Eager to jump at the chance, he nodded. “I’d love a cup of coffee.” He leaned back and looked at the almost empty bakery case. “Look at that. There’s one last éclair.”

  Laughing, Belinda reached for the éclair and placed it on a plate. “I saved that for you. I wasn’t sure if you’d come back, but I thought you might like it if you did.”

  The sweet gesture struck him, and he eagerly followed her to one of the small tables. “Sit with me.”

  Bess had locked the door and put the closed sign up before heading back into the kitchen. When he’d stopped by, he had no idea if he would have the opportunity to talk privately with Belinda, but the fates and her sister had contrived to give him just what he wanted as she sat across from him. He jumped right in and said, “I’ve been curious about your real job since you say you’re just helping your sister here.”

  Her face beamed as much as Bess’s had when he complimented the bakery, and he was once again reminded of the similarity between the two. “I’m a photographer.”

  Unable to hide his surprise, he jerked his chin down. “Really?”

  “Yes. Really.” She tilted her head to the side. “Is that so hard to believe?”

  “No, not at all,” he rushed. “It’s just that I’ve never known a photographer. I mean, a professional photographer who does that for a living.” Hoping he hadn’t insulted her, he added, “But you said you were in the photography club in high school, so you were able to turn something you loved into a career.”

  She nodded, then aimed the spotlight back at him. “That sounds like something you understand. Did you always want to go into law enforcement?”

  “To be honest, when I left high school, I only wanted to follow in my older brother's footsteps, so I joined the Navy. But he went into marine technology to begin with, and I went straight into being military police.”

  “That’s Andy, right?”

  “Yeah, that’s my brother. Do you know him?”

  “No, not really. I’ve met the woman he’s dating. She’s come into the bakery several times and seems really nice.”

  “Yeah, Ivy is a great woman.” He was aware that the conversation rolled back to him. Determined to learn more about her, he prodded, “So tell me about being a photographer.”

  “My work is diverse. I do events, weddings, anniversary celebrations, family gatherings, baby pictures. I even do headshots for professional events, although those aren’t my favorite. But I enjoy working with people and have bills to pay, so I don’t turn my nose up at any job. I also love nature photography.”

  “Living on the Eastern Shore certainly gives you an opportunity for nature shots.”

  He knew he’d said the right thing when her face brightened even more. “Absolutely! I like to go out in the early morning and get pictures of the beach, the birds, the shore, and anything in the area.” She heaved her shoulders and sighed. “Nature photographs sell occasionally, but hardly enough to live on. So I do pretty much anything I can with my cameras to earn money. Honestly, I just like to take pictures.”

  “I can really feel your passion.” He wondered what else she would be passionate about and shifted slightly in his seat.

  Thankfully, she didn’t seem to notice his movements and nodded enthusiastically. “I feel incredibly lucky that I can make a living as a photographer.”

  She looked around, then returned her gaze to him and sighed again. “I hate to kick you out, but I need to wipe down the tables and clean the floor. It was nice of you to come back and see me again.”

  He took to his feet, making sure to clean up the crumbs from his table. “It was my pleasure, Belinda. I’m sorry I didn’t know you in high school, but it’s great to meet you now.”

  Laughing, she patted his arm. “Please, don’t worry about high school. I’m much too old to worry about teenage angst by now. I think at that age, we’re all just trying to find someplace to fit in.”

  Her words scored through him, and he nodded. “I think you’re right.” He walked to the door with her beside him. Lisa had been wrong about him earlier. It wasn’t that he never went on dates, but he tried to be discerning. Find someone he could date for a while, hoping it might last. But it had been months since he’d wanted to get to know someone and had asked them out.

  Belinda leaned past him to unlock the door to let him through, and he looked down at her. “Would you be interested in having dinner with me sometime?”

  “I’d really like that,” she answered without hesitation.

  “What about Friday night?”

  Beaming, she nodded. “That’s perfect. I have a photo shoot scheduled for Saturday afternoon, so Friday night would be great.”

  His smile widened. “I’d love to pick you up, but I understand if you’d prefer to meet me.”

  “I’d usually just meet you, but since you’re a deputy, I feel certain you must be trustworthy.” She laughed. “You can pick me up out front here. I live upstairs.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, there are two apartments up there. I live in one, and Bess lives in the other.” She hesitated, then pulled her phone from her pocket. “I don’t want to sound too forward, but could we share phone numbers in case something comes up and we need to get ahold of each other? I promise I wouldn’t use it for any other reason than⁠—”

  “It’s fine, it’s fine,” he assured. They quickly exchanged phone numbers and settled on a time for Friday night. “Good night, Belinda. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  Chuckling, he said, “I gotta start my day with coffee before I keep the county safe.” With that, he walked out, smiling at the look of delight on her face.

  4

  Belinda lingered in the doorway, her gaze following Aaron as he walked to his vehicle. She admired the way his deputy’s uniform clung to his muscular frame. As he drove away, his glance met hers, and he returned her wave and smile. And if she wasn’t mistaken, he winked. Such a simple gesture, yet it filled her with eager anticipation for their date.

  The click of the door’s lock echoed in the quiet bakery, and she turned to walk toward the back. Her feet stumbled at the sight of Bess leaning against the doorframe between the kitchen and the shop. Her sister’s exuberant smile lit up the room more than the afternoon sun.

  “What are you staring at?” She tried to hide her own smile as she feigned innocence.

  “My beautiful sister who has caught the eyes of a really good-looking guy, who also happens to have a good job, who also happens to be local, so it’s easy to know he’s a good guy, and⁠—”

  Throwing up her hands, Belinda said, “Okay! Okay! I get it. There are a lot of goods in your analysis of my upcoming date.”

  “Are you going to see him again?” Bess cried, her smile widening.

  “Yes. He’s coming by tomorrow for some coffee before work.” Belinda tried not to laugh at her sister's fallen expression. “Oh, and I have a date for Friday night.”

  Bess jumped up and down, clapping her hands, looking more like a teenager than a twenty-eight-year-old who runs her own business.

  Sighing, Belinda ushered Bess back into the kitchen, looping arms with her. As she looked around, she could see that Bess already had the kitchen clean and the prep work for tomorrow finished. “You know, it’s not like it’s been forever since I’ve had a date.”

  Bess nodded. “I know. It just seems like you and I don’t have great luck in the romance department. We have no trouble meeting guys. We have no trouble getting a date. But it’s hard as hell to make it to a second date, much less anything more. There’s little time when you’re running your own business.” She planted her hands on her hips and blew out a breath that pushed her curls away from her forehead. “And why is it that men, even in this day and age, seem to want the little woman to be available at their beck and call? As soon as someone figures out your schedule and realizes you can’t spend all your time waiting for them, they decide to move on to easier pastures.”

  Belinda couldn’t help but laugh in the middle of Bess’s heartfelt tirade. “The saying is greener pastures.” Her sister had a habit of tossing out old sayings but somehow messing them up and creating her own. It was one of her many endearing qualities. That, and being unfailingly loyal.

  “Easier… greener… whatever! I just mean that you and I haven’t found anyone willing to put in the work it actually takes to date someone.”

  After another moment of silence, the two locked up the back door after taking out the trash. They walked up the steps to their apartments and stopped outside their doors.

  “Well, at least, we can hope that Deputy Bergstrom wants to take a chance to get to know the real you.”

  Belinda agreed with a nod and reached out to grab Bess’s hand. Giving it a little squeeze, she pulled her sister in for a hug. With good nights said, they each disappeared into their identical apartments.

  As soon as Belinda stepped into hers, she glanced around and had to admit that other than the floorplan, she and her sister's apartments were not identical.

  Her apartment stood in quiet contrast to her sister’s vibrant sanctuary. Bess would often spend her evenings experimenting in her kitchen. She had various cooking and baking books taking up space on the coffee table, her small dining table, and the kitchen counter. Bess’s interior was an explosion of bold colors, infusing every room with red, blue, and purple.

  Belinda closed and locked her door and smiled as she looked around at her canvas of her life and interests, and the familiar calm enveloped her. She had not inherited the cooking gene, and her kitchen was functional, unlike her sister’s creative hub. With a one-bedroom apartment, there was no separate place for an office, so she opted for a large kitchen table that served mainly as a desk. Computers, monitors, and camera equipment filled most of the space, leaving only a small area for her to sit down to eat.

  Her coffee table was filled with photography books and magazines. She kept her decorating palette neutral to be a backdrop for the framed nature photographs she’d taken and now hung on her walls. Her apartment was an extension of her soul… a place where light, shadow, and color all told stories without words.

  For a while, she lost herself in editing the last photographs she’d taken, but soon, thoughts of her impending date encroached. Hitting save, she gave up and walked to her comfortable sofa, falling backward onto the cushions.

  At thirty years old, she rarely returned her thoughts to high school, but now she gave way to the memories pushing in. Considering she and her sister never kept secrets from each other, Bess was the only person in the world who knew her secret adolescent crush had been Aaron Bergstrom.

  She would surreptitiously watch him in the halls and often volunteered to take photographs of the football and baseball teams so she would have a few seconds to snap pictures of him. All while she stood on the sidelines. Since she was never invited to dances, she would volunteer to take pictures for the yearbook. Homecoming. Winter fling. Spring prom. Aaron was always with a different girl on his arm, and if he’d been an octopus, he could’ve easily had eight different girls vying to grab one of his tentacles.

  That caused her to snort, and she sat up, pulling up her legs to prop them on the coffee table.

  Aaron left a slew of broken hearts behind, but she never heard anyone say anything mean about him, and as much time as she secretly watched him, she never witnessed him being rude or mean to anyone. He was loyal to his girlfriend of the month… it seemed he never stayed with the same girl for long.

  She leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling for a moment. “I am so ridiculous,” she said to the empty space in her apartment. “I’m giddy because I got asked out on a date. It’s not like that’s never happened before, but not with somebody I used to have a crush on years ago. God, I hope I don’t make a fool of myself!”

  Turning on the TV, she immersed herself in the historical drama she’d been watching, glad to take her mind off Friday night. But by the time she showered and was ready for bed, she lay awake, her mind no longer on high school crushes but on the man she hoped she’d see the following morning in the coffee shop.

  5

  It was finally Friday night. Dressed in jeans, a button-up shirt, and a black leather jacket, Aaron pulled to a stop outside the bakery and looked toward the door. He’d visited the coffee shop every morning since they’d arranged a date, finding that he didn’t want to go a day without seeing her. She smiled widely and greeted him as deputy each time. He was looking forward to hearing her call him by his name.

  The door next to the bakery opened, and she walked out. He started to get out of the driver's seat when she trotted over and threw open the passenger door. Her broad smile met his, but he admonished, “You need to wait on me so I can open the door for you.”

  She lifted a brow as she twisted to look at him. “Under other circumstances, that would make sense. But it’s chilly outside. There’s no reason for you to get out of a warm vehicle just to open the door for me while I’m outside, getting cold, waiting on you.”

  Her response caught him off guard, and he couldn’t think of a witty retort. He shook his head and chuckled. “From now on, I just need to get to your place earlier so I can park and meet you at the door.”

  Now, both of her brows lifted. “Oh, is there going to be another date after this one? Are you being presumptuous or hopeful?”

  Laughing, he admitted, “Probably a little of both.”

  Her gaze held his, and her smile exuded what he hoped was the same happiness he felt that they were finally meeting somewhere other than the bakery. He’d given the place of their dinner a lot of thought. It wasn’t far to drive to the tiny town of Seaside. While Baytown had more restaurants, he knew people would recognize him, and he wanted a chance to be with Belinda without the possibility of constant interruptions.

  He parked outside of what could be considered a shack. Now that he looked at it more critically, he winced, second-guessing his choice. “I know this place looks like a dive, but it has some of the best burgers in the county.” She looked out of the windshield, but her facial expression just held wonder and not disdain. “I’ve never been here. I can’t wait to try it.” With an overly dramatic tone, she glanced to the side and said, “I warn you that I can be a hamburger connoisseur. So I can’t wait to see how they do.”

  “The fries are great, but their onion rings are out of this world.”

  She rubbed her hands together and exclaimed, “Let’s go try them!”

  She waited for him to exit the vehicle, and he hurried around to open her door. The last time he’d brought a date to this establishment, it was not well received, so he had to admit, he was thrilled that she was all in for trying food at a place that didn’t look like a five-star restaurant. He caught himself from snorting, thinking that this dive wouldn’t come close. He opened the door, and they walked inside. Tables and chairs filled the space, and a bar lined the left side.

  As soon as they were seated, they looked over the menu, gave their orders to the server, and then turned their attention toward each other. Before he had a chance to say anything, she blurted, “I’m really glad you asked me out.”

  Her honesty was refreshing. “I’m glad I did, too. I’m sure a girl as beautiful as you has a choice of dates, so I’m glad you’re taking a chance on me.” He meant exactly what he said, but he was also fishing to learn more about her.

  “There might not be a dearth of someone showing interest,” she admitted before sipping her beer. “I turned thirty on my last birthday, and I’m no longer willing to go out with just anyone.” She scrunched her nose. “I suppose that makes me sound like a snob, doesn’t it?”

  “No, I know exactly what you mean.”

  “It’s just that I work weird hours, and between the photography gigs and helping Bess get her bakery going, I don’t have much free time.” She shrugged while keeping her gaze on him.

  They were sitting close, and he leaned in her direction. He liked that she didn’t attempt coy mannerisms while talking, but it also made him realize that he was better at flirting than deeper conversation. “Then I’m glad I asked, and I’m glad you said yes. And here we are about to have the world’s greatest burger.”

  Her lips curved, and he was struck by how her smile was just part of her natural expression.

  Laughing, she nodded. Right on cue, the server set their plates down, and they proceeded to dig in. She took an enormous bite, and he was impressed. The former girlfriend he’d brought to this restaurant had complained about the size of the hamburgers, then finally cut off a few bites that she nibbled on.

  But Belinda dug into her meal with gusto, moaning with enjoyment with each bite. She was only able to eat half but had the server box up the other half and some of the onion rings. Looking over at him, she said, “I’m stuffed, but I don’t want the food to go to waste. Anyway, I’ll wrap it up when I get home, and it’ll make a great meal when I finish the wedding shoot.”

  “What are your favorite types of photo shoots besides nature?”

  Without hesitation, she replied, “Families. Even weddings, except occasionally, I have to deal with a bridezilla or a mother of the bridezilla. I even like photographing babies, although I sometimes have to wait for hours if they’re sleepy or hungry or just pissed off about somebody wanting to take their picture.”

  Her eyes were bright as she continued to explain. “I love doing family get-togethers where they want to have the sunset behind them on the beach. I love anniversary pictures of couples who have been married for a long time. I even did one last year for a couple who’d been married for seventy-five years. They got married as teenagers, and were about ninety-three years old. They were adorable!”

  He remained quiet, loving her enthusiasm, hoping she would keep talking.