Raspberry Kisses (The Bakery Romance Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

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.