Page 42 of A Match Made in Montana

Her phone bleeped. It was a text from Craig. Her heart bounced around happily in her chest just seeing his name. All he’d sent, though, was a link to her website.

Eagerly, she clicked on it and quickly scrolled down. Wow—it looked amazing. Craig had already added some of the new photos from Riley’s shoot yesterday. Oh, this was so nice!

Her phone rang. It wasn’t a number she knew. Maybe the call was from a potential customer, you never know. Rolling her eyes to her own silly thoughts, she answered the call.

Minutes later, she did a happy dance. She had more visitors for the Spring Arts and Crafts Festival. Whatever Craig had been doing was working wonders for traffic to the website of her small B and B. Annie’s might just survive after all.

Mitch and Vivian had already left, Aiden was probably at the house, there was no one she could share her joy with. She desperately wanted to call Craig and tell him, but he wasn’t going to be around forever. Oh, but she really, really wanted to tell him.

The clock on the oven pinged. The second batch of croissants was ready.Focus, Annie, focus.She’d send him a message, but first things first. The kitchen was a mess. She needed to clean it before she could do anything else.

Around eleven, the kitchen was sparkling. She was taking out her phone to finally send Craig a message when the doorbell rang. Dropping her phone in her pocket, she just about skipped to the front door. It could be Riley, although she’d said later today. In Marietta people didn’t always wait for an invitation. Whoever it was, she had good news she’d love to share over a cup of tea.

With a big, welcoming smile, she opened the door. And froze. The man standing on her doorstep was the very last person she’d expected to ever see again. Ted. The same Ted who’d sent her a message weeks before their wedding day to break off their engagement.

“Aah, Annie,” he said, stepping closer to grab her hands in his. “I’ve missed that smile. I’ve missed everything about you.”

Stunned, she watched his head bending down to kiss her. Just before he could pull her closer, she finally got her voice back. “What are you doing here, Ted?”

*

Craig was drivingdown Court Street on his way to town. He had an appointment to meet the owner of a new deli who also wanted to talk to him about marketing. The sixth shop owner asking for help.

Halfway down the street, he made a U-turn. He’d just had breakfast with his parents. The need to see Annie was too overwhelming to ignore. She was all he’d been thinking about since leaving Bramble House. There was still time before his next meeting. Her mere presence would calm his thoughts.

Driving slowly down Bramble Lane, he tried to quiet the storm raging in his chest. He didn’t know what to think, how to make sense of the conversation his parents just had with him. Or rather, the conversation they didn’t have with him.

He was turning to park in the driveway of Annie’s house, when his foot hit the brakes. A strange car was parked in the street and right on her doorstep, for all to see some man was bending down to kiss Annie. What the hell?

He was out of the car and walking toward them before he’d taken the conscious decision to do so.

“What are you doing here, Ted?” said Annie’s voice.

Craig hung back. Ted. Wasn’t that the idiot who’d broke up with her weeks before their wedding day?

“I’m back, Annie, and I want to marry you. This time for real.”

“I thought you didn’t like a woman who only wants to cook and stay at home.”

“But now you have a business!” he said, gesturing toward the house. “You have a professional website which tells me you must be doing well. With my construction skills, we can build this place up, hire someone as a chef, and sell franchises all over Montana. I’m so impressed by the website.”

“I don’t even know what to say to you, Ted. You never wanted me to have my own B and B. Please go.”

He grabbed her arms. Craig saw red. Stepping forward, he put a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Annie has asked you to go.”

Ted turned around quickly, his eyes wary. But Craig was obviously not who he’d been worried about seeing and he smiled again. “I don’t know who you are, but Annie here is my fiancée.”

With a frown, Craig turned toward Annie.What the hell?“I didn’t know you were still engaged.”

“Well, now you do,” Ted said, putting a hand on Annie’s arm.

Annie pulled away quickly and hands on hips, her eyes mere slits, she turned to Ted. “I am not engaged to you or anyone, nor do I plan to ever be engaged again. Please leave.”

Ted’s face had turned red. “If I leave now, I’m not ever coming back.”

“Great,” Annie said. “This is my house, my business, my B and B, and I love being the chef, thank you very much.”

“Think about it,” Ted said. “I don’t know if you’ll get a better offer in this little town.” And turning away he walked back to his car.

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