Celebration's Baby. Nancy Thompson Robards

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СКАЧАТЬ two years before they’d called it quits and he’d reverted back to his freewheeling ways.

      He wouldn’t talk about what had happened. All he would say was that he hadn’t cheated. “It just didn’t work out.”

      His smorgasbord of women had been the main reason Bia had kept Aiden in the friend zone. Well, that and the fact that he’d thrown the bachelor party that ended with the stripper that had broken up her engagement.

      Still, despite all Aiden’s faults, Duane and Hugh were long gone, and Aiden was still there.

      She put her hand on her stomach. And he would be the first person she told about the baby.

      “...and I came to Celebration to see each one of them say I do,” Maya continued. “Each time I visited, I was drawn to this town. As time went on and I visited more, I knew there was a reason I was supposed to be here.”

      For a moment, Maya looked wistful. Bia studied her, taking a mental snapshot and hoping she could somehow convey Maya’s mood in the article.

      “Would you care to elaborate?”

      A warm smile reclaimed Maya’s delicate features. “At home, in St. Michel, I’m known as un marieur.”

      “I beg your pardon,” said Bia.

      “A matchmaker. I am a third-generation chocolatier by trade, but matchmaking, you might say, is my passion. Some people believe my chocolate is magical.”

      Bia stopped writing and looked up. The cinnamon and clove from the last piece of chocolate still lingered on the back of her tongue.

      “So, you’re telling me your chocolate is enchanted? What? Do you sprinkle in love potions or something?”

      “I would claim nothing of the sort. My chocolate is all natural. Everything is on the label, except for a few proprietary blends.”

      “The love potions?”

      Maya raked her hands through her hair. “Oh, I should not have said that. Please don’t print that in the profile.”

      “Why not? It will probably drive business through the roof. Everyone wants love.”

      Well, almost everyone.

      As if confirming Bia’s thoughts, Maya did her one-shoulder French shrug.

      “What?” Bia asked. “You don’t believe that?”

      “I do believe there is someone for everyone. You, for instance. You’ve had your share of setbacks, but there’s someone for you. In fact, you’ve already met him.”

      Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. If she was going to start asking about the Hugh Newman debacle, Bia would shut that down very quickly. Instead of waiting to get caught in the pickle, she turned the tables.

      “Is there someone special in your life?”

      Maya paused and drew in a slow, thoughtful breath.

      Ha. It’s not so comfortable to be on the receiving end of the dating game rapid-fire, is it?

      “Alas, even though my intuition is generally good when it comes to pairing up others, it doesn’t work so well for me personally.”

      “So, does this intuitive gift of yours carry over into other areas? Would you go as far as saying you have the gift of second sight?”

      Maya laughed. “If I had the second sight, I would’ve already won the lottery. I wouldn’t be agonizing over rollout budgets and marketing campaigns. But that’s strictly off the record, oui?”

      “Fair enough,” said Bia. “Back to the business of chocolate. I understand this is the first of two new Maya’s Chocolates that you’re opening stateside. Where will the other location be?”

      “I want to get the one here in Celebration off the ground, and then I’ll look into opening another, possibly in New York. However, it’s important that I ensure the fiscal health of the current locations. Especially the one in St. Michel. That’s where my grandmother started the business. It has been a fixture in downtown St. Michel for three generations. All of the recipes have been passed down through the years from mother to daughter.”

      “And will you continue the tradition?”

      Maya nodded.

      “Do you have children?”

      For a fraction of a second, Bia thought she saw a shade of sadness color Maya’s eyes.

      “Come with me,” Maya said. “I want to show you something.”

      The woman led the way to the kitchen, which was hidden behind a double-layered curtain made of silver gossamer backed by heavy white satin. When Maya parted the drapes, allowing Bia her first glimpse behind the scenes, Bia half expected she would glimpse the great and powerful Oz or some other secret to which mere mortals weren’t privy. If they were, wouldn’t every chocoholic have her own in-home chocolatier?

      But when Bia stepped over the threshold, she didn’t see anything that looked extraordinary. In fact, the kitchen, with its sterile stainless-steel countertops and run-of-the-mill industrial sink, refrigerator and gas range, looked quite...ordinary. Well, with the exception of the gleaming copper pots hanging on a rack over the sink, and the adorable pink-and-black box that was festively tied with a ribbon and waiting on the counter. Bia eyed the package.

      It looked like a box of Maya’s famous chocolate.

      For her to take home? She had to bite her tongue to keep from asking the question out loud.

      As if Maya had read her mind, she picked up the package and handed it to Bia. “This is for you.”

      “Ah, thank you,” Bia said.

      She gestured around the kitchen with a motion of her hand. “So this is where the magic happens?”

      Pride straightened Maya’s already admirable posture. “Oui. My mother and grandmother passed on those copper pots over there. That’s what I wanted to show you. The recipes are proprietary, guarded jealously and handed down through the generations with the copper pots and the family Bible, from mother to daughter to granddaughter.”

      She walked over and took down one of the three gleaming vessels, running the pads of her manicured fingers lovingly over its shiny surface. “My grandmother gave them to my mother, and, in turn, my mother gave them to me. Everything in this shop is brand-new, but I brought these with me as a symbol of the past, to remind me of the importance of family. I use them to make special smaller batches. Personal chocolates. Like those you sampled earlier and the box you will take home.”

      “Thank you,” Bia said.

      But the burning question, the one that Maya had quite deftly skirted, was the one about children. While Bia hated to assume, she couldn’t bring herself to press Maya for an answer. Wasn’t it obvious? If Maya had an heir, she would’ve said so. Judging by the look on her face when Bia had originally asked the question, she knew she’d struck a nerve. No, it was definitely better not to go there.

      “Your СКАЧАТЬ