No Matter What (The Billionaires of Sawgrass #4) - Delaney Cameron Page 0,52
his father up to date on Aunt Leigh’s condition. So far he’d managed to keep them from rushing to her bedside. For different reasons, neither of them was at their best in these types of situations. Added to that was Aunt Leigh’s dislike of any kind of fuss. This preference included him, but on that point, Reece refused to compromise. Whether she liked it or not, he and Gypsy would be hanging out at her house until this blew over. It meant postponing his trip to Miami, a fact that didn’t bother Reece at all. The mess waiting for him there could wait. Aunt Leigh could not.
Chapter Fifteen
It was the period of calm between the early Friday afternoon customers and those dropping in on their way home from work. Robin was preparing whipped mascarpone cheese frosting for the white velvet sugar cookies cooling on racks behind her. At the other end of the work table, Kait was arranging chocolate and vanilla Whoopie pies into a party box.
“Can you believe it’s the last weekend of June?” Kait asked above the music playing in the background.
“Time flies when you’re having your busiest month on record.”
“Our favorite engaged couple will be here in the morning for their cake tasting. Isn’t it lovely to see people in their seventies taking the plunge? It just goes to show you’re never too old to fall in love. He proposed in a hot-air balloon. I can’t think of anything more romantic.”
Robin threw her a teasing glance. “Should I pass that on to Miles?”
“Please don’t. He doesn’t need more encouragement.”
“It’s for sure he’s not getting much from you.”
Kait shrugged. “Is there something wrong with taking things slowly?”
“Not at all. The problem is you’re standing still. Miles isn’t Loser Larry. He’s not going to cheat on you.”
“How do you know?”
“Because most men are good and decent. Only a small percentage are scumbags.”
“Then you and I have been extremely unlucky. Wade might not have been a cheater, but in his own way, he was as self-centered and unfeeling as Larry.”
“The experience with Wade wasn’t a total loss. I learned what love isn’t.”
“By its very definition, love should be different from everything else. Love doesn’t fade with time. It doesn’t run in the face of adversity or give way to temptation. When all else fails, love remains. No matter what.”
“All the more reason not to settle for less. Love is worth waiting for.”
“It must be. History is full of examples of people willing to die for it.” Kait closed the lid of the box and secured it with tape. “I’m off to deliver these goodies.”
Robin didn’t have long to ponder Kait’s pearls of wisdom on the subject of love. Just minutes after her departure, Robin heard the buzz of the shop door. It was probably the high school boy who’d ordered a snickerdoodle cake to give his girlfriend for their six month anniversary. He’d said he’d be here around five, and it was ten minutes ‘til the hour.
When Robin stepped through the door separating the kitchen from the customer area, her momentum unconsciously slowed. The person approaching the counter, an appealing half smile on his handsome face, wasn’t a teenager. It was Reece. She hadn’t seen him since the day he accompanied her to the rental house. That had been seven weeks ago. He might have been out of sight during that time, but he hadn’t been out of mind. She’d found herself thinking about him on numerous occasions, but it wasn’t until right now that she realized she’d missed him.
The shock of that discovery must be the reason seconds were ticking off the clock without her saying anything, her mouth opening and closing in the manner of a goldfish. Feeling silly, she urged her legs to move and cleared the frog from her throat.
“Reece! How nice to see you!”
He smiled widely. “You remembered me! I was afraid I’d be forgotten by now.”
“False modesty doesn’t suit you,” she retorted with a grin. “No one who’s ever met the dashing Reece Diamond would be able to forget the occasion.”
“Dashing? That’s a new one. How have you been?”
“Super busy. June has been crazy. July is looking to be the same.” She hesitated, and then decided to get the awkward subject out of the way. “I guess you know about me and Wade.”
“I do. From a purely outsider’s point of view, I can’t help thinking it’s his loss.”
He was just being nice, but that didn’t stop warm color from flooding her neck and face.