A huge welcome to Cecelia Dowdy, with the next Picnics & Promises novella, SWEET DELIGHTS!
Picnics & Promises: Six Delicious Summer Romances
SWEET DELIGHTS by Cecelia Dowdy
Patty-Lynn is stunned when she runs into her wealthy ex-boyfriend,
Sam. She’s still haunted by their painful breakup seven years ago. Recently
widowed, Sam now wants to fix their broken relationship. Seeing Patty-Lynn,
happy in her bakery, gives him hope. Can her prize-winning pie recipe sweeten
his new business venture and heal their broken hearts?
Excerpt from SWEET DELIGHTS:
“PATTY-LYNN?” THE FAMILIAR
VOICE made her pause.
She quickly
turned and slammed right into Sam Richardson. Her lips brushed against his
shirt right before she took a few steps back. Goodness, she didn’t realize he’d
been standing right behind her.
“Sam? What you
doing here?” She’d just finished setting up the wedding cake. The guests
weren’t due at the reception for another hour.
“My friend Mark
just married my sister-in-law Lisa. He sent me to the reception early to make
sure everything was set up.”
Lisa. Sam’s
wife’s sister. So she assumed Sam’s wife, Lorena, would come strolling in at
any time. She imagined the woman was part of the bridal party. Well when Lorena
turned up, Patty-Lynn would be sure that she was long gone. No way did she want
to see the woman who’d stolen Sam’s heart away from her seven years ago.
He leaned
toward her, as if he were going to give her a hug.
No way did she
want to hug him. She quickly turned around, ran smack into the table, hard. The
table tilted on an incline as pain shot through her knee. The wedding cake slid
down the small table, right toward the floor. She reached out toward the cake
and screamed. Quick as a cannon, Sam raced to the end of the table and caught
the cake in his arms.
Workers in
black and white suits appeared from the back, scurried and assisted Sam with
the cake, set it back upright onto another nearby table. The manager yelled at
his workers in Spanish, pointing at the legs of the faulty table. Apparently
one of the legs had not been properly locked into place when they’d set it up.
The manager bobbed his head toward her. “So, so sorry ma’am.”
Not half as
sorry as she was. After the workers had confirmed that the legs were properly
locked into place, she shooed them away. Before she could examine her cake to
be sure no damage had been done, she focused on Sam. He patiently stood beside
her. His intoxicating cologne wreaked havoc with her frazzled nerves.
She gulped.
It’d probably be a good idea to thank him. After all, if it wasn’t for his fast
save, her cake would have been splattered onto the floor and then she’d have to
explain the terrible fiasco to the bride and groom.
She forced
herself to look into his eyes. Dang, he had the most hypnotic eyes she’d ever
seen. She used to swoon just staring into the chocolate brown depths. Looked
like he still had some effect on her, and that was not good, not at all. She
finally forced herself to speak.
“Sam, awful
kind of you to rescue my cake like that. I appreciate it.” He’d also helped to
save her business. If word had gotten out that she’d ruined a wedding cake, her
business would have been affected – she was sure of that.
“You’re
welcome.” He gestured toward the table that had caused them so much grief. “Did
you need some help?”
She was about
to say no, but stopped herself. She could use some help. The white table cloth
had spilled onto the floor and she needed another. “Could you ask the manager
for a new table cloth? I don’t want to use that one since it was lying on the
floor.”
Sam scurried
away. While he was gone, she took a few minutes to compose herself and examine
her cake.
Surprisingly,
the three-tier cake swirled with rosettes and curlicues looked perfect. She saw
where Sam’s finger had touched the bottom layer, messing up a small sliver of
the fluted icing. She quickly opened her bag of supplies and repaired the
damage. There, nobody would be able to tell that this cake had been saved from
certain death.
Sam had been
quick, that was for sure. She remembered how he’d been a fast runner on his
college track team. He could sprint with his long brown legs. She also recalled
he ran every day—either early morning or late at night. Good thing he’d come to
her rescue this afternoon.
“Here’s the
tablecloth.” He rushed from the back of the kitchen and working together, they
quickly smoothed the cloth over the table. She was about to get the cake but he
stopped her. “Hold on.”
He slammed his
hand on top of the table, then forced himself to bump right into it. What in
the world was he doing?
“I just want to
make sure it won’t topple over if somebody crashes into it again.”
Ahh. Now that
was smart. Well, she needed to be smart, too. What if they tried to move this
heavy cake and slipped or something? She took the cake boxes and dismantled the
cake, carefully setting each tier back into the box.
Sam studied her
as she completed her chore. “What are you doing?”
“I don’t trust
myself to move this whole cake back to that table. It’s heavy. I know you did a
fast save earlier, but I just want to be sure.” She carefully carried each
layer back to the table, set one layer on top of the other. Now, all she needed
to do was put the figurine of the bride and groom on the cake. She removed the
cake topper from the packet and pressed it into the white icing. The sweet
delicious scent of vanilla wafted around her.
“You do some
nice work, Patty-Lynn.”
“Thanks, Sam.”
She needed to be cordial to him. She eyed the dark suit and blue shirt that
hugged his trim frame. Oh, how she’d used to love it when he’d held her in his
long, lanky muscular arms.
She nodded
toward him. Eyed the cake again. She’d finished her duties here. Time to get
back to work. “Well, Sam, nice seeing you again. Thanks again for helping me.
I’m much obliged to you for doing that.” She gathered her bag of supplies,
slipped it over her shoulder. “Have a nice day.” She strolled toward the exit.
“Patty-Lynn,
wait.” His deep, sexy voice resonated in the room, making her heart pound. Oh,
how she remembered how excited she’d become when her name rolled from his
beautiful lips.
“No, Sam. I’ve
got to get to work.” She had a special order to fill that day. Fifty banana
cream pies for a huge corporate event. She’d been selling a lot of her
blue-ribbon banana cream pies lately. Since she’d recently won The French
International Pie Competition, her sales had doubled.
“I’ve opened a
new office for Richardson Enterprises in Crystal Spring.” Sam moved a step
closer.
Lord help her,
she couldn’t believe Sam had actually moved to her small town. She recalled he
lived near his family, about two hours away, up in Northern Virginia. The
thought of Sam being in such close proximity rattled her. “Why don’t we get
together for a picnic?”
Oh, no, he had
to go and mention a picnic. When they’d dated, her favorite activity was having
a picnic in the park. They’d shared thick sandwiches and huge cups of cold iced
tea. He’d teased her, telling her how much he enjoyed hearing the southern
twang in her voice. He’d loved her southern accent, said that she sounded cute
when she spoke. He’d leaned in for warm romantic kisses while they’d enjoyed
their treats. Afterwards, they’d eat big, sweet slices of pie.
Those
passionate kisses, those picnic dates. That’s what had gotten them into
trouble. As soon as his sister, Kelly, had spotted them, ratted them out,
things had spiraled out of control. Kelly knew that his parents wouldn’t approve
of their relationship. Well, she’d learned to let bygones be bygones, at least
she thought she had. But if she’d really let bygones be bygones then why did
hearing Sam’s voice make her feel weird, light-headed, almost hypnotized. The
memories swirled through her, making her wish her day had gotten off to a
better start.
Besides he was
married to Lorena, so why would he want to go on a picnic date? She didn’t want
to have anything to do with a married man. Kind of sad that Sam had such loose
morals.
She needed to
focus on leaving. “Sam, it’s been real nice seeing you again.” She swallowed
and forced herself to give him her megawatt smile. Not a good idea to let him
know how seeing him again affected her. She offered her hand and he eyed her
palm, accepting it. Her white skin clashed with his dark chocolate complexion.
She gave him a firm handshake before offering another smile. Standing tall, she
rushed toward the door and pushed it open. She welcomed the heat from the
sunshine as she scurried to her delivery van.
Sam eyed his
late wife’s sister, Lisa, as she popped a bite of wedding cake into Mark’s
mouth. Seeing his wife’s identical twin get married had been bittersweet. Hard
to believe that Lorena had been dead for two years. He squeezed his napkin, so
many thoughts ripping through him, too many. He’d just gotten his MBA—his
father had insisted he get an advanced degree before promoting him to the
Marketing and Food Distribution Director’s position.
Surprisingly,
when his father had said that Crystal Spring Maryland was where their new
office would be located, he’d wondered if God was showing him a sign. As soon
as he’d heard this news, he’d thought about Patty-Lynn, the first woman he’d
loved when he was only twenty-one, a senior in college. When they’d dated,
she’d told him that she’d been born in Crystal Spring, and that’s where she’d
lived during the first seven years of her life. Now, it was late March, and
their new office was set to open. It’d been a leap of faith for his dad,
allowing Sam to run his own office.
After pictures
had been snapped of the happy couple eating cake, the confection was served to
the guests. Several slices were also slipped into white paper bags, ready for
guests to take home. A server approached and slid a white plate toward him. The
cake looked awesome. The white cake, bright red filling, pale frosting. He cut
his fork into the delicate cake and popped a large bite into his mouth.
Strawberries, sweet sugar….delicious. He closed his eyes, vividly recalling
that Patty-Lynn had lived in the basement apartment of an off-campus house.
She’d made him a cake in her small oven for his birthday.
His birthday
cake had tasted just like this wedding cake.
She didn’t have
much money. Only eighteen, and just out of high school, she’d moved to his
university town from down south and worked in a fast food place near campus.
He’d managed to keep their intense, deeply emotional relationship a secret from
his parents. He opened his eyes, the memories haunting his mind. He inwardly
cringed, recalling how he’d hurt Patty-Lynn, one of the sweetest women he’d
ever met.
Eyeing the
crowd, he enjoyed another bite of cake. Man, seeing her again made it seem as
if time had stood still. Patty-Lynn still looked the same—petite, pretty. Her
smooth white skin was sprinkled with cute freckles across her nose. How he’d
loved her rosebud-shaped mouth. Her lips turned down when she was upset or
afraid.
Patty-Lynn had
had her share of disappointments over the years. When they’d dated she’d
struggled with so many problems. She didn’t have the luxury of having a family
to back her up. She was used to being by herself.
“Hey, man.”
Mark clapped him on the shoulder. He’d been in such deep thought that he didn’t
realize the bride and groom were now circulating the room, making sure they
greeted every single guest. “You looked like you were a million miles away.”
Mark had removed his tuxedo jacket and had loosened his tie. He’d noticed a few
of the younger female guests eyeing Mark during the reception. His friend got
his share of female attention with his dark skin and striking good looks. Mark
had mentioned that Lisa would get mad when females openly admired him in
public.
Sam tried to
smile. “I was.”
This was no
time or place to tell Mark about all that was on his mind. “Yeah, something
happened before the reception.”
Mark gestured
toward the stairs in the lobby. “Why don’t we go up to the suite to talk about
it?”
Both the bride
and groom had a private suite. “Are you sure?” Who took time to talk about a
problem during a wedding?
Mark checked
his Rolex watch. “I have a few minutes. Lisa won’t mind as long as I don’t stay
too long.”
Might as well.
He needed somebody to talk to right now. His mind was so full of tumultuous
thoughts that he thought his brain would explode. He followed Mark into the
posh lobby. Chandeliers dipped from the vaulted ceiling. Plush carpet sunk
beneath their shoes as they made their way up the stairs. He followed Mark down
a long hallway before he opened a white door marked as Groom’s Suite. Sam
followed him into the room.
Mark dropped
into a chair, propped his feet onto a stool. “Man, I’m tired. I can’t wait
until we leave for Hawaii in the morning. Now, what’s up?”
“You remember
you’d mentioned you’d had some problems with the caterers? Lisa wanted me to
come to the reception early to make sure everything was set up before the
bridal party arrived.”
“Yeah, man,
thanks a lot for doing that.”
Sam nodded,
rubbed his hand over his head. This was so hard to talk about. He took a deep
breath. What he needed was a good stiff drink, but alcohol was something he’d
given up when he’d become a Christian. The temptation was just so great—hard
for him to indulge without overdoing it. “Well, when I got here, the baker was
setting up the cake. It was Patty-Lynn.” He told him how he’d saved the cake in
the nick of time.
Mark blinked,
frowned. “Patty-Lynn? Who’s that?”
“Lisa never
told you about Patty-Lynn?” How strange. He knew that Lisa was aware that he’d
broken up with Patty-Lynn right before he’d started dating her twin sister,
Lorena. He figured Lisa would have mentioned it to Mark. After all, Lorena was
the person he’d married one year after he’d broken up with Patty-Lynn.
Mark shrugged.
“I know the baker I hired to do the cake owns a bakery called Patty’s Pie
Palace over in Crystal Spring. Other than that, I don’t know her. We were
fortunate to get her to do our cake.”
“Since our
reception was an hour away from Crystal Spring, we weren’t sure if we were too far
away for her to deliver it.” He shrugged. “But she said she’d do it. I thought
the cake was good.” He focused on Sam. “Should I know her? The first time I saw
her was when I ordered the cake.”
“Lisa wasn’t
with you when you chose the cake?”
Mark shook his
head. “Nope. She was so busy with other stuff, and you know Lisa, she’s not a
big fan of sweets. She left the cake totally up to me. So Patty’s Pie Palace
was recommended by our wedding coordinator. I visited her shop, chose a vanilla
wedding cake.” He shrugged. “Seemed easy enough. Should I know her?” he
repeated.
“I guess not,
since Lisa didn’t mention her to you. It was just strange seeing her. I feel so
bad.”
“About what?”
Mark threw his hands in the air, as if upset that Sam was taking so long to explain
what was on his mind.
“I dated
Patty-Lynn seven years ago.”
Mark nodded,
stroked his chin. “So?” He patiently waited, as if coaxing Sam to open up to
him.
“My
parents…well my parents and grandparents didn’t approve of her. She wasn’t from
a good family…well, she barely knew her family. She was poor, her parents died
in a car accident when she was a kid…she was raised by different foster
families. She’d been on her own since she was eighteen. She had a deep southern
accent, terrible table manners—”
“So she was
from the wrong side of the tracks?”
“Yeah, but she
didn’t put on airs.”
Mark frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean she was
real. So blunt, so open, so…honest. I loved her and she loved me. We dated for
a year and, my parents…Well, you know how they are.”
“Yeah,
unfortunately, I do.”
Richardson
Enterprises had been a big family food distribution business for over one
hundred and fifty years. It’d been started by freed slaves within his family
and had grown. His parents and grandparents had protected that legacy with an
iron fist.
“Can you
imagine how they reacted when I started dating a poor uneducated woman? They
also objected to the color of her skin.” That had been the biggest pill for
them to swallow, especially for his grandparents. They’d been highly vocal
about their wanting him to date a wealthy Black woman.
“I’m surprised
you found the courage to tell them.”
He frowned.
“How’d they find out?”
“Kelly saw us
during a picnic date and told my parents.” He dropped his head into his hands.
The memories tumbled through his mind like unwanted bricks. The arguments, the
discussions, the pain. When they discovered that Patty-Lynn was not just a
brief fling, but that he’d been secretly dating her for a year, declared his
love for her….they’d made him miserable. His grandmother had threatened to
withhold his inheritance if he married Patty-Lynn—if he had any children, they
would not be able to be a part of Richardson Enterprises.
The turmoil,
hurt, and pain that his family had caused…it was just too much. In spite of his
deep love for Patty-Lynn, he didn’t want to hurt her. “I don’t need to explain
all of this to you. I think, knowing my family, you can imagine their
reaction.”
“So you broke
up with her?” Mark asked quietly.
He nodded. “By
the time we broke up, she was nineteen and I was twenty-two. Patty-Lynn cried,
hard. I cried too. But I just wanted her to be happy. I honestly didn’t think
my family would ever accept her.”
They’d been
openly rude to the woman he’d loved. He’d brought her to the house for a family
dinner and it’d been a disaster. A formal dinner setting, she’d not known which
utensil to use. She’d spilled her drink, she’d been so nervous. Then, he’d been
upset with himself. Sure, he’d warned her about his family, but he could have
at least explained the outward in principal. He’d been so pre-occupied, worried
about his family’s reaction that he didn’t think of things he could’ve done to
make things easier for Patty-Lynn.
Heck, who was
he kidding? Even if he’d taken the time to teach her some of the things he’d
known since he was a child, the proper way to act, the way to sit, how to eat,
would they still have accepted her? He doubted it. She’d still not meet their
high expectations. Although she’d worked in a fast-food joint near his college
campus, she’d had no aspirations for college. His parents had cringed at her
southern public school education.
They’d openly
wondered why he didn’t simply date one of the college students. When his mom
had asked her about her educational endeavors, Patty-Lynn had haughtily told
his mom that she didn’t have time for school. She did well enough on her own.
Plus, how was she going to pay for school? She was barely making a living for
herself.
“So seeing her
today started you thinking about stuff?”
“Yeah. My life
has changed so much.” He’d become saved and now relied on Christ for his
decisions. He tried to do everything that his parents wanted and felt they knew
best. But for some reason, he always felt as if his dad never approved of his
actions. He still thought his dad was a bit harsh with his criticism, and he
figured in time, he’d earn his father’s approval. Especially since he’d be
opening the office in Crystal Spring.
Mark checked
his watch. “Well, I’ve got to get back downstairs. I know Lisa will be looking
for me. But if you want my advice, I’ll tell you what I think you should do.”
He sat up
straight. This should be good. He’d been friends with Mark for over a year.
They’d hit it off after he’d joined Mark and Lisa’s church. Whenever he sought
Mark’s advice, he’d never steered him wrong. The man had a good head on his
shoulders, so hearing what he had to say would be interesting.
Mark cleared
his throat. “Give it a few days. If she’s still on your mind, simply visit her
at her bakery. It’s easy find, downtown on the main road. When you visit, you
might want to try her banana cream pie. Best pie I’ve ever eaten in my life.”
About Cecelia Dowdy:
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 several romance novels published in the Christian market. She loves
to read, write, and bake desserts in her spare time. Cecelia currently resides
with her husband and young son in Maryland.
