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

an attendee at this retreat. He wasn’t the only single man at this event. The way Zora talked, she seemed to believe that Martin was famous. Was there something about Martin that Raven forgot to mention? She eyed Rhea. “You don’t have a chance to score with him.”
    She couldn’t believe she was standing here talking to this juvenile, emotionally-distraught woman. “I don’t have time for this. If you don’t stop, I’m telling the conference director about your hostile attitude.”
    “There you are!” Desiree ran into the lobby, her large hips jiggling. “You should’ve waited for me.”
    Rhea turned toward Desiree, and the woman gave her an apologetic smile. “Zora, have you calmed down yet?”
    “You wouldn’t believe what she did!” she pointed at Rhea, her eyes still blazing.
    Desiree touched Zora’s shoulder, speaking in a low voice, almost as if she were soothing a wayward child. “Zora, you need to calm down. You can’t let yourself get so upset.”
    Zora stomped her foot. “But, she—”
    Rhea eyed Desiree. “I’m going back into the cafeteria. Desiree, I’ll talk to you later.”
    She entered the cafeteria. Another woman was now seated in Rhea’s vacant chair, chatting with Martin. Glancing around the cafeteria, she realized that out of the one-hundred attendees, there were only about ten males in the group. Martin was the most striking man out of the males at the retreat, which meant it wouldn’t be easy to talk to him the way Raven wanted her to.
    Martin spotted Rhea. He stood and said something to the woman sitting at the table, before rushing over to her. “How about we go someplace to talk?”
    Rhea nodded. “That’s a good idea.” After she spoke with Martin, she could call Raven to let her know what he’d said about their relationship. She scanned the cafeteria. Where would they go?
    Martin folded his muscular arms in front of his chest, his brown eyes sparkling with warmth. Rhea swallowed, catching a whiff of his fragrant cologne. Her heart thudded while Martin touched her elbow, guiding her into the cafeteria lobby. She breathed with relief when she saw that Zora had left. They left the building, and Martin gestured down the wooded path. “There’s a jogging trail. At the end of the trail there’s a bench. Let’s go sit and finish our conversation.”
    “Okay.” Her heart thudded as she followed him outside. Weak sunlight spilled onto the grounds, and ducks and geese swam on the tranquil water.
    She breathed deeply, trying to calm herself. They finally arrived at the spot. The wooden bench was old and splintered and it creaked beneath their weight. She sighed, closing her eyes. This was probably the most immature task she’d ever done on her sister’s behalf. If she didn’t need the loan so desperately, this whole situation might be funny. She imagined Raven’s horrified expression when she discovered Martin was not interested in her. She opened her eyes and glanced at Martin.
    She could understand why Raven was physically attracted to him. A light breeze blew, ruffling the leaves on the nearby oak trees. It was so nice to be outside, away from the noisy cafeteria. The peaceful tranquility surrounded her like a ray of warm sunshine. She breathed deeply, not wanting to disturb this peaceful moment by asking Martin about his feelings toward her sister. She still had two more days – she’d ask him about Raven tomorrow.
    She glanced at him again and he stared at her, before focusing on the surrounding trees. “I’m sorry for staring at you. You just looked upset and I wondered what was wrong.”
    “I probably shouldn’t have come to this retreat.”
    “It’s not so bad. Sunday is only a couple of days away. By then, you can go home and put this whole experience behind you.”
    Sighing, she stretched her legs in front of her. “You’re right. I have to make it through this weekend. It’ll be difficult, especially since I’m rooming with Zora.”
    “Why did