My Charming Valentine Read Online Free Page A

she moved around them. She was
looking for other trunks when another customer entered and Quincy went to offer
her assistance. Hearing a familiar voice, Phoebe looked up to see her husband
shaking Grant Taylor’s hand. He gave her a grin and walked towards her.
    “Picking your own Valentine’s gift,” he
said, grinning as he picked up a large oval hairbrush off a table by her side.
“Need some suggestions?” He tapped the back of the brush against his palm.
    “No, thank you,” she said, blushing. She
turned away and then turned back and smiled. “But, thanks for moving that… that
old thing.”
    They all watched as she dropped to her
knees. The table was really an antique wooden trunk, complete with leather
straps and brass latches. As she started to lift the lid, Patrick stepped
forward to help, pulling open the heavy lid.
    “Got it!” Phoebe said, as she removed the
tray inside the trunk and set it aside. Beneath it lay a small white box and
another red envelope. Her smile showed her joy in solving the clue as she
replaced the tray. Patrick lowered the lid and smiled.
    “Providing customers with added
incentives to shop?” Grant asked.
    “Only to those men who make an effort to
be so romantic,” Quincy said, before explaining that Phoebe was going on a
scavenger hunt, with clues and prizes hidden all over town.
    “Wow, that’s pretty incredible,” Grant
admitted, still holding the brush in his hand. He sighed and put it down on
another small table. “How about you help a guy out and suggest something you
think Lainie might enjoy? I sure don’t want to hear that I’m less romantic than
Pat.”
    Quincy took his arm and led him to the
display that held antique jewelry. Patrick chuckled as he heard Grant moan, but
then turned his attention to his own wife. “Remember our first anniversary?” he
asked, as he took the envelope from her so she’d have both hands free to open
the small box.
    “Yes. We were going to go to the movies
but when we got to the mall, we discovered they’d turned all the corridors into
stalls. There were all sorts of vendors displaying crafts and antiques. This
gorgeous old trunk was on display and the man told us how his wife had found it
buried in some old barn, lost and forgotten. He refinished it and said it
needed a new home, one where it could be filled with items that it could keep
protected.” She paused and he picked up the tale.
    “He was a character and a darn good
salesman. You were hooked from the moment he said he’d like to be there when
items found in it a hundred years later would have people wondering who they’d
belonged to, what stories they would tell. We never made it to the movies that
day but that trunk is still holding memories.”
    She nodded, her hand swiping a tear from
her cheek before she gave him a wobbly grin. “It was the perfect first
anniversary gift.”
    “It still is.” He kissed her cheek, his
lips removing the tear. “Don’t cry, sweetheart.”
    “I can’t help it,” she said with a shaky
laugh. “God, this is just so romantic.” She giggled, looking to the front of
the store where Quincy and Grant were both watching her, smiles on their faces.
“Remind me to make sure we empty that trunk before we get too old and forget.”
    “Not a chance,” he said chuckling. “I
like to think our kids will be intrigued when they lift the tray out.”
    Slapping his arm, she whispered, “You
want to give Katy a heart attack?”
    “Nope, just have her wonder exactly what
stories each item will tell. Do her good to know that her parents enjoyed games
until the day they died.”
    The trunk sat at the end of their bed.
Anyone lifting the lid would see the items that Phoebe held close to her heart.
The outfits their children had worn home from the hospital were folded inside,
as well as their first pairs of tiny shoes. Lace doilies tatted by her mother were
wrapped in tissue paper, her grandmother’s hand-embroidered pillow cases, and
other