Love At Cupid's Cove--Valentine serial--Lenora Worth :

Love at Cupid’s Cove

“I’d like to place an order for some cupcakes. Four or so will be fine.”

Lacy Rose smiled at the handsome stranger who’d just walked through the doors of her bakery. What was an interesting man like him doing in quiet Cupid’s Cove, anyway?

Outside the seagulls cawed and lifted out over the pristine blue waters of the bay. But a brisk February wind pushed through the great oaks and swaying palms.

“What kind of cupcakes?” Lacy asked, her attention moving from the beautiful scene out the window back to the hunky man staring at her with eyes the same color of the sky.

“Chocolate,” he said, grinning. “My mother loves chocolate cake.”

“That’s so sweet,” Lacy replied. “Getting your mother cupcakes for Valentine’s Day.”

“She’d been sick,” he explained, his hands in the pockets of his lightweight leather jacket. “She lives just down the way. You might know her. Betty Hines.”

“I do know Mrs. Hines,” Lacy said while she went about getting his order ready. “So you must be Duncan. She talks about you all the time. I mean, you’re a hero around here. You served in the Army, right?”

The smile on his face died. “Yeah, I did. But I’m home now.” He glanced out the window. “I need to go. How much do I owe you?”

Lacy wondered what she’d said to upset him. She’d often heard that soldiers didn’t like to talk about their time on the front lines. “This one is on the house,” she said, hoping to make up for her faux pas. “Thank you for serving your country.”

Duncan took the pink box but turned back. “Thanks, but you need to understand something. I’m not a hero. Not by a long shot.”