One Kind Wish: The One Kind Deed Series, #6

By Christine DePetrillo

 

Jorden wasn't into chicks with babies. Or at least he never had been.

 

 

Chef Jorden Demetri has no shortage of women on his dating menu, but there's only one dish he wants right now. Single mom Diana Rosalen has caught his attention as she serves customers at Albero's Restaurant where they both work. Despite her difficult past, she always has a smile on her face, and the way she takes care of her daughter, Camilla, makes Jorden want to keep them both. But is he capable of commitment? Jorden's own parents weren't the best examples, and the word family doesn't conjure up good memories.

 

Diana notices Jorden. Of course she does. Everyone notices Jorden. He's charming, funny, and an amazing chef. He also has women lining up to be his next snack. Diana doesn't want to take a number. Besides, her life is pretty full with working, being a mother, and developing an organic baby food company. She's got big hopes and even bigger dreams. When Jorden is at the right place at the right time to help Diana, however, she discovers there may be more to Maplehaven's sexiest chef.  

 

Is one kind wish enough to make dreams come true?

 

 

One Kind Wish is a single-parent, small-town, contemporary romance that features a determined heroine wanting to do the best for her child and a playboy hero willing to change his ways for the right woman.

 

 

The One Kind Deed Series, contemporary romance

"I want to live in this town! The characters were so real!"

 

Other Series by Christine DePetrillo

The Maple Leaf Series, contemporary romance (6 books)

"Fears, pride, love, passion ~ beautifully woven together with substance and depth."

 

The Shielded Series, sci-fi romance (3 books)

"Great world-building, excellent emotional depth, and a great ending..."

 

The Warrior Wolves Series, paranormal romance (5 books)

"Full of memorable characters with a solid plot and plenty of passion."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christine DePetrillo
• Release date: Dec 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393963066

Book preview

Chapter One

Why hadn’t anyone invented shoes capable of offering comfort for an entire waitressing shift? Was it too much to ask for one’s feet not to ache as if one had spent the day climbing Mount Everest instead of merely circling the level land of a restaurant? Diana Rosalen took a minute to slide off her shoes and rub the arches of her feet as she leaned against her sedan in the parking lot of Albero’s Restaurant after her shift. She hadn’t dared to wear the black heels some of the waitresses wore.

Since her pregnancy, her feet hadn’t been the same and the thought of wedging them into some cute pumps made her wince. Tips were higher, however, when you wore the sexy shoes. She’d worn a basic black flat instead, but those didn’t supply enough cushion for the amount of time she’d been on her feet, taking customers’ orders and delivering their meals. She was thankful though. She had a job and a way to support herself and her baby, Camilla. Sure, she was living with her brother, Dawson, but if the tips and paychecks kept rolling in, she could rectify that situation soon.

Could do it sooner with sexy shoes.

Not that living with Dawson and his fiancée, Violet, was an inconvenience. It totally wasn’t. Having two live-in babysitters was a mother’s dream and Camilla was thrilled to have her uncle and her auntie nearby whenever she demanded some entertainment. Diana knew she shouldn’t get too dependent on her brother and Violet, but the two of them had been real lifesavers. Taking her in. Creating a sense of family. Loving her and her daughter. It was more than Diana had ever hoped for when moving to Vermont.

Well... she had hoped for a life partner in raising her daughter, but Henri—Camilla’s father—was a... he was a... ah, shit. He was an asshole and there really wasn’t another word to describe him accurately. Henri wanted Diana, but not pregnant Diana, so when he’d suggested Diana get rid of that baby, she’d taken it as a big sign it was time to flee.

And flee she had. To friends in the French countryside during her pregnancy then all the way to Maplehaven, Vermont a few months after Camilla was born. Straight to her brother who had taken her in and helped her rebuild her life. Things finally felt normal. Diana had a job, a roof over her head, plenty of people who cared for her, and her daughter. Life was good.

Except my feet are killing me. But that was easy enough to solve. A few minutes in the massaging footbath Violet had given her would relieve her foot pain and get her ready for tomorrow’s shift.

Diana gave each of her feet an extra rub before sliding her shoes back on then eased into the driver’s seat and closed her car door. Dawson had secured the simple sedan for her at a cheap price and the freedom the car offered had helped Diana feel more in control of her life. A mere few months ago she’d been hiding out as she waited for Camilla to arrive. She’d had some close friends who’d helped her through her pregnancy, but once her baby girl had made her debut in the world, Diana couldn’t continue to hide. She had to be with her actual family. Dawson was the only surviving member, the mother she shared with him and her father both passed a number of years ago.

Fortunately, her brother had a heart of gold and didn’t think twice about taking in Diana and Camilla. She shuddered to think where she’d be right now without Dawson, Violet, and some of the wonderful people living in this small Vermont town, guarded by three huge mountains that kept the place secluded from the rest of the world.

The cruel world.

Diana clenched her hands around the steering wheel and shook her head. No. She wouldn’t think about Henri and what a colossal jerk he’d been in Paris. She would, however, be careful about who she let into her heart from now on.

Assuming she let anyone in there.

Immediately Jorden Demetri flashed into her brain. Mon Dieu. Violet’s brother sure was nice to look at with his thick, dark hair, deep brown eyes, and ever-present smile surrounded by the perfect amount of stubble. Diana had been thinking about Jorden since she’d met him a few months ago. He’d been super nice in getting her the waitressing job at Albero’s where he was head chef and they’d had a number of... encounters where some electricity sparked between them.

But... Jorden was never without a woman’s company. She’d met him back in June. It was now October and the number of different chicks who cycled through Albero’s to say hello to Jorden was too high for Diana to keep track. He often left with some of those girls too. They’d actually wait around for him at the bar until he was done cooking for the night. Sometimes they’d wait for hours.

And they were always young and gorgeous and perfect.

At twenty-eight, Diana knew she wasn’t elderly yet, but she also had some mom-body things happening. Things she didn’t think Jorden would appreciate if the tall, leggy, super-model types that frequented Albero’s looking for him were any indication. He’d always been more than nice to her though, and she considered him a friend.

Well, he considered her a friend. She’d considered more upon first meeting him, but she had to be careful. It wasn’t all about what she wanted anymore. Diana had Camilla to think about and she was done making stupid decisions. Her daughter deserved more than that.

So she and Jorden had flirted here and there, but neither of them had taken any further steps and that was probably for the best. She couldn’t afford to get involved with someone who wasn’t going to be serious about a relationship.

No matter how hot he was.

Diana started her car and pulled out of her space at Albero’s. Time to get home, make sure Dawson had properly tucked in her precious baby, and take a hot shower to gain some muscle relief. She was thankful for the waitressing job, but it’d been a while since she’d had to be on her feet so much. Her last job was teaching art classes. Certainly easier work than schlepping food from the kitchen to the tables for eight hours straight.

And some customers were... difficult. At least the people who signed up for her art classes in Paris had been eager to learn. Diners were a totally different breed. Still she was happy to be working and banking some money for the future she wanted to build for Camilla.

Diana traveled down the main street cutting across Maplehaven and then hung a right onto the dirt road that lead to Dawson’s house. October had been dry so the roads were dusty but passable. And dark. Super dark after midnight on a Wednesday morning. Paris had never been this black.

She hit the power button on the sedan’s radio and classic rock filled the front seat. Not her first choice—she’d have killed for some bass-heavy dance music—but this was Vermont after all and the only channel that came in clearly played old rock tunes. It was better than silence.

Humming along, Diana avoided ruts in the dirt road as she navigated with nothing but her headlights for illumination. The sedan bounced along and she wondered how the vehicle would handle the snowy roads in winter. It probably wouldn’t fare well. She’d have to add get a sturdier vehicle to her list of future expenses. With any luck, the organic baby food business she was about to launch with the help of Violet’s friends, Dena and Jacy, would take off quickly and she’d be able to afford the many things she needed and maybe eventually some things she wanted.

She had a solid twenty-five recipes that had been taste-tested by a host of moms and babies at the daycare Camilla went to when Violet or Dawson wasn’t watching her. Everyone had agreed Diana’s organic baby food was better than anything they could buy in a store. Encouraged by those opinions, she’d begun the process of setting up her own online store with Jacy’s help. Dena had schooled her on all the necessary financial steps and Dena’s adopted son, Rohen, had created some killer artwork for the jar labels. All three of them had donated their help, so Diana hadn’t had to invest much money so far. Her next step was to secure an organic veggie supplier, but she needed to do a little research on that first. Then it would be all about cooking, canning, and selling. Locally at first.

After that... who knew?

Thinking about this business always excited Diana. She’d been in charge of teaching her art classes and a number of other endeavors, but to build something from scratch—something that would benefit babies—made her chest swell. Bringing wholesome products to parents concerned about their children’s nutrition was a worthy cause. It was about time she did something worthy with her life.

Aside from bringing Camilla into the world. Because that would no doubt be her most significant contribution. Her daughter would do great things. She was sure of it.

She sang along with the radio, only about ten more minutes to get home. A pair of headlights appeared in the inky distance ahead and Diana slowed her speed. These dirt roads were narrow and often when two cars had to pass one another, there wasn’t much room to do so. Reduced speed was a basic caution Violet had told her about when Diana had driven in Vermont as if she were still on the streets of Paris.

The other set of headlights approached quickly. Maybe the driver was an out-of-towner as Diana had been a few months ago and didn’t know the slow-down rule on these backwoods roads. She’d take more precaution herself to make up for the other driver’s ignorance.

Slowing to barely a forward roll, Diana hugged the right side of the road, keeping one eye on the growing headlights in front of her and one eye on the gully lining the road. She didn’t want to end up in that gully. Dakota, Dena and Jacy’s brother, had told her a story about a sedan getting caught in one of those gullies and then rolling to its side. He’d been involved in helping to rock the car back onto its wheels. The entire tale had horrified Diana.

Those headlights were pretty close now. And not on the opposite side of the road as they should have been. Diana squinted. Yup. They were definitely on her side of the road.

"Mon Dieu!" This had never happened in Paris.

She pressed her palm to the horn and the noise sounded incredibly loud in the stillness of nearly one o’clock in the morning. She’d probably awakened half the town with that one blast, but she didn’t care right now. That car ahead was still coming at her.

Another pound on the horn and Diana considered her options. There were no driveways ahead to turn onto to let this car pass. Nothing but woods stretched from here to where she had to make a left onto Dawson’s road. She could pull over and stop her car, but would that just make her an easy target? Blowing the horn was obviously useless as it hadn’t changed the oncoming car’s direction either time.

Diana finally decided on easing over to the left side of the road. If this dingbat in front of her wanted to drive as if he or she were in England, so be it. She could play that game too. Hell, she’d driven in England plenty of times.

She pressed down on the accelerator a bit, eager to be past this nut, but as she got closer, the headlights suddenly swerved her way. She didn’t have enough time to get back to the right side of the road.

The impact was loud, lots of screeching metal ripping into her eardrums. Her small sedan sailed away from the other vehicle, the steering wheel spinning in her hands. A thud sounded and it took Diana a minute to realize the noise had been her head banging into the driver side window. Stars sparked behind her eyelids for a minute as she struggled to grab control of the steering wheel again. A second impact occurred when her car hit the gully and then a sizable maple tree. With a hiss from the crumpled hood, the car went silent.

Diana craned her neck to look in the rearview mirror as a pair of red tail lights sped off behind her. What the hell had hit her? An army tank? How had the other vehicle been able to continue on?

Why hadn’t anyone stopped to see if she was okay?

Am I okay?

After a quick survey, she found a dark spot on her white dress shirt. Touching a finger to the left side of her head, she discovered a wetness at her temple. She flicked on the interior light and recoiled at the red staining both her shirt and her fingers.

Shit. Her vision blurred and her stomach churned as the idea of bleeding registered in her mind. She had to get out of there.

Diana turned the key in the ignition, but all that did was cause a dull clicking sound. That car wasn’t going anywhere under its own power. Dammit. She reached for her purse and dug around for her phone.

Which she’d left in her locker back at the restaurant. She could picture the damn thing. She’d set it on the little shelf in the locker while she’d gotten out her car keys and had forgotten to pick it back up. What kind of an idiot drove around at this hour on dirt roads in total darkness without her cell phone?

This kind of idiot.

Growling, she pressed her hand to her head again, a wave of nausea swimming over her. She grabbed a package of tissues from her purse and ripped several free. Holding them to her temple, she willed the bleeding to stop, but a warm trickle streamed by her ear.

I have to get out of this car.

She could walk toward Dawson’s road. It wasn’t that far away and the idea of making it to her bed in the guest room was a huge motivator. Diana wrenched the door handle, but the driver side was not going to provide an exit. The sedan was pressed into the earth on that side. She pulled herself over to the passenger side, but that door was bent in from the impact with the other car.

Glancing to the back seats, she groaned at having to get her body back there. Everything was looking pretty hazy now and she wasn’t sure if that was due to smoke from the engine or if her actual vision was cutting out on her. Picturing Camilla in her mind, she hoisted herself over the center console and landed in a heap on the back seat. The back passenger door opened, but it took all her strength to climb out with the car tipped in the gully.

Once she was out of the car, she took a moment to look at the scene she’d evacuated. The poor sedan’s hood had been crumpled by the maple tree, the front passenger side door was cratered, and she could see some of the bottom of the car because of the angle at which it was tipped. She was lucky to be walking away from that mess.

Diana peered down the road. Why the hell had that other car been driving on the wrong side? Why had it shifted to the correct side at the last minute? The only conclusion she could come to was that the driver had been drunk. She’d been hit by a drunk driver.

How had she managed to live in almost every major European city and never have one car accident? Then she came here where, at most, three cars were on these dirt roads at a time—especially at this hour—and she’d had an accident. A relatively bad one too.

Just my luck.

A slight breeze ghosted by and Diana shivered. She hadn’t worn a jacket, figuring she’d just be going from her car to the restaurant and the opposite coming home. She’d keep a jacket in her car from now on though. After she had this one fixed. Or got another car.

Grabbing some fresh tissues, she held them to her head and started walking. Every rustle of leaves, every snap of a twig, every shadowy something that appeared in the corner of her vision made her jump. Her legs were rubber too.

How far was it to Dawson’s house? Why was it so damn dark? How long could someone bleed from a head wound without passing out?

She got the answer to that last one.

Not long.

****

Jorden Demetri squeezed the life out of the steering wheel of his SUV. He should have gone directly home after cooking for hours at Albero’s, but no, he had to let his hormones convince him that hooking up with Cindy tonight was a great idea.

Was it Cindy? Or Cheryl? He squinted in the darkness and pictured the blonde’s tight figure and sexy smile as she’d flirted with him over her wine glass at Albero’s bar. He remembered her physical features just fine. But her name? Nope. Not sure at all on that one.

This is what I get. Normally listening to his hormones worked out well for him, but tonight had been a disaster. As soon as he’d gotten to Cindy/Cheryl’s house, she’d turned into this needy, whiny chick and his libido had cooled to several degrees below zero. He had no patience for whining. Especially in grown adults. He liked to have a good time. When a woman started things off by listing all the things that had gone wrong with her last boyfriend... that was the signal to bolt.

Jorden had feigned a text from his sister that needed his immediate attention and had gotten out of there before Cindy/Cheryl could snag him with her hooks. Now he had to drive down this piece of shit dirt road back to Maplehaven’s main strip to get home. A home that was within walking distance from Albero’s if he hadn’t done this side trip to absolutely nowhere.

One of the biggest advantages to living in the raised ranch he formerly shared with his sister, Violet, before she’d moved in with her fiancé, Dawson, was that it was super close to Albero’s and everything else in the heart of Maplehaven. He loved the rustic nature of Vermont, but he also enjoyed the convenience of asphalt.

If he hit one more rut on this dirt road, he was going to lose it.

Maybe he needed to reconsider this lifestyle he’d been enjoying since... oh, since high school really. He’d obviously become more responsible in the job department—he loved being head chef at Albero’s. It was his dream job and he rarely had a bad day at work. How many people could say that?

Where Jorden hadn’t grown up, however, was in the social life category. He still flitted from chick to chick, doing the casual hookup thing. Commitment hadn’t been something his parents had been good at so he learned pretty early on it probably wasn’t worth the effort. Besides, everyone came out of the meaningless get-togethers with smiles and satisfied sighs.

Not tonight though. Actually, sitting here in the dark interior of his SUV, he could admit the last few hookups had felt... empty. Pointless. Immature. At thirty years old, Jorden had the responsibilities of a grown man. He paid bills. He had to feed himself. Now with Violet moved out, he even had to do his own laundry, so why was he still screwing around in the relationship realm?

And why had this line of thinking crept up again and again shortly after meeting Dawson’s sister, Diana? The woman was gorgeous. No argument there. With all that black curly hair Violet had styled in a shoulder-length cut at her salon, Tresses, Diana had the look of a Hollywood actress. Her dark skin was flawless, her petite body was in top form, and her dark brown, nearly black eyes were exotic, making Jorden feel as if he could easily get sucked into their depths.

And he wouldn’t mind one bit getting lost there.

He got to see Diana often because she worked at Albero’s, thanks to him. Best idea he’d had in a while. She’d needed a job. Albero’s had needed a waitress. Jorden had wanted to keep Diana close for a reason he couldn’t quite voice.

So far the two of them had only engaged in the dance—the back and forth banter, the subtle flirting, the joking around. Jorden enjoyed every moment of all that, but something kept him from adding Diana to his list of... of what?

Conquests? That sounded awful.

Plus she had a daughter. He’d never dated anyone with a kid. Wasn’t sure he could handle the whole single mom thing.

He let out a disgusted breath and shook his head. Why did he feel like slime tonight? Probably because he’d been unsuccessful with Cindy/Cheryl. Tomorrow was another night. Another chance to indulge with an interested party. He was allowed one off night here and there.

As long as they didn’t pile up.

Jorden maneuvered around a particularly deep rut in the road and ended up totally nailing another one.

Son of a bitch! He pounded on the steering wheel then sat up straighter in his seat to pay closer attention to the road.

Up ahead something white reflected in his headlight beams. Something white on the ground in the dirt.

What the hell...? He slowed and came to a complete stop when he realized he was looking at a person.

Jorden pulled his SUV up behind the body then had trouble swallowing over calling the body the body. He grabbed his phone and got out of his vehicle. A quick scan of the area didn’t reveal anyone—or anything—else.

Hello? His voice sounded way too loud in the quiet of the woods. Are you okay?

Of course not, idiot. Okay people didn’t lie on the ground at this hour.

He approached slowly, half expecting a bear to blow out of the shadows of the trees and have him as a midnight snack. Kneeling by the body, he put a hand on a delicate shoulder and gently nudged. He gasped at the face attached to the body.

Diana? Oh my God. Something in his brain snapped at seeing the blood and dirt on her white dress shirt and her face. Logically he knew he should call 911 and not move her any more than he had, but he went caveman instead. He scooped her up, purse and all, and cradled her to his chest. Jogging to his car, he set her in the back seat, took a moment to feel at her neck, and rejoiced when a pulse beat against his fingertips. Hang on, Diana. We’ll get you help.

He jumped into the driver’s seat and slammed his foot on the accelerator. He’d get her to the hospital faster than any ambulance. He’d get her there and they’d fix her up and she’d be fine. She would. He risked a glance back. She was so still. Why was she so still? Why hadn’t picking her up awakened her? Why hadn’t the jostling in the back seat jarred her back to consciousness? What the hell was she doing out here?

As that question cycled through his brain, he came upon a car off the side of the road that was crumpled against a giant maple tree. A car accident. At least he had one question semi-answered, but he had a million more.

Call Violet, he said aloud and his phone dialed his sister.

What’s wrong? Violet’s voice was scratchy and panicked. She’d no doubt been sound asleep.

Vi, it’s me. I found Diana on the road. She was in a car accident. I’m taking her to the hospital. Meet me there with Dawson?

Oh my God, okay. She hung up and Jorden felt a little better knowing he wasn’t alone in this rescue attempt. He glanced in the rearview mirror, but Diana’s body had sunk too low in the back seat for him to see her. Stay with me, Diana. Think of Camilla. She needs you. Shit. He couldn’t imagine that sweet little baby not having her mommy.

Jorden pressed his foot on the gas a bit more and though he hit basically every single rut in the road, he finally made it to the paved street. In another ten minutes he was careening into the hospital’s parking lot. He ripped the keys out of the ignition and threw open the back driver side door.

C’mon, baby. We’ll get you some help. He was encouraged when Diana moaned a reply. That’s right. We’re at the hospital and you’re going to be fine.

Jorden... Her voice was so faint, but at least she recognized him. That had to be a good sign. Right?

He slid his arms under her and lifted her out of the car. Pulling her close to his chest again, he shut the door with his hip and jogged toward the hospital’s entrance. As soon as he set foot inside, a pair of nurses rushed over to him.

Hey, Jorden, the tall brunette said. What happened here? She signaled for a gurney to be brought over.

Jorden squinted at her name tag. Hey, Clarice. Right. Now he remembered her. In addition to being a nurse, she was a gymnast. She was very... flexible, much to Jorden’s delight, when the two of them had gone on a date last year. When she’d asked him to go to dinner at her parents’ lake house for the second date, however, he’d made a hasty exit out of all that. No need to get mixed up in such craziness.

My... my... friend, Diana, was in a car accident. He looked down at the woman in his arms, wishing like hell she’d open those beautiful eyes.

Okay, the other nurse said. Let’s get her on this gurney and we’ll take care of her.

Nodding, Jorden lowered Diana to the gurney. Her dirty, bloody shirt looked awful against the pristine white of the sheet covering the gurney and his stomach did a sick roll. The bright hospital lights overhead revealed a sizable gash at Diana’s temple. It was still oozing blood, but some of it had dried along the side of her cheek, making Jorden wonder how long Diana had been lying