Loving Luke: (Cookies and Kisses) (A Christmas Novella) Page 7

  “But your dad never met him, did he?” He had to wonder if Kim was really in love with Bill, or, if she was just infatuated with the idea of bringing home a man who was just as good as Tina’s husband, desperate to win her father’s approval.

  She shook her head, put her fork down. She rubbed her forehead, as if talking about this brought her pain. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine.” She pressed her hands together before focusing on him again. “The reason why I never brought Bill home to Bethlehem is because I caught him cheating on me.” She shook her head, as if the memory caused her great pain. “Luke it was awful. When I confronted him about kissing that woman, he admitted that he’d been sleeping with her. He’d said that the only reason he’d had another woman was because I’d refused to sleep with him before the wedding.” She shook her head, gazing down into her plate. “Luke, I have my Christian beliefs, and I’d mistakenly thought that Bill was a Christian, too. He’d seemed willing to wait until after our wedding to have sex, but, turned out he’d been lying the entire time.”

  Whoa, this was a load of stuff she was revealing. He took her hand, swiped her tears away. “Why didn’t you tell me the details about this before?”

  She shrugged, gazed into his eyes. “I guess I was ashamed.”

  “I hope you don’t think I’d treat you like that.”

  She shook her head. “No, it’s just that, I was in love with Bill and things didn’t work out.” She took a sip from her water glass. “Now I wonder if it’s okay for me and you to marry. Luke, we’ve only been dating for a month.”

  “It’s one of the best months in my entire life. Are you sure you loved Bill?”

  She frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Did you really love him, or, did you just love the fact that your father would approve of him?”

  Her eyes widened and she jerked back, as if she’d been slapped. “How could you say that?”

  “Honey, I’m not saying that was the case, but, it’s something for you to think about.” He pushed the ring toward her. “Do me a favor. Think about my proposal over the next week. My neighbor will baby sit Lisa during Christmas break, so, I won’t let her work in the bakery over the holidays.”

  She took a deep breath. “Why won’t you let Lisa come to the bakery?”

  “Because, I’d have to see you every day when I picked her up. I’m going to leave you alone for a week and let you think about my proposal. I want you to pray and decide if you want to risk loving me, the way a wife loves a husband.”

  The waiter approached. “Would the two of you like cannoli for dessert?”

  Luke shook his head. “Just bring me the check.”

  Chapter 11

  Kim opened her eyes. Bright sunlight spilled into the room and she rolled out of bed and opened the curtains. She relished the contrast between the bright sunshine against the snow covering the ground. Gracious, it sure was pretty outside. The bright sunlight sparkled against the snow, causing diamond-like glitter to sparkle in the bright sunshine. They’d gotten a rare Christmas snowstorm this year and kids were already going outside, playing in the white frigid snow.

  She took her cell phone from the bedside table, looking at the date. It was December 26th, the day after Christmas. Her dad had spent Christmas with her, but, had already left early this morning on a flight to go and visit Tina and her family.

  She got out of bed, yawned. She’d made plans for her best friends’ annual cookie exchange and sleepover. Her friends were due to come for dinner that evening, so, she still had time to plan everything. Lord knows, she needed their company today. So many thoughts were tumbling in her head that she thought her brain would explode.

  During the course of the day, while she prepared her famous chunky beef stew, homemade yeast rolls and side dishes, she talked to God. She openly prayed to Him during the day as she cleaned and prepared for her evening visitors. Lord, I really need your help. In just four weeks, I’ve fallen in love with Luke, but, I don’t know if I should marry him. A year ago, I was in love with Bill, and he didn’t take my love seriously. Will Luke continue to love me, after we get married?

  As she prepared her vanilla cookies, she recalled every moment she’d spent with Luke, beginning from the moment he turned up in her bakery on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Luke loved and worried about his daughter, desperately wanting a better life for her. He loved Lisa, but, most of all, he loved God. That love had been lacking when they’d dated as wild teens and Kim realized she needed to consider that when she decided if she wanted to accept his proposal.

  At seven o’clock that night, her doorbell rang and she opened her door, grinning. Miraculously, Anna, Heather and Carly had all arrived at the same time and just seeing their bright happy faces made her pause, realizing how fortunate she was to have these good friends for life. They shared a group hug, and warmth and happiness swelled within her. When she pulled away from her friends, Carly touched her shoulder, her brown hair swaying. “Hey, are you okay? You’re crying.”

  “Girls, so much has happened since Thanksgiving. I’ll tell you all about it after we eat.”

  They entered the house, holding overnight sacks and sleeping bags. It had been a long time since Kim had had so many people in her parents’ small home. After they’d feasted on her tasty stew and rolls, she brought out a carton of milk and Carly, Anna, and Heather each placed their box of cookies on the living room coffee table. Kim opened her box of vanilla cookies and the foursome feasted in silence on four different kinds of cookies as she got caught up on all that had been happening in her friends’ lives lately.

  Heather cleared her throat, gesturing toward Kim. “Well, you know all about what’s been happening with us. Now it’s your turn, Kim. Why were you crying when we arrived?”

  “Luke Barnes has asked me to marry him.” There, she’d blurted out her news.

  Carly, Heather and Anna turned to stare at her. Giving her friends a few moments to digest the news, she turned on some Christmas music. The sweet, soulful sound of Nat King Cole now filled the room.

  Carly pursed her mouth, fingering her short hair. “I can’t believe it.” She paused. “You don’t seem happy. Did you accept his proposal?”

  Kim shook her head. “I didn’t give him an answer.”

  Anna and Heather frowned, each of them pulling a cookie from the tray. Anna looked toward Kim. “So when he asked you, you just sat there and didn’t say anything?”

  “No.” As Kim selected another cookie, she told about her dinner date with Luke and about everything he’d said.

  Heather leaned toward Kim. “You need to give love a chance.”

  Carly nodded. “This guy, Bill, who you were engaged to before? Maybe you really weren’t in love with him.”

  Kim’s mouth dropped open. “But—”

  Carly shook her head. “Let me finish. Maybe Luke has a point. Besides, you’d mentioned that you had Bill’s ring and you used to look at it all the time, remembering your engagement to him?”

  “Yes, so what?”

  Anna cleared her throat. “I think Carly’s trying to say that you need to be sure that you’re over Bill.”

  Kim scoffed. “I haven’t been mooning over Bill since Luke came into my life.”

  Heather patted her arm. “Then you need to get rid of Bill’s ring. Mail it back to him or something. No need keeping reminders of him around since you’re in love with Luke.”

  Carly raised her hand. “Let’s pray about this.”

  So, they joined hands and Carly’s voice lifted up to the Lord asking for His guidance regarding Kim’s feelings toward Luke. When the prayer was over, Kim figured out what she needed to do.

  *

  The next day, Kim knocked on Luke’s door. “Who is it?” Lisa asked from behind the door.

  “It’s Kim.”

  Lisa opened the door. “Ms. Kim!” She hugged Kim, pulling her into the house with her skinny arms. “Dad said I couldn’t help you make cookies for
a whole week! He said you needed to think.” The girl released Kim, looked right into her Kim’s eyes. “Did you think enough?”

  Kim laughed, pulling the package she’d been hiding behind her back. “Merry Christmas.” She’d forgotten to give Kim’s Christmas gift to Luke and after her cookie sleepover, had found the gift nestled under her tree. She’d bought Kim a new outfit.

  Lisa ripped off the bright red paper, grinning. “These jeans and this shirt are awesome! Thanks Ms. Kim.” She hugged her again, just as Luke entered the living room. His dark eyes appeared apprehensive.

  “Lisa, go up to your room.”

  “But, Dad—”

  “Go to your room. I’ll let you know when it’s okay to come out.”

  Huffing, Lisa went into her room and closed the door. Luke took Kim’s hand and led her to the couch. They sat, and he gave her a frank look, remaining silent. Kim figured he was giving her time to say what she needed to say without rushing her. “Luke, I’ve been thinking about your proposal.” She took a deep breath, finding joy and comfort from his holding her hand.

  “Yes?”

  She smiled, joy rushing through her like a geyser. “My answer is yes. Luke I want to spend the rest of my life loving you as your wife!”

  Whooping, Luke pulled her into his arms, and they shared an amazing kiss. Lisa rushed into the room, grinning. “Dad, is it okay to come out of my room now?”

  Laughing, the threesome hugged as Kim mentally started making plans for her wedding day.

  I hope you enjoyed Loving Luke. Please leave me a review: http://amzn.to/1RrBrYA

  Vanilla Cookies

  2 cups all-purpose flour; more as needed

  1/2 tsp. baking powder

  1/2 tsp. table salt

  3/4 cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

  1 cup sugar

  1 egg

  1-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract,

  or the seeds scraped from one vanilla bean

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

  Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

  Add the egg and vanilla and continue to mix until well blended, about 1 minute. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture, and mix until well blended, about 1 minute more.

  Using a 1-tablespoon ice cream scoop (or two tablespoons), drop rounded balls of the dough about 1-1/2 inches apart on the cookie sheets.

  Bake until the edges and bottoms of the cookies are golden (or darker brown for chocolate cookies), 11 to 13 minutes. Let the cookies cool on their sheets on wire racks for about 5 minutes, and then transfer them to the racks to cool completely.

  Variation: Vanilla Cutout Cookies

  Divide the dough into thirds. Wrap in plastic and chill for 4 hours. Working with one third of dough at a time, roll with a rolling pin and cut into shapes. If rolling pin sticks to the dough, dust dough with flour or place wax paper over dough before rolling. Bake until the edges and bottoms of the cookies are golden about 11 minutes. Repeat with each third, re-rolling the unused dough and cutting into shapes.

  Frost and decorate as desired.

  Other Titles by Cecelia Dowdy

  The Bakery Romance Series

  Raspberry Kisses (Book One): http://amzn.to/1MVALc9

  The Chesapeake Weddings Series

  John’s Quest: http://amzn.to/1IQLLAp

  Milk Money: http://amzn.to/1DFd2dh

  Bittersweet Memories: http://amzn.to/1PeFLa9

  First Mates – A Love Inspired Title: http://amzn.to/1WanSxX

  About the Author

  Cecelia Dowdy is a world traveler who has been an avid reader for as long as she can remember. When she first read Christian fiction, she felt called to write for the genre. She currently has five romance novels published in the Christian market. She loves to read, write, and bake desserts in her spare time. Cecelia loves to help other authors and she runs a popular book review blog entitled Cecelia’s Christian Fiction Blog (http://ceceliadowdy.com/blog/). Cecelia currently resides with her husband and young son in Maryland. Cecelia invites you to join her email list: http://conta.cc/1GBNQTj

  Visit her website: http://ceceliadowdy.com/

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  Copyright © 2015 Cecelia Dowdy

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