Her Lifelong Dream Read Online Free

more on habit than on any kind
of genuine passion between them. They never seemed to
have much to say to one another anymore. Worse still,
when he took her in his arms and kissed her she felt ...
she felt ...
    Leedy couldn't describe the way she felt when Brian
kissed her. His kisses still tasted sweet, but there was something missing. Something that she ached for, but couldn't define. When Brian kissed her, it felt more like she was
kissing an old friend than a lover. The passion that she told
herself had once been there was now long gone, and both
of them knew it.

    It was only after the breakup that she learned that Brian
had met another woman. Her name was Angela, and they
had been seeing each other for almost a year, an overlap
in timing that left Leedy feeling emotionally raw. Oddly,
she had never been particularly angry about Brian's unfaithfulness, even if she had not known about it at the time.
She now realized that she had sensed the distance between
them long before Brian had met Angela. She had recently
heard through the grapevine that Brian and Angela were
getting married next spring.
    Leedy took a deep breath and slammed the locker door
shut. There was no point dwelling on ancient history, especially today. She braced herself and headed for the
kitchen, suddenly grateful that her evening would be a busy
one.
    She checked on the kitchen crew, then headed for the
dining room to be sure everything was running smoothly
there. She replenished the coffee stations, ran the sweeper
over some crumb-covered carpeting, and checked to be sure
the waiters and waitresses had everything they needed for
the dinner rush. After that, she headed back to the kitchen
where she prepared several Chocolate Ecstasy Cakes. The
recipe was one she had created herself and it had quickly
become the most popular dessert item on Mr. Hobo's menu.
    Brittany had been right. Judging from the tables filled
with college-aged young people and beaming adults, there
was surely something going on at the University tonight.
In fact, she had never seen Mr. Hobo's so busy. It was well into the dinner hour before she finally found time to
schmooze with the customers in the dining room. "How
was your meal tonight, sir?" Leedy asked a man in a black
turtleneck shirt.

    "My soup was cold," he complained.
    "Oh, I'm sorry, sir," she said. "May I get you another
bowl?"
    'No.
    "How about a dessert? It's on the house."
    "All right," the man in the turtleneck said with a triumphant expression on his face. Leedy motioned for the
waiter and one quickly appeared at the table pushing the
dessert cart.
    "The Chocolate Ecstasy Cake is the house specialty," the
waiter said, smiling luminously.
    Leedy made her way around the room, charming the clientele as she went. She was in her element, smiling and
making jokes with the customers as she made her way
through the busy dining room, leaving a trail of happiness
behind her.
    "And you, young lady?" Leedy asked a pretty, blonde
coed in a blue sweater sitting by herself at a table. "How
was your dinner?"
    "Wonderful," the girl said, with a sweet smile. "I had
the shrimp scampi and it was absolutely delicious."
    "Thank you," Leedy said. There was something about
this lovely girl that made her forget about the hordes of
other customers. Something sweet and precious, as if the
girl was a single red rose in a thicket of weeds. "I'm so
glad you enjoyed your meal," Leedy smiled. "May I offer
you a dessert?"
    "Maybe ..." she said. "It's Parents' Night at the Uni versity. I'm waiting for my uncle to come back from the
restroom."

    "Ah," Leedy said. "Parents' Night. That explains the
madhouse here this evening."
    "There he is now," the young woman said excitedly.
"Uncle Terry, would you like a dessert?"
    Leedy turned around smiling up at the figure approaching her from behind.
    "Hello again," said a low, warm voice that sounded uncomfortably familiar. "Leedy, isn't it?"
    "Oh ... um ...