One Christmas Wish by Brenda Jackson
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
SIERRAWASCONVINCEDthis had to have been the longest week of her life. Although she’d tried telling herself it had nothing to do with Vaughn, deep down she knew it did. He’d told her he would be gone for a week, yet every day during the late afternoon she would look up each time the door chimed to see if it was him walking in.
She hadn’t expected to miss him. He hadn’t called or texted, but he hadn’t said he would. Why should he? Hadn’t she pretty much given him the impression that she wished he wouldn’t? She had told him she wasn’t ready for a serious relationship and all she could offer was friendship. There was really no reason for him to stay in contact.
It was Friday and the restaurant was full. Her new white chicken chili had been a hit and by popular demand, she had made it twice this week. Everybody loved it and she was glad of that. Teryn had been invited to a sleepover for a classmate’s birthday. The little girl’s parents were members of their church and a couple Sierra had grown up with here in the cove.
Teryn had made her promise to water the flowers Vaughn had given her. She was still happy about them, and more than once this week Sierra had to caution her goddaughter about overwatering the flowers. The roses in the bouquet had opened and Teryn had been delighted. Sierra would admit she’d been just as happy to see her roses bloom. Both flower arrangements were as fresh and beautiful as the day Vaughn had brought them, and still smelled divine, too.
Since Teryn would be gone until late tomorrow evening, Sierra made plans to drive into New Orleans and spend the day there. It had been a while since she’d visited the French Quarter, and eating a beignet or two sure sounded good. She might even drop by Madam Josey and have her tarot cards read.
On second thought, maybe not. The last time she’d done that while in college, Madam Josey had predicted she would live a long and happy life with the man she loved. So much for that forecast, now that she was divorced and the man she’d thought she loved had cheated on her. As far as she was concerned, Madam Josey didn’t have a great track record.
She decided to stop being a door watcher since it was obvious Vaughn would not be dropping by. He’d said he would be gone a week, but that didn’t necessarily mean he would return today. Since he mentioned he would also be visiting with his sister, she figured he’d probably stay through the weekend.
Turning to one of her waitresses, Sierra told her that she would be in her office if she was needed. It didn’t take her long to get caught up tallying the week’s receipts and planning next week’s menu. She looked up when there was a knock on the office door. “Come in.”
“Everything is closed up and I’m about to leave.”
She smiled at Levi, her assistant manager. “I hadn’t realized it had gotten so late,” she said, closing the books. “How did things go tonight?”
“It was busy until the end, but the last thirty minutes were only take-out orders. We sold out all of the soups.”
“That’s good to hear,” she said, standing. “By the way, Levi, I plan to drive to New Orleans tomorrow since Teryn is spending the night away.”
“That’s great. I hope you enjoy yourself. You’ve been working hard, nonstop since this place opened. Between this restaurant and taking care of Teryn, you need to slow down once in a while and take care of yourself.”
“I will.”
A short while later she decided to call it a night and was headed upstairs when her phone rang. When she saw the call was from Vaughn, her heart started pounding. “Hello, Vaughn.”
“Hello, Sierra. I just got in. Bad weather caused my flight to be delayed.”
She wondered why he was telling her this when he hadn’t contacted her all week. “Sorry to hear that. Glad you made it home safely.”
“So am I. How did the new soup turn out?”
She was about to ask how he knew she would be trying out a new soup recipe this week when she remembered mentioning it over dinner on Sunday. “It was a huge success. My customers loved it. I had to make it twice.”
“I had intended to come by tonight.”
“Unfortunately, we don’t have soup left of any kind.”
“Soup isn’t what I would have wanted, Sierra.”
She swallowed, knowing she shouldn’t ask, especially upon hearing the deep, throaty tone of his voice. However, she asked anyway. “And what would you have wanted?”
“That kiss I didn’t get on Sunday. Could you please open your door so I can get it now?”
Through the transom window above her front door she saw the porch motion light was on. Just knowing Vaughn was outside sent an immediate surge of yearning through her. Desire, the one she had managed to contain until she was in her bed at night, clawed at her, sending a throb to the area between her legs.
“Sierra?”
The sound of his voice made her realize she was standing there, frozen in place, and still holding her cell phone to her ear. “Yes?”
“Would you like to open the door?” he asked. “Please.”
Would she? Should she?If she opened the door then he would assume she wanted the kiss as much as he did. If she didn’t open the door, he’d assume she didn’t want the kiss and go away.
She would not open the door. “Vaughn?”
“Yes?”
She paused a moment and then said, “I am opening the door.”