Free Raspberry Kisses (The Bakery Romance Series Book 1) by Cecelia Dowdy Page B

nursery school?” She sounded like she didn’t believe him.
    “Yes. My mom wanted me to learn to speak a foreign language. For some reason, it was important to her. I went to private schools after that, taking Spanish every year. We had a Hispanic cleaning lady for years and she only spoke Spanish to me, gave me a chance to practice the language.”
    He took a deep breath. “Knowing Spanish has really helped me with my homeless ministry.”
    She raised her eyebrows. “You have a homeless ministry?”
    “Yes.” Apparently, they didn’t know very much about one another. He still had lots of questions about Rhea’s background, but, he wasn’t sure if she was ready to open up to him yet. Since she seemed intrigued, he decided to tell her more about his ministry. “A while back, I started a homeless ministry in my father’s church.”
    “You mean like a soup kitchen?”
    “No, not really. We don’t work in a building or anything like that. We get sandwiches and coffee from a fast food restaurant and serve them to the homeless.” He took a deep breath. “I noticed a lot of the homeless spoke Spanish, and being fluent in the language has enabled me to reach out to them, share the gospel while I share food.”
    She touched his arm, her warm fingers causing sparks of delight to spread on his skin. “Martin, that is so amazing.” She pulled her hand away, shoving her hands beneath the table, as if ashamed about touching him. What was she thinking?
    “If you want, the next time we go, you can come with us if you’re not busy working in your bakery.”
    She nodded. “I’ll come if I can.” She sighed. “I just feel kind of bad.”
    “Bad? About what?”
    “Well, I’ve been working in my bakery for two years and never thought to reach out to feed the homeless. Do you know how much food I throw away each year?”
    “Rhea, that’s the way America is. We throw away food every day, yet we have people on the streets with nothing to eat.”
    “That’s true.”
    He cleared his throat. “I’d like to tell you more about my church and my ministry, but, if it’s okay with you, we need to get started talking about your bakery.”
    She sat up straighter in her chair, looking directly at him. “Yes, I’m interested in hearing what you have to say.”
    “Remember I told you that I used to work in a bakery?”
    She nodded. “Yes?”
    “Well, I didn’t tell you everything. I owned a successful bakery. Have you ever heard of The Sugar Train? It was featured on the Food Channel once.”
    Rhea’s mouth dropped open, and her eyes sparkled. She slammed her hand against the table and stood. “That’s where I’ve seen you before!”
    “Huh?”
    “Since Raven showed me your picture, it’s been bugging me because you looked so familiar. Now I know where I’ve seen you.”
    She settled back into her seat. “Stan was still alive when I’d seen your episode on TV. I remember your episode because your bakery featured unique desserts. So, you’re the owner of The Sugar Train?”
    “Former owner,” he quickly corrected. “I’m in grad school full-time right now.”
    She leaned toward him. “You’re in grad school, and you’re a pastor?”
    He paused. “I’m the assistant pastor of my church. I’m in divinity school, too.” He didn’t want to talk about his pastoral duties right now. She obviously had issues with his profession. They’d talk about that later. Right now, they needed to focus on saving her business. “I loved working in my own bakery.”
    “What was your favorite dessert to make?”
    He smiled, leaning back into his chair, getting comfortable. “I loved preparing my mocha chocolate cake with rum sauce.” He paused, his mouth watering, reminiscing about the luscious treat. “Those moist layers of chocolate cake, layered with that creamy rum sauce….” Smiling, he gazed into Rhea’s pretty eyes. “I used to make it at Christmas, and we always sold out. It was my own recipe that I