Free 01_The Best Gift by Irene Hannon Page B

woman, clearly capable of taking care of herself. She didn’t need his concern. In fact, she might even resent it.
    But as Blake looked around the cozy third-floor apartment and recalled the three sets of stairs he’d had to climb to reach her door, he couldn’t help but wonder if she was having trouble negotiating them. Especially juggling bags of groceries. Or a basket of laundry. And if she was, was there anyone she could call on for help?
    Blake didn’t think so. Her two sisters were far away. And though she’d made many acquaintances since arriving in St. Louis, those were all new friendships. Not the sort of long-established relationships where one felt comfortable asking for favors. And she’d never mentioned a boyfriend—or even a close female friend—that she’d left behind in Chicago.
    So maybe he and A.J. did have something in common after all. Though their philosophies of life might be radically different, and they might disagree on pretty much everything, it seemed they shared one trait.
    They were both alone.

Chapter Five
     
    “A.J. , this is fabulous!” Carl helped himself to a second serving of the main dish.
    “Thank you. But I’m glad I didn’t know your background this afternoon. I would have been too intimidated to invite you.”
    “You can cook for me any day. And I’m hoping I can wrangle this recipe out of you. It would be a perfect dish to feature in one of our cooking demonstrations.”
    “I’ll be happy to share it. After all, I wouldn’t have it if someone hadn’t shared it with me. But tell me more about your store. How long have you had it?”
    “It seems like forever, but actually it’s only been fifteen years. It took us quite a while to find our niche, but better late than never, I guess,” Jan chimed in with a laugh. “We’d always had an interest in good food, so opening a natural food shop just seemed…well, natural.”
    “My grandfather was a chef, so I already had a lot of training in food prep,” Carl added. “But I went to culinary school while Jan got her credentials as a dietitian. Then the whole thing just took off. Besides running the shop, Jan does seminars on the principles of healthy eating and I do the hands-on cooking demonstrations that put those principles into action. It’s a lot of fun.”
    “And a lot of work,” Jan added. “Especially since we opened a second shop a few months ago.”
    “You have two shops now?” Blake spoke for the first time since they’d gathered at the table. His tone was incredulous.
    “We’re as amazed as you are,” Carl affirmed. “We got into this business because we thought we’d enjoy it. We never expected to make a lot of money. But we’ve been successful far beyond our wildest dreams.”
    “The only trouble with success is that it eats into your flexibility and freedom,” Jan said with a sigh, helping herself to a second slice of homemade whole grain bread. “We used to love to take road trips. But this is the first time in years that we’ve been able to get away for any length of time.”
    Out of the corner of her eye, A.J. saw Blake reach for a second helping of the entrée to supplement the meager first serving he’d taken. When she’d presented the unusual vegetarian dish, she could see the wariness on his face. You’d think she’d been asking him to eat worms, she thought wryly. The man’s eating habits were obviously not adventurous. He was clearly as cautious with food as he was with people. And maybe with life.
    “So tell us where you got this recipe, A.J.,” Jan encouraged.
    “In Afghanistan.”
    That got everyone’s attention.
    “You’ve been to Afghanistan?” Blake shot her a startled look.
    She nodded. “I lived there for almost three years.”
    “Good grief! And we thought we’d lived in some exotic places,” Jan said.
    “What were you doing there?” Carl asked.
    A.J. hesitated. “It’s kind of a long story. And maybe not the best dinner conversation.”
    “We’d