The Sweetness of Her Love: A Christian Romance (Fostered by Love Book 2) Read online

  The Sweetness of Her Love

  Fostered by Love – Book 2

  By

  Kimberly Rae Jordan

  Copyright ©2016

  Kimberly Rae Jordan

  ISBN-13: 978-1-988409-06-1

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations being used in reviews or articles about the book.

  This is a work of fiction. The situations, characters, names and places are products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to locales, events, actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment and may not be re-sold or transferred via any method to any other individual. If you are reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please respect the hard work of the author who has spent many hours creating this story for your enjoyment and purchase your own copy of this eBook. Please do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials by illegally downloading or sharing this eBook. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

  Cover art by Jay Aheer @ http://www.simplydefinedart.com/

  Dear Reader

  The holiday season can often be a stressful one for many people. Whether it’s the pressure to create the perfect Christmas with the perfect gifts or struggling to enjoy the holiday when there is strife within a family, it’s easy to forget the real reason for the season. And for some people, though they’ve celebrated Christmas throughout their lives, they’ve never embraced the birth of Christ and what that truly means for us. The birth of our Savior.

  I hope that in the midst of the stress and any heartache you may be experiencing you’ll find some time to embrace what Christmas really is about. My favorite thing to do once everyone else has gone to bed is to sit and watch the lights on the Christmas tree and listen to Christmas carols, remembering that God sent His Son to be a light in a dark world.

  I hope you enjoy The Sweetness of Her Love and how James and Erin experience Christmas together for the first time. If you haven’t read book 1 of the FOSTERED BY LOVE series, you can find Noella & Finn’s story here: The Wonder of His Love. Thank you for taking time out of your busy life to read my story. May it bless you and bring a smile to your face during this Christmas season.

  Merry Christmas!

  ~ Kimberly Rae Jordan

  “For there is born to you this day in the city of David

  a Savior,

  who is Christ the Lord.”

  Luke 2:11 (NKJV)

  CHAPTER ONE

  Erin Kirkland listened as her best friend, co-business owner, and foster sister, Noella Crawford, talked about the benefit of having a prenuptial agreement.

  “The only problem with that plan of attack is that I would need to let a guy know that that was my intention almost as soon as we started dating. I can’t wait until a guy proposes and then spring the idea of a prenup on him.” Noella’s brows drew together as if she was considering the best approach to dealing with that issue.

  Before Erin could add any further thoughts to the conversation, there was a knock on Noella’s office door. Erin didn't miss the relief that crossed her friend's face at the interruption.

  “I’m so sorry to bother you, but there’s a gentleman at the front asking for you, Erin,” Betsy, her assistant, said as she hovered in the doorway.

  Erin got to her feet, but before leaving, she gave Noella a pointed look and said, “We are not done discussing this. I really don’t want you to lose the opportunity of having someone love you like Finn might just because of how messed up your mom was.”

  Hopefully Noella would take her words to heart. Erin understood where her friend was coming from, but she really hated to see someone plan out their life because of the mistakes someone else had made. Noella deserved to be happy, but as long as she allowed her fear of ending up like her mom to rule her life, that wasn't going to happen.

  Erin followed Betsy down the short hallway that led past the entrance to the kitchen—her "office"—to the front of the shop. As always the beauty of the bakery drew her in as soon as she stepped behind the counter. Normally decorated in country chic, the main part of the bakery was now decked out for the Christmas season.

  She had chosen every piece of decor that now adorned the bakery—from the stockings that hung over the gas fireplace to the large tree standing in the corner laden with a ton of multi-colored lights and hand-made decorations. She'd invited some of the foster kids who were staying with her former foster parents to help her make them, and she was quite proud of the job that they'd done. With Christmas music playing in the background and the wonderful aroma of the baking they did, it was pretty much Erin's idea of a perfect Christmas setting.

  But all of that faded into muted sights and sounds when Betsy gestured to the man standing on the other side of the counter, his gaze on the pastry display case.

  He was tall.

  He was dark.

  He was handsome.

  It was as if one of her romance novels’ heroes had come to life and walked into her shop.

  Erin looked down at herself and grimaced. For the first time, she regretted talking Noella into ordering the red, green and white T-shirts that had Christmas lights intertwined with their logo in the upper left corner. She had felt compelled to wear one each day along with their staff since she'd fought so hard to get them.

  And that battle was now coming back to bite her.

  With a sigh, Erin used both hands to smooth her hair and tuck it behind her ears. Resigned to meeting Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome while looking less than her best, she walked to the end of the counter where he waited. As she approached, he lifted his head and looked at her.

  Her steps faltered as his gaze met hers. His light blue eyes were a shocking contrast to the dark lashes that ringed them and his nearly black hair. Add in the faintest hint of scruff on his chin and jawline and she was pretty much a goner. Erin really hoped that she wasn’t about to make a fool of herself because this man's appearance was leaving her rather speechless. It wasn’t like she’d never been around a handsome man before, but there was something about this man that was pushing her buttons…in a good way.

  "Hi, I'm Erin," she said, reaching across the counter to offer her hand. "How can I help you?"

  He took her hand and gave it a firm shake. The roughness of his fingers and palm was in direct contrast to the styled hair and suit that she glimpsed under the long black coat he wore.

  "I'm James Dawson, and I'd like to talk to you about ordering a cake and possibly some cupcakes for my grandmother's ninetieth birthday."

  "Dawson?" Erin asked. "As in Joanna Dawson?"

  When the man nodded, Erin had her second regret that day. And for someone who tried not to regret much in her life, that was two regrets too many. Several months ago, Joanna Dawson, one of her favorite—and definitely oldest—customers had mentioned in passing that she had a single grandson and had hinted a bit about setting them up. Erin had managed to politely rebuff the suggestion, but looking back now, she realized she should have asked for a bit more information about him first.

  Because of Joanna’s age, Erin had assumed that her grandson was likely in his late thirties or early forties, which was
a bit more of an age gap than Erin was comfortable with. This man, however, looked to be right around thirty—give or take a year or two. Joanna had dropped the subject and never broached it again, but now Erin wished she’d taken the older woman up on the initial suggestion.

  "My grandmother insisted that her cake could only come from your bakery.” The man gave her a broad grin. “Something about your chocolate cupcakes being to die for."

  Erin grinned in return, as much from the compliment as the image of the regal looking Joanna Dawson saying that.

  "We share a mutual love of chocolate," she admitted then gestured to a table near the Christmas tree. "Why don’t you have a seat while I grab something to take some notes. Would you like a coffee? Something to eat?"

  "I'm afraid I don't share my grandmother's penchant for sweets, especially this early in the day. I wouldn't, however, turn down a cup of coffee. Black."

  Okay, the lack of a sweet tooth was definitely a flaw, but one she could work around. Sooner or later she'd be able to woo him over from the dark side.

  "Sounds good. I'll be right back."

  Erin hustled back to the kitchen where her desk was set up in the far back corner. As she passed Betsy, she hissed, "You coulda told me he was a stunner."

  Betsy laughed. "Yeah, but it was much more fun seeing you get a little flustered."

  Erin spared two seconds to scowl at her assistant before grabbing her tablet and a notepad with a pencil off her desk. "I will remember this."

  Betsy's laughter followed her as she stepped into the hallway and headed back to the front of the shop. Both of the people working the counter for the morning rush were busy, so Erin slid the pencil behind her ear and tucked the tablet and notebook under her arm in order to pour a mug of coffee from the carafe.

  Before she went to join James, Erin stepped to the side of one of the girls who was working on a drink at the beverage machine. "When you get a minute, please package up a box of six of the cupcakes. Be sure to include a couple of the chocolate ones. If you're too busy, ask Betsy to do it. They're for the gentleman over there, and I don’t imagine he'll be here too long."

  "Will do," Megan said with a quick smile.

  Erin headed over to the table and set the mug in front of James then sat down across from him, putting the tablet and notebook down.

  "Thank you." James took a swallow of the coffee then let out a long sigh of satisfaction. "Superb coffee."

  "It is, isn't it? It's a special blend for the bakery." Erin grinned as she flipped her notebook open. She stared down at the table for a moment. "Rats. Forgot a pencil. I'll be right back."

  Before she could move, James reached toward the side of her face and then held up a pencil, amusement clear in his gaze. "It appears you actually did grab one, you just forgot where you put it."

  Erin plucked the pencil from his fingers with a sheepish grin. "Thanks."

  While he continued to drink his coffee, Erin jotted down the date on a clean page of the notebook as well as James's name. Once done, she turned on the tablet to find the pictures to show him samples of work she'd done in the past.

  "Your grandmother has spoken about you," Erin said as she glanced up from the tablet.

  "I'm sure she has," the man said, one corner of his mouth lifting in a smirk. "Let me thank you for resisting her attempts."

  Erin frowned. "Her attempts?"

  "To set us up on a blind date. I'm sure Nana tried. She seems to do it with any woman she comes across who is single and around my age." He rolled his eyes, and there was an edge of conceit in his tone, as if he was better than the women his grandmother was trying to set him up with. "She's determined to marry me off, not caring or believing that I have zero interest in the institution."

  Erin's spine had straightened to rigidity during his short speech. "You're assuming that I'm single and that she tried to set us up."

  The look he gave her held a knowing arrogance that rapidly chipped away at the attractiveness of his handsome exterior. It had obviously been naive to expect that his personality would be as attractive as his appearance. She knew that a person's personality was more important than how they looked, but surely she wasn't the only person who hoped for the total package: someone she found attractive inside and out. But she'd definitely take a less attractive guy with a great personality than what James Dawson was displaying. How could he possibly be related to Mrs. Dawson, who was an absolute sweetheart?

  "Please. If a girl is single with a pulse, she'll try to set us up." James huffed out a sigh before taking another sip of coffee.

  Erin wanted nothing more than to snatch the mug from his hands and send him on his way—without the goodies she'd asked Megan to put together—but her respect of Joanna held her in place. It was hard not to take offense that he saw her as nothing more than a single girl with a pulse.

  Of course, she hardly had room to talk. If she’d seen a picture of him, Erin would have accepted his grandmother’s matchmaking attempts on his appearance alone. Still, his attitude rankled her and try as she might, she couldn’t suppress her reaction to it.

  "Well, it appears I should be thankful your grandmother decided not to try to set us up." Though Erin said the words sweetly, there was an edge to her voice that James picked up on—if the narrowing of his eyes was any indication.

  "And why would you say that?" James asked, his earlier smirk now absent.

  "No girl wants to go out with a guy who is only dating them to please someone else. That's just a waste of everyone's time. Some of us actually are interested in the institution of marriage. And with someone who is more than just a pretty face." Though she was nearly one hundred percent certain that she wasn't going to lose this order, Erin flipped the tablet around to face James, determined to take the conversation back to professional ground. "Here are some pictures of cakes that we've done in the past to give you an idea of what's possible. How many people do you need the cake to feed?"

  After a brief hesitation, James began to swipe through the pictures, taking his time to answer her question. Erin began to wonder if he planned to just shut her down, but eventually, without taking his gaze from the tablet, he said, "It looks like we're anticipating around a hundred and twenty-five to a hundred and fifty. Lots of family members and friends will be coming in from out of town."

  "Did you want one cake to feed the whole group or would you prefer a combination of a cake and cupcakes."

  He glanced at her before turning his attention back to the tablet. "I think Nana wants a combination. She wanted the cake to be chocolate but said the cupcakes could be a mixture of different flavors as long as some were still chocolate."

  Erin had to smile at Mrs. Dawson's need to have lots of chocolate. "We can certainly do that. What are you thinking of for decorations on the cake and cupcakes?"

  "It may seem cliché, but flowers. Lots of them. Nana has always loved flowers and had large gardens back when she could still tend to them. Her garden is smaller now, and a gardener does most the work, but she sits outside among her flowers every day when the weather is nice."

  Erin nodded. Mrs. Dawson had spoken at length about it whenever they had a chance to chat. "She said that lilies are her favorite but that she also loves daisies."

  This time, the look James shot her held a measure of surprise. "Yes, that's right. Can you work with that?"

  "Definitely. I can put lilies on the cake with a few other complementary flowers and then put daisies on the cupcakes." Erin made a couple of quick sketches in her notebook. Already she was envisioning how it could look, but her ideas usually morphed once the decorating process began.

  "Are you the only one who designs and decorates?" James asked.

  Erin looked up to find James watching her. "I do pretty much all the designing and most the decorating, although since we've gotten busier, I've hired an amazingly talented assistant to help me out."

  "And the baking?"

  Erin tried to figure out if there was some kind of judgment b
ehind his questions, but all she could do was answer honestly. "I have people who do the baking, but all the recipes we use are ones I've developed just for the bakery." When James didn’t respond to that, his attention back on the pictures on the tablet, Erin asked, "When do you need all of this?"

  “Her birthday is December twenty-ninth, but we’re having the party on New Year’s Eve.” James looked up and pushed the tablet back toward her. “Can you fit that in?”

  Erin knew she would squeeze it in if she had to stay up for three days straight to get it done. And not only because she adored Mrs. Dawson, but because she wanted to prove to James that she was more than just a single girl with a pulse waiting for some guy to agree to go on a date with her.

  “There will be no problem having this ready by then, but I’ll do up some sketches and get you a quote in a couple of days.” She jotted down the date then flipped to the front of the notebook and pulled a business card out of the pocket page. Sliding it across the table, she said, “Here’s my card if you think of anything further that I need to know or if anything changes with the date or what you want. Just email me the info.” Erin closed the notebook and put the tablet on top of it.

  James reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a silver card holder. He picked hers up and slid it inside and then held one out to her. “Here’s my email and number.”

  Erin took the card then glanced over to see Megan approaching with a box in her hand. She’d forgotten she’d asked for the baked goods to go. After having her first good impression shot to pieces, she hadn’t been as inclined to give him anything but a piece of her mind. She would, however, take the high road and hope that the treats would sweeten up his personality.

  “What do we have here?” James asked, looking up at Megan with a wide smile.

  Erin nearly rolled her eyes at the way Megan blushed. If only the girl knew. “I know you said you’re not into sweets, but perhaps you can take this to your grandmother or to the people in your office.”