. He immediately spotted Raven. Why was she still sitting alone? Eating her food, she stared down at her plate. Was she afraid to make eye contact with the rest of the crowd?

He approached, placing his tray on the table. “Raven?”

Her head snapped up, and her glasses slid down her cute nose. A few wisps of hair tumbled from her bun. Her lips parted slightly and a crumb from the fried chicken rested at the side of her mouth. She dropped her fork on the floor, and he rushed to pick it up for her. Their fingers touched, causing warm sparks of delight to dance over his skin.

She jerked her hand away. He wasn’t this attracted to Raven when he’d seen her before. He took a deep breath. She smelled heavenly. She seemed prettier, in an old-fashioned way, and more timid. The urge to kiss her slammed into his gut and he backed away, surprised at his sudden arousal.

Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself, setting his tray on the table. He sat, realizing she stared at him — she acted as if she’d never met him before. He cleared his throat, lifted his fork. “Raven, did you need me to get you another fork?”

She blinked, stared at her dirty fork. Then she shook her head and unrolled fresh silverware from a napkin. “No, for some stupid reason, I got two sets while I was in line.”

He bowed his head, prayed over his meal. He opened his eyes and enjoyed a bite of chicken. “I’m sorry for staring but…you look so different than the last time I saw you. You’re wearing glasses…”

She winced, dropped her fork into her mashed potatoes. “I’m not Raven. I’m her twin sister, Rhea.”

Whoa! He swallowed his food, his heart skipping a beat. So Raven had a twin and she’d never mentioned it before? Between bites of fried chicken and mashed potatoes, she explained something about Raven being in an accident. She mentioned it was too late for Raven to get a refund, so, she’d come in her place. “That’s why I’m here. Sorry to disappoint you; I know you were expecting my sister.”

She pushed her glasses up, glancing around the crowd, squeezing her napkin. Why was she so nervous?

He touched her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She leaned toward him. “I hate crowds. I haven’t been to a social event in years.”

The urge to whisk her away from all these people came over him. Where could they go? The grounds were unfamiliar to him, and somebody had mentioned that there was some kind of rule against having somebody of the opposite sex alone in your room during the evening hours.

She took a sip of water, glanced at him, and caught him staring.

He said the first thing that popped into his head. “You didn’t have to come. You could’ve told your sister no.”

“It’s…complicated.”

So, she didn’t want to tell him why she felt she had to come? Why would she want to keep her reasons for attending a secret?

He cleared his throat, finishing the food on his plate. “I’m shocked. Raven never told me she had a twin.”

She sipped her water. After she’d set her glass down, she paused, as if she were processing what she needed to say. “My sister and I…well…we don’t always initially mention we have a twin.”

He nodded. He could understand not initially mentioning that. Two of the members of his church were twin boys. They struggled to be independent from one another, always emphasizing their differences. They seemed to spite that they were twins. “How badly was Raven hurt in the accident?”

She finished her chicken, wiping her fingers on a napkin. One big difference between Rhea and Raven was that Rhea really enjoyed her food! Raven had been so nit-picky about food that her attitude had spoiled one of their meals. She’d had the nerve to tell him that he’d made bad choices when he’d ordered from the menu.

Rhea gave Martin a run-down of Raven’s injuries.

“She won’t be able to go to work for a while?” This accident sounded pretty bad. He’d wanted to contact Raven and tell her to stop bothering him, but, hearing that she’d just been banged up in a bad car accident…maybe he should wait until she healed before trying to reason with her again.

“She’ll be out of work for weeks. That’ll be hard on her. Raven loves working. I know she’ll be restless while she recuperates.”

“I’ll pray for her healing. It must be hard for her to be in bed with a broken leg and injured ribs.”

“Yes, it’ll be hard for her.”

He finished his soda and pushed his tray away. Rhea frowned, her pretty brown eyes apprehensive. What would she look like if she smiled? Why was she frowning? “Is something wrong?”

“Martin, can I ask you something?”

He shrugged. “Sure.”

“Why did you come to this retreat?”

“Well, I…” Martin sniffed. What was that nauseating smell? The attractive, overly-made-up woman he’d seen in the cafeteria line leaned over the table. She glared at Rhea before focusing on Martin. “I never got a chance to tell you my name earlier.”

Rolling his eyes, Martin leaned back into his seat, rubbing his itchy nose. Choking back a sneeze, he resisted telling her that her perfume made him sick.

*

“I’m Zora.” She offered Martin her hand, and Rhea tried not to groan. “I’d wanted to sit with you, but you left before I had a chance to say anything.”

Martin shook Zora’s hand, gesturing toward Rhea. “Have you met Rhea? I’d already made plans to eat dinner with her.”

Zora looked directly at Rhea, her hazel eyes shooting daggers. Rhea met Zora’s intense gaze, refusing to look away. What was Zora’s problem? Did she honestly think that her rudeness toward other women would help her to capture Martin’s interest? If she spoke to the conference director, would it be possible for her to switch rooms? Rhea continued to return Zora’s stare. “Zora, are you okay? You look upset.”

Zora’s mouth dropped open, and she glanced at Martin. Martin frowned, focusing on Zora and Rhea, as if trying to figure out what was going on between them.

Zora grabbed Rhea’s arm. Rhea jerked away. “That hurts. Don’t touch me.”

Zora continued glaring at Rhea. “I need to talk to you, now.”

Martin cleared his throat. “Is there a problem?”

Rhea sighed. She’d promised Raven that she’d spend time with Martin, but she couldn’t do that if Zora was bothering her. She stood up, answering Martin’s question. “No problem. Zora is my roommate. I need to talk to her for a minute.”

Zora attempted to grab Rhea’s arm again, but Rhea slapped her hand away as they went into the lobby. They stopped, facing each other. “I don’t appreciate you making the moves on Martin. I came here to talk to him and you knew that.”

“How would I have known that?”

“Lots of the women here want to meet him. You just didn’t want him to meet me first.” How ludicrous! Why would a lot of women want to meet Martin? He was just an attendee at this retreat. He wasn’t the only single man at this event. The way Zora talked, she seemed to believe that Martin was famous. Was there something about Martin that Raven forgot to mention? She eyed Rhea. “You don’t have a chance to score with him.”

She couldn’t believe she was standing here talking to this juvenile, emotionally-distraught woman. “I don’t have time for this. If you don’t stop, I’m telling the conference director about your hostile attitude.”

“There you are!” Desiree ran into the lobby, her large hips jiggling. “You should’ve waited for me.”

Rhea turned toward Desiree, and the woman gave her an apologetic smile. “Zora, have you calmed down yet?”

“You wouldn’t believe what she did!” she pointed at Rhea, her eyes still blazing.