Blossom Street Brides by Debbie Macomber Page A

How quickly she’d judged this man she had yet to meet, strictly from appearances.
    She’d passed over him with little more than a glimpse. How unfair and judgmental of her. Just that morning she’d told herself it was time to think outside the box, beyond outward appearances. She found herself staring at him, unable to pull her gaze away. Then, to her utter embarrassment, he removed his sunglasses, stared back at her, and smiled.

Chapter Six
    It’d been a good long while since Rooster had ridden his bike this hard and this far. He had to admit, it’d been a challenge. He didn’t like to think he was getting soft, but that might well be the case. It’d been a year since he’d gone farther than a couple hundred miles on his motorcycle in a single stretch.
    Max had been eager to get to Seattle, and they’d ridden practically nonstop. Seeing the greeting Bethanne gave him, Rooster knew Max would consider it worth every minute of discomfort they’d endured on the long ride. The instant the two of them had entered the yarn store, Bethanne’s eyes had brightened and she’d practically flown into Max’s arms. Witnessing the love the two shared lightened his mood and his day.
    Within minutes of their reunion, Bethanne and Max had left the yarn store. Rooster glanced across the street at The French Cafe and his stomach growled, reminding him that it had been hours since they’d briefly stopped for lunch. Ashe recalled, the croissants at the small deli-style restaurant were buttery and flaky.
    He headed across the street and ordered coffee and a croissant to tide him over until dinner. He took the plate outside to a vacant table and sat under an umbrella in order to watch the passersby. He enjoyed people watching and realized that said a lot about him and his personality. Never one to seek the limelight himself, he took pleasure in observing others.
    Before they’d left California, Rooster had booked a hotel room for the weekend in downtown Seattle. Max remained conflicted, but Rooster could read the handwriting on the wall when it came to the future of their wine-distribution business. Sooner or later Max, who owned the controlling portion of the partnership, would need to make a decision, and as far as Rooster could see it boiled down to two options—either sell it or move it.
    No matter what Max decided, Rooster was tired of living in California. He was ready for a change, so if Max were to decide to relocate, Rooster wouldn’t have a problem with the move. He’d spent a fair amount of time in the Seattle area over the years and enjoyed the lush green forests and blue skies.
    Rooster was glad he’d arrived at The French Cafe when he did. The small cafe and bakery, which was now open for dinner, did a bustling business, and soon the tables inside started to fill up.
    The yarn store closed at six, and he watched Lydia turn the sign over on the door. A couple moments later thewoman who’d been knitting with Bethanne left the shop.
    Rooster had noticed her right away. Hard not to, with those piercing blue eyes and that dark hair. The combination was striking. She was an eye-catcher for sure—classy, too. Nicely dressed as she was in a pink suit, he guessed she must work in one of the office buildings downtown. He especially liked her choice of jewelry. She wore a cameo with matching earrings. He remembered his mother had a similar one, although he didn’t know what had happened to it after she’d died.
    He suspected the woman who wore the cameo wasn’t married, although the absence of a diamond ring was no guarantee. She had a ring on her left hand, but it was an opal surrounded by diamond chips. Generally, Rooster didn’t notice details like this, but she’d caught his eye right away. Fact was, he’d paid attention to just about everything there was to notice about her.
    He remembered when Max first met Bethanne. His friend had lost his daughter, and then within a short amount of time, his wife, too. The