Free Delectable Desire by Farrah Rochon Page A

reveal elaborate cupcakes, decorated with zebra stripes, leopard spots and other animal prints. There were even some made to look like sea turtles. The children squealed in delight as Carter handed out the cupcakes.
    He dropped to his haunches and wiggled the long braid of a little girl in a wheelchair, who had a trachea tube extending from her neck. The little girl’s green eyes lit up as Carter presented her with a cupcake covered with bright pink icing and a plastic flamingo standing proudly in the center.
    Lorraine did her best to hold in her emotions, but when she lifted her eyes and spotted a woman she assumed to be the child’s mother looking on with tears flowing down her cheeks, Lorraine’s own waterworks started their cascade.
    How difficult must life be when something as simple as a cupcake could bring so much joy. The notion tugged unmercifully at her heart.
    She was suddenly overwhelmed with shame for lamenting over her own problems. She had nothing to complain about. She had her health, her family, a roof over her head and enough money to keep her free from financial worry for the rest of her life. She even had a man with a genuinely good heart interested in her. She was blessed.
    She could not fathom the trials these children and their families faced, the pain they had endured. She wished she could do something to lessen their burdens, or at least put the kind of smiles on their faces that Carter and his cupcakes had elicited.
    The woman whom Carter had introduced as the coordinator of the event appeared, accompanied by a clown, complete with a bright red nose. The children were all corralled, and the clown began performing a magic show, extracting oohs and aahs from his enraptured audience.
    “That was very sweet of you,” Lorraine told Carter as they stood a few feet away, watching the clown juggle a collection of colorful rings. “Did you see their faces when you unveiled those cupcakes?”
    Carter shrugged. “The kids can get lost in events like this. It’s for their hospital, but everything is usually catered to the donors. The kids should feel like the guests of honor.”
    Lorraine stared at him, warmth settling into her bones. “You’re a very thoughtful man, Carter.”
    “I like giving back,” he said. “Especially to kids who don’t fit in. I kind of know how they feel.”
    “You do?”
    “I don’t know what it feels like to be stuck in the hospital for months, but sticking out like a sore thumb? Yeah, I know how that feels.”
    Lorraine suspected her skepticism showed on her face, but she couldn’t help it. In what universe would he not fit in anywhere he found himself? Taking in the man standing before her, with his gorgeous brown eyes, close-cut, naturally wavy hair, solid, athletic build and seemingly natural ability to converse with anyone and make them feel at ease, she could not imagine Carter ever feeling as if he were on the outside looking in.
    Just as she was about to question him, another of the event coordinators came up to them, shaking Carter’s hand and thanking him enthusiastically for the showstopping cakes provided by Lillian’s.
    “I wish I could see the amazing cakes everyone keeps talking about,” Lorraine said when the woman walked away.
    “You will, but we’ve got something else to do first.”
    She gave him a wary look, not sure she trusted that mischievous glint in his eyes. Carter led her to the amusement park area and purchased two tickets for the carousel. She had not been on a carousel since she was five years old.
    “I’ll bet you weren’t picturing this when you were getting ready for our date tonight, were you?” he asked, holding her hand as she climbed aboard an acrylic horse.
    “I’m relieved I opted for pants instead of a dress.” Lorraine laughed.
    They rode the carousel three times in a row. By the time they were done, Lorraine was dizzy, though she couldn’t be sure if it was from spinning in a circle for ten minutes, or laughing at