Shades Of Chocolate (The Bakery Romance Series Book 2) Read online

  He turned to I Peter 3:18. “If you don’t mind, I wanted to read something to you.” He paused, giving Sheila a chance to respond.

  “Okay.”

  “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

  When she remained silent, he continued to speak. “I know how hard it is to defend your faith as a Christian sometimes.”

  “That scripture says to be prepared to give an answer. What if I simply don’t have one?” She arched her eyebrow, as if daring him to respond.

  He touched her shoulder. “It’s okay if you don’t have an answer. Just be truthful and say that you don’t know, but do it with gentleness and respect. I think that’s why you’re upset with yourself. You were in a bad mood, and you made Toni leave your house. There was no gentleness and respect when she asked you that question. Even if she asks the same question again, you can patiently respond the best that you can.”

  “Wow.” She eyed his Bible. “Do you always go around quoting scriptures when people share their problems with you?”

  He chuckled, shutting his Bible, laying it back on the seat. “No, not really. My life is such a mess right now, and I’m doing what I can to fix it. My sister thinks I’m a coward.”

  “A coward?”

  Okay, enough of this. There was no way he was telling Sheila all of his secrets. He’d only wanted to take her to lunch so that he could try to mend the rift between her and Toni and to let her know about Eva’s attack. “Why don’t you go visit Toni today. I’m sure she’d want to see you.”

  “I’d be happy to.”

  He squeezed her hand before she exited his car, strolling to her vehicle in the church parking lot.

  Chapter 17

  Toni unlocked the front door and entered, taking deep breaths. She’d just gone on her early Sunday afternoon run, and energy zapped through her body. The exercise had done her good, and she’d noticed that the home she’d been admiring had been sold. She’d seen a family moving into the house while she’d been running.

  Other than keeping new-home decorating ideas in a scrapbook, she had not been so focused on her house-hunting mission lately. Her argument with Sheila, the prank phone calls, Brian’s foolishness…all of these things sapped her mental energy, making her forget about all she wanted to accomplish.

  She walked up the stairs to her apartment, poured a tall glass of iced tea. She gulped it down before pouring a second glass. Taking her drink, she sat at her kitchen table and removed the plastic packaging from her Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Time to get started searching for ideas. She’d recently subscribed to the magazine, wanting to get ideas for decorating her new house.

  She loved perusing this magazine. The creative home decorating tips proved appealing. She also enjoyed the recipes. After she was finished reading, she pulled out her large scrapbook. She called it her Home Scrapbook and kept house decorating ideas in the binder. Thanks to Sheila, she still clung to the dream of having her own house. Her friend had given her some wise advice after she’d confided about Brian’s infidelity.

  The downstairs buzzer sounded, and her heart skipped. Maybe Jason was coming to check up on her. He’d seemed awfully worried about Eva returning to the bakery.

  She went to the window and spotted Sheila on the street, patiently waiting. Sheila tilted her head back, spied Toni in the window. “Are you going to let me in?” She softened her words with a smile, and Toni’s heart lifted with gladness.

  She sighed with pleasure. She dashed down the steps. Sheila didn’t seem to be mad at her after all. Maybe she’d taken time to read the letter from her dad, and she was in a better mood. Toni unlocked the door, and Sheila came in, still wearing her church clothes.

  “Toni, your face!” Sheila touched her bruised cheek. “I’d heard you were attacked by Eva. I was so sorry to hear about it.”

  “It’s gotten a bit better over the last few days. Who told you about Eva?” Toni figured it was one of the church members.

  “Uh.” Sheila hesitated, scratched the back of her neck. “Jason told me.”

  “Jason? So you saw him at church?”

  Sheila nodded. Toni glanced at her watch, briefly admired Sheila’s yellow church dress. “You’re just now getting out of church? Did the sermon run late?”

  Sheila glanced down at the floor for a few seconds. “Uh, I went to eat lunch before coming over here.”

  “Okay.” She was hiding something. Toni could feel it. She glanced at Sheila’s clothing again, thought about her having lunch. She frowned. “Did you have lunch with Jason?”

  She nodded. “I had a lot on my mind. He’s really easy to talk to.”

  “You didn’t want to tell me you had lunch with him?”

  “I didn’t know how you’d react if you found out we were discussing what happened between us.”

  Jason was so kind, he probably told Sheila to visit her. “Why don’t you come up and have some iced tea.”

  Sheila followed Toni up the flight of stairs to her apartment. Toni poured Sheila’s iced tea. She then placed some of her chocolate peanut butter cookies onto a plate. “Since you already had lunch, I figured you’d want some dessert.”

  She placed the refreshments on the table and found Sheila flipping through her home scrapbook. Sure, Sheila knew that she was saving up to buy a house, but she had no idea how much Toni dreamed about owning her own home.

  Flipping through the pages of the book, Sheila grabbed a cookie. “Why do you have all these pictures of houses and decorating ideas?”

  “Well, remember after I broke up with Brian, you suggested that I buy my own home?”

  Sheila nodded, munching on the cookie.

  “Well, I took your advice and I’ve started saving to buy a house. I’m keeping a scrapbook of decorating ideas.” She shrugged. “Just something I might need once I purchase my house.”

  Sheila nodded, continuing to flip through the book, munching on cookies. She didn’t want to talk about their argument. When Sheila paused to get another cookie, Toni took the book, slammed it shut, and placed it in her bedroom. She returned to the kitchen, took a deep breath.

  “Sheila, I’m sorry about asking you those questions.”

  Sheila stopped eating, shook her head. “No, I’m the one who should be apologizing. Your questions were valid. They’re questions that I ask myself sometimes. I owed you an answer and instead I kicked you out of the house. I’m so sorry about that.” She took a deep breath. Toni settled into the seat beside her. “Honestly, I can’t tell you why God allows bad things to happen to Christians. Christians have suffered for two thousand years, and what I’m going through is minimal compared to what some Christians have suffered.” She stared at the wall as if gathering her thoughts. “I just know that there will come a time when all the suffering stops and God grants us eternal life. I love the Lord and I have faith that everything will be okay in the end. That’s the best that I can explain it.”

  “Oh, Sheila.”

  Tears slid down her dark cheeks. “I feel so bad. I didn’t act very loving toward you, didn’t even act as a Christian should. No wonder so many people have negative things to say about Christianity. If they’re treated the way I’d treated you, then I can understand why they’d feel that way.”

  Toni pulled her best friend into a hug. “I’m sorry, too. It was rude and insensitive of me to demand answers when you’d just received that letter from your father.” She released her friend, wetness staining her cheeks. She left and returned to the kitchen with a box of tissues. After both of them had dried their eyes and blown their noses, they sat and chatted in the warm kitchen.

  Chapter 18

  After she’d cleared the air with Sheila, Toni’s mood lifted. Thank goodness there were no more prank phone calls that week. She smiled more often, relaxed while she made her sweets. Maybe Jason was right; perhaps the prank c
alls were just some bored teenagers needing something to do to occupy their time.

  On Good Friday, they started their work day at the normal time, but Toni had to give Jason a rundown about how things would be different that day. Her heart skittered when he unlocked the bakery, strolled inside. He pulled the apron from the peg, putting it on his tall, muscular body. She leaned back, feasted her eyes on her favorite employee. He glanced over at her, caught her staring. He grinned, gave her a quick wink.

  She chuckled. She loved it when he winked at her! She wasn’t sure if he was being flirtatious or what, but she could get used to seeing him do that every day.

  He strolled over to her, grinning. “What are you so happy about today, Toni?”

  “Oh, I’m just in a good mood since Sheila and I are on speaking terms again. Also, I’ve had so much on my mind that I forgot to tell you that today we’ll be making something a little bit different.”

  He raised his thick eyebrows, the bright bakery lights shined on his bald head. “Different?”

  She nodded. “Since it’s Good Friday, we’ll be making hot cross buns. I always get lots of requests for my buns on Good Friday.”

  They entered the kitchen, and Toni pulled out the ingredients. “I have a special recipe for chocolate hot cross buns.” While the dough proofed, she explained that she added gourmet chocolate chips.

  Once the buns were in the oven, the sweet chocolate scent filled the kitchen. Jason got started on the doughnuts, and soon, Toni unlocked the door, flipping the sign from Closed to Open. Customers soon entered her shop, purchasing their favorite treats. Once the breakfast rush subsided, Toni sighed. It’d been a good morning, and she was ready for a cup of coffee and some hot cross buns. She poured two generous mugs of her chocolate-laced coffee, added creamer and sugar, and placed several of her buns on a platter, came to the table and sat with Jason.

  He eyed the treats, lifted one and took a huge bite. “Hey, these are good.”

  She nodded. “Thanks.” Hearing Jason’s praise warmed her heart with pride. She glanced at him while he enjoyed her buns, sipped his coffee. Not wanting to be caught staring at him, she quickly lifted a bun from the platter, took a large bite. The sweet chocolate bread, mingled with the vanilla glaze, was like an explosion of pleasure in her mouth. She enjoyed three buns before she caught Jason studying her, grinning.

  “What?” Did she have flour on her face? When she’d checked her reflection in the mirror that morning, she’d been pleased to see that the bruise on her face had disappeared. Thank goodness she looked normal again.

  “I see you munching on sweets and chocolate all day. How do you stay so slim eating like that?”

  She shrugged, grinning. “You know I take a jog every evening to work off the calories. My mom says that when I get older, I might not be able to eat like I do now.”

  Jason nodded, frowning. “My mom used to say the same thing.”

  He stared out the window.

  “Is it still too painful for you to talk about your mom? I’ve been working with you for weeks, but I still feel that I don’t know that much about you.”

  He shrugged. “There’s not a whole lot to say. I’m trying to find my own way, figure out what I’m going to do.”

  Find his own way? What on earth did he mean? She shook her head, sipped her coffee. “I don’t understand.”

  “My family, especially my mom, has always been a big influence on my life. I feel like I’ve always been told what to do. I’ve been following orders for most of my life, and since my mom died, I feel lost. I feel like…well, I don’t know. It’s kind of hard to explain.”

  “What about your dad? Have you talked to him lately?”

  He nodded. “A few times. We were able to have a conversation without arguing, which is surprising.”

  So he argued with his dad often. That sounded so exhausting. It also made her curious. “About your family—”

  “I don’t want to talk about them right now, okay?”

  She gripped her coffee cup, struggling to hide her disappointment. Having Jason around made her comfortable, but now she wasn’t so sure. Why would he not want to talk about his family?

  “I’m looking forward to Easter Sunday services.” His abrupt comment interrupted her thoughts, bringing an end to that part of the conversation. “Why don’t you come with me?” He stirred his coffee.

  No way did she have the courage to go to church with Jason. Going to church wouldn’t change her mind about organized religion. “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass.”

  He frowned, and his eyes revealed his dejection. He took her hand. “How come? It’s not like I’m asking you to accept my religion. Just come to the service and see what you think.”

  A customer rushed into the bakery. Time to put an end to this conversation. “I said no.”

  Chapter 19

  Okay, so he knew he shouldn’t push her, but he couldn’t help asking her to church. She gripped the table, narrowing her eyes on their recent customer.

  He touched her shoulder. “Are you all right?”

  She barely nodded, staring at the tall, slim brown-skinned stranger. With his dark suit and leather briefcase, he appeared to be on his way to a business meeting. Jason sniffed. Phew, smelled like this dude needed to lighten up on his cologne.

  The stranger pushed his spectacles over his thin nose, scowling at Jason. “Toni, I need to speak with you.” He rolled his eyes at Jason. “Alone.”

  There was no way he was leaving Toni alone with this dude. Obviously, seeing him put her in a bad mood. Well, Jason was staying right here. With the prank phone calls, they needed to be extra careful. “Brian, what do you want?”

  So this guy was Brian?

  “Don’t get so riled up. Can’t I visit my fiancée?”

  Fiancée? What was he talking about? Toni was actually engaged to this jerk?

  “I’m not your fiancée!”

  He’d heard enough. Toni had enough going on in her life with rude phone calls and being physically attacked by her cousin. She didn’t need this dude in here bothering her. “I think you’d better go.”

  He eyed Jason. “Who are you?” Brian backed up a few steps, faltering. Brian should be scared. If he refused to leave, Jason knew he’d have no problem booting him out. He needed to do all that he could to protect Toni.

  Jason ignored his question. “Toni doesn’t want you here, so you’d better leave.”

  “Toni didn’t tell me to leave, so I’m staying.” He leaned toward Toni, his lips puckered for a kiss.

  She pushed him away, and he collided into table, knocking down a few chairs.

  “You stay away from her.” Jason took a step toward him.

  Brian rubbed his neck. “Calm down, man. I just heard that Toni had been attacked by her cousin, and I wanted to see if she was okay.” He barely glanced around the bakery before he focused on Toni again.

  “Well, you can see that I’m fine and now you can leave.” Toni’s cool tone chilled like a bucket of ice.

  “Leave?” Brian glanced at Jason, rubbing his hands together. Sweat popped on his forehead. “Hey, Toni, is there somewhere we can go to talk alone?”

  “No. And unless you’re here to buy something, get out. Now!” She stood, marched to the door, and held it open.

  “I’ll be back. We still have some unfinished business to discuss.” He slammed the door.

  “Oh, he makes me so mad!” Toni dropped into a chair, holding her stomach. She massaged her forehead.

  “Honey, what’s wrong?” The endearment rolled off his tongue. He winced. Hopefully he hadn’t offended her. There had to be something he could do to help. He took her hand. “What can I do to help?”

  She took a deep breath. “Could you bring me a glass of ginger ale?”

  He dropped her hand, rushed to the refrigerator and selected her drink. He took one of the large paper cups, filled it with ice before pouring the drink into the glass. The sizzle of the soda filled the silence. He placed a
straw into the cup before presenting the drink her. She took a huge drink, still holding her stomach.

  Hopefully she wouldn’t get sick. “Don’t drink it too fast. Sip it until you calm down.”

  She barely nodded, sipping the soda, staring at the table. After a few minutes, she calmed down. She drank a few more sips of ginger ale before focusing on him again. “Sometimes, when I get extremely upset, I get sick to my stomach. I’ve had this problem since I was a kid.”

  Jason nodded. Good thing she’d told him about this. Now he’d know what to do if she got upset. There was so much about Toni that he didn’t know. He wanted to know what was going through her head most of the day. He wondered what she’d be doing if she hadn’t inherited this bakery.

  He also wondered about the pompous, arrogant dude who’d just visited, claiming to be her fiancé. No way could that be true. He’d been working here for weeks, and he’d never seen this guy before. She lifted the last hot cross bun from the plate, tearing it into bite-sized pieces. She finally focused on him, her pretty eyes revealing her dejection. “I guess I should explain about Brian.”

  “Not unless you want to.” Heck, he wanted to know the scoop about the man, but he didn’t want to alienate her by appearing too nosy. When he’d lunched with Sheila, she’d mentioned that Toni didn’t trust guys. Did she not trust guys because of the way Brian treated her? He also had to wonder why she would’ve been engaged to that guy. He seemed self-centered, arrogant and rude. If Jason had to guess, he figured she would’ve been stuck in an unhappy marriage.

  For a few minutes she eyed the pastries, almost as if she were weighing how much she wanted to reveal to him. She reclined into her seat, folded her arms in front of her chest. Her attitude was the complete opposite of early this morning when she’d been chuckling, making her first batch of hot cross buns. It was kind of unsettling that her entire mood could change so much in a few hours. “I haven’t seen Brian in months.” She fiddled with the napkin dispenser. “I broke our engagement.”