National Dessert Day by Merrillee Whren

Do these desserts look delicious? This is a photo my daughter took at a wedding reception for which she had made a lot of cookies for a cookie table. It looks like a lot of yummy choices. My favorite cookie is chocolate chip, but I love all kinds of desserts. I have a fantastic sweet tooth. Too fantastic in fact. So about twice a year I go on a sugar fast. I don't cut out sugar completely, but I do avoid desserts. I do this for four to six weeks and usually right before I go for my annual "well visit" which, in my opinion is a complete waste. I don't know who decided seniors should have a well visit instead of a regular physical. But we aren't here to talk about doctors appointments. We are here to talk about desserts and books.

I have one book that actually has a dessert on the cover. Cupcakes. Valentine cupcakes.

Near the end of the story, my heroine, Samantha Dawson, brings the hero, Wes Norberg, a plastic bin full of cupcakes. They have a tumultuous history, and this is her way of bringing a thank you and a bit of a peace offering. She remembered that he said he had a sweet tooth and figured this would be a good way to get in his good graces. 

Here is the opening scene from Hometown Girl.

A cacophony of voices, honking horns, jet engines, and undefinable noises assaulted Wesley Norberg’s hearing as he stood outside the terminal at the Fort Lauderdale airport. The above-normal temperature of a humid southern Florida day made his shirt stick to his back. How could it be this warm in late November? He glanced at his phone. His rideshare would be there in five minutes. Five minutes to stand in this heat.

     While he waited, wishing for cooler weather, a young woman catapulted herself at him and put her arms around his neck. He tried to pull away, but she clung tighter.

     “Please pretend you know me. I need your help.”

     The desperation in her voice threw him off guard, and in the next instant, she was kissing him. At first he tried again to pull away, but then he found himself enjoying the kiss, relishing it as she melted into him. His mind completely engulfed with the lips of a complete stranger on his, he was enjoying it too much. When she ended the kiss, he nearly pulled her back for more.

     Her arms remained wrapped around him. She trembled, and he recognized her distress. What would cause a woman so much fear that she would kiss a man she didn’t know? Did he dare ask?

     Wes held her close, her dark hair soft against his cheek. She smelled of peaches and berries. “Why do you need my help? What’s this about?”

     She inched back and looked into his eyes, still clinging to him, her brown eyes wide with concern. “Someone’s after me.”

     He strained to hear her whispered response. “Who?”

     “Don’t look now, but the man in black with the dark hair and beard, in line for a taxi.”

     Wes gazed at the woman to keep himself from searching for the ominous man in black. “Why is he after you?”

     “Too long to explain. Just take me with you.”

     Wes frowned as he looked at the woman. “How do you know I’m not worse than he is? I could be a serial killer, for all you know.”

     Her dark-brown eyes surveyed his face. “I’ll take my chances on you.”

     “He must be a scary dude.”

     “He is.”

     While Wes puzzled over this situation, a dark-blue car pulled to the curb, and the driver lowered the window. “Wesley Norberg?”

     “Yeah.” Wes shoved his phone into his pocket as he grabbed his roller bag and wheeled it toward the back of the car.

     The driver hopped out and scooped up Wes’s bag and plopped it into the trunk. Wes turned to get into the backseat but bumped into the unknown woman. “You’re still here?”

     “Yeah. Please take me with you.”

     “But you don’t know where I’m going.”

     “But I do.”

     “Really?”

     A smile brightened her face as relief painted her features. “Wesley Norberg, you’re going to your sister’s wedding.”

     Blown away, Wes wrinkled his brow. “How do you know my name and that I’m going to my sister’s wedding?”

*****

How does she know? I hope you will find out.

Do you like desserts? What is your favorite?

Merrillee Whren is the winner of the 2003 Golden Heart Award presented by Romance Writers of American. She is married to her own personal hero, her husband of forty-plus years, and has two grown daughters. Connect with her on her Facebook page and sign up for her newsletter.