you’d marry me, Hannah. I can’t think of anything that would be better for me. But it wouldn’t be better for you. You’d be miserable if you married me. Every time I turned around to look at a pretty woman, you’d wonder if I was going to make a move on her when you weren’t around. Think about it, Hannah. I’ve already let you down a couple of times in the past, and you’d have to be the biggest fool on earth to take a chance on me.”
And with that said, Mike pulled her into his arms and kissed her until her mind was spinning with joyful abandon.
There was no way of telling how long the kiss lasted. And there was no way of doubting that Mike desired her. It was a lover’s kiss, a way of communicating the closeness they both felt. Hannah reveled in the feeling for breathless moments and then…suddenly…Mike was gone, and she realized that she was standing there alone with her fingertips touching her lips, swaying slightly, savoring the memory.
“Oh,” Hannah gave a soft little cry. Mike was willing to sacrifice his own happiness to keep her from making what he thought would be a dreadful mistake. She felt like running after him, throwing her arms around him, and…
The feel of warm fur brushing against her ankles brought her out of her imaginings and back in touch with reality. Was Mike putting her on? Was this a little game he was playing? Did he want her to feel so sorry for him, she’d race after him, tell him it didn’t matter, and melt into his arms?
Hannah pondered the questions for a moment, and then she sighed deeply. There was no way she could know for sure. Thank goodness Norman was coming back soon! Of course she’d never ask Norman for advice on her relationship with Mike, but just knowing that Norman was there, steady and loving, gave an anchor to her confused emotions.
And that was when she saw that the red light on her remote phone was blinking rhythmically. She’d missed a call working late at The Cookie Jar and she hadn’t noticed it when she’d come in with Mike.
Hannah took time to reach down and pet the two cats, and then she headed for the end table by the couch to play back her message on the remote phone system she’d bought when her old-fashioned answer machine had finally given up the ghost.
“Hi, Hannah. It’s Norman.” At the first sound of Norman’s voice, Cuddles jumped up on her lap and tried to lick the phone. “It’s your daddy,” Hannah said, holding the phone a little closer so that Cuddles could hear.
“It’s almost seven and I guess you’re out somewhere for dinner. I’m just getting ready to leave the hotel and meet my friends for dinner.”
Hannah frowned slightly. Norman’s voice sounded strained, but perhaps that was the connection.
“If it’s not too much trouble, can you keep Cuddles for another night? I’m going to stay over one more day. I have a couple of things I have to do and it’s going to take me longer than I expected. I’ll be back on Thursday and I’ll pick up Cuddles on Thursday after work.” There was a pause and Norman cleared his throat. “Oh, yes. I already talked to Doc Bennett and he’s coming in to work for me, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
Hannah’s frown deepened. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Norman didn’t sound very happy. And he should have been happy meeting up with all his friends from dental school again.
“I guess that’s it.” Norman cleared his throat again. “Have a nice evening. ’Bye.”
No
Of course she couldn’t go to bed, not with one boyfriend confusing the dickens out of her by wanting to marry her but claiming he was saving her from herself by pushing her into another man’s arms, and the other boyfriend suffering with an unknown problem in Minneapolis, a problem that made him sound like a stranger instead of a man who could hardly wait to get back to her. In a situation like this, there was only one thing to do and she knew exactly what it was. She had to bake.
Hannah hurried to the kitchen and opened the pantry to survey the ingredients she had on hand. She’d received a recipe last month from a friend she’d known in college. History major Katie Strehler had always attended class with a to-go cup of coffee in her hand. She’d been an even bigger coffee drinker than Hannah, and if Katie said her Mocha Nut Butterballs satisfied that coffee urge, Hannah certainly wasn’t about to doubt her. She’d already stocked up on the ingredients she needed to make Katie’s cookies. They were on the top shelf, along with the recipe. Hannah read it through again to make sure she had everything, and then she carried it all out to the kitchen counter.
It didn’t take long to mix up the dough, and within five minutes Hannah had the first pan in the oven. Since it was silly to try a new recipe without at least tasting it, she put on a fresh pot of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table to wait for the cookies to come out of the oven. She’d just slipped the second pan into the oven and was preparing to roll the cooled cookies in powdered sugar when the door opened and Michelle came in.
“It’s almost midnight!” Michelle said, spotting Hannah at the kitchen counter. “Can’t you sleep?”
“I can’t sleep quite yet. I have to wait for another couple of pans of cookies to come out of the oven.”
Michelle sniffed the air appreciatively. “They smell great. What are they?”
“Mocha Nut Butterballs. Do you want to try one?”
“Sure.” Michelle tossed her purse on the table and went to the coffee pot to pour herself a cup. “I’ll help you bake the rest. I’m too mad to go to sleep.”
“Why are you mad?”
“It’s Lonn
“Are you?” Hannah asked the important question.
“I was, but I’m not right now. It’s just that I want to keep my options open. I don’t want to be tied down at this point in my life.”
“Mmm,” Hannah commented, keeping it neutral as she filled a plate with cookies. “Have a cookie and tell me what you think.”
Michelle took a cookie and bit into it. She gave a little moan of delight and popped the remainder into her mouth. “I’ve got three words to describe them.”
“And they are…?”
“Mocha. Butter. Yum!”
“That’s good enough for me,” Hannah said, taking a cookie for herself. “So what are you going to do about Lonnie?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you love him?”
Michelle took another cook
“I know,” Hannah said, hoping those wings weren’t flapping anywhere near Bradford Ramsey. One broken Swensen heart was enough.
“Men!” Michelle muttered around her third cook
“That’s true, but it’s okay.”
“It is?” Michelle turned to stare at her.
“Sure it is…as long as the Mocha Nut Butterballs hold out.”
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
1 cup softened butter
? cup white
sugar
