Page 38 of Bidding on a Second Chance
Lucy coughed pointedly, drawing Piper’s attention upward as Graham slowed at their table.
A plastic shopping bag swung from his right hand. “You two selling or just buying?”
Lucy grinned. “A little of both.”
Piper gulped down her mouthful of brownie. She probably shouldn’t have fit half the thing in her mouth at once. Her face had to be as red as the swirls in the baked treat. “We recommend the red velvet brownies.”
Graham’s mouth pulled into a smile more delectable than anything on their table. “Red velvetcheesecakebrownies.”
“Oh. Yeah.” Her gaze darted around the table, but she didn’t spot any labels. How had he known?
Lucy’s laughter only made Piper’s face redder. She brushed her fingers over her face, in case the joke was crumbs on her cheeks.
Graham gathered a stack of cookies and paid. “Not all for me. I’m headed into work.”
Piper fit the goodies into a bag and handed it to him.
“All right, ladies. See you around. Try and sell all of those.” He lifted his chin toward Piper’s half-eaten brownie. “I don’t want leftovers to take back home.”
Of course he’d made them. She should’ve known.
He smiled that smug, teasing smile of his and headed for the doors, his steps light enough to convey his amusement.
Piper swiped at her cheeks, as though her embarrassment could be wiped away as easily as brownie bits. “You could’ve told me who made the bars.”
Lucy let out a full-fledged laugh. “The fact that you loved them proves my point. Maybe you enjoy him more than you care to admit. And he seemed to get quite a kick out of that, too.”
“I was enjoying a recipe, not a romance. And as for him, for wanting me to be more optimistic, he sure enjoys making me squirm.”
Lucy’s eyes glittered as she stood to help a middle-school-aged boy who neared with a couple of crumpled bills in his grasp. Lucy, of course, was right. If life were different, she could see it. Loving Graham, wanting a family with him.
The brownies would be just the figurative icing on the cake.
* * *
As Graham glanced at his clipboard during basketball practice, a smile crept onto his face as an image of Piper from yesterday popped to mind, her cheek bulging with brownie and then blushing at the sight of him.
He caught himself asking the Lord to keep working on her heart. Waiting for her to change her mind about him certainly fed his prayer life.
He scanned the players, who practiced dribbling. Bryce’s brown hair stuck to his forehead. He’d been working hard today.
Graham blew the whistle and explained the next drill, one that involved each of the boys dribbling within the three-point line. As they kept their own ball in play, they tried to knock other players’ basketballs out of bounds.
Bryce survived until about the halfway point. Then, one of the others whapped his basketball, and he chased it out. Graham shrunk the area of play for the remaining athletes, then took a place next to Bryce. Instead of pouting like he might’ve done earlier in the season, the boy watched the drill with interest. He’d come a long way.
“You know, Bryce, you never did tell me what interested you in the team.”
He shrugged one shoulder, eyes following the strongest player still on the court. “I want to go to state like my dad. He scored seven baskets there.”
Graham shifted his clipboard. Piper said Ryan had been benched from the team right before state his senior year. “Who told you about that?”
“My dad.” The bright and determined look on Bryce’s face discouraged Graham from setting him straight on the spot. Ryan could’ve played at the state level his junior year.
Graham would check the facts with Piper. In the meantime, he could manage Bryce’s expectations. “State is a good goal to have. Just keep in mind not everyone gets to go. It’s a lot of work, and it takes a good team, not just one good player.”
Bryce continued watching the drill. “I think we’ll be good.”
“I hope so.” But he hoped more that Ryan had told his son the truth because he didn’t want Bryce—or his aunt—disappointed.
