A Valentine for Kayla by Kimberly Rose Johnson Page B

worries. I sent someone ahead to get us a table.” Mom’s eyes gleamed mischief.
    Kayla’s insides trilled in anticipation of the surprise. She pulled the door open, motioned for her mom to go in first and followed.
    Mom greeted the hostess, then strode toward the back dining room, where it was generally a little quieter. Bridget’s Diner had been a staple in Oak Knoll for as long as she could remember and they’d been having Sunday lunch here for years. Mom stopped beside a booth where a handsome man sat. With his trim physique, tanned skin, and salt-and-pepper hair, he reminded her of George Clooney.
    He grinned wide, flashing his perfect teeth, and stood. “I was beginning to wonder what happened to you.” He pulled Mom into a hug and kissed her cheek.
    â€œClose your mouth, dear,” Mom said as she scooted into the booth. “Stan, this is my daughter, Kayla. Kayla, meet Stan.”
    Kayla tipped her head to the side— the Stan from Florida? Why was he here, and why did she have a feeling life had just taken a crazy twist?
    â€œYour mother has told me so much about you.” He slid in beside Mom.
    Kayla gave a tentative smile as she sat across from the couple and worked to form an intelligent thought. “She said she had a surprise waiting, but I never imagined it would be you. It’s nice to meet you, Stan. Where are you staying?”
    â€œThe Best Western.”
    â€œOh.” She’d half expected he’d be staying in her guestroom, but then, maybe her mom didn’t feel comfortable with that arrangement. It was Kayla’s house, after all.
    â€œStan flew into Portland on Friday.”
    â€œSo you’ve been in town a couple of days, and my mom is just now getting around to introducing us?” She raised a brow and sent her mother a you-have-some-explaining-to-do look.
    Mom’s face glowed and she seemed clueless to Kayla’s tease. She looked at Stan with such love in her eyes. What was really going on here? Kayla narrowed her eyes, and then she saw it. Her mom’s left-hand ring finger held a rock she had to be blind not to have seen.
    â€œYou’re engaged? Oh my goodness!”
    Mom nodded and held out her hand for Kayla to examine the ring.
    â€œYou sure didn’t waste any time. Congratulations!” Excitement tempered with caution bubbled through her. Her mom deserved to find love again, but she and Stan barely knew each other. How could they possibly jump into marriage so quickly?
    Stan chuckled. “When it’s right, it’s right.” He looked to her mother and cradled her hand between his.
    Mom’s eyes shone with adoration.
    How had she missed that her mother was so much in love? She had been distracted since Derek walked into the flower shop last month.
    â€œAre you okay, sweetie?” Mom’s forehead scrunched. “I’m sorry for springing this on you. I didn’t think—”
    â€œI’m fine. I’m sorry I was so caught up in my own drama that I missed yours.”
    â€œYou’ve been focused elsewhere lately, what with the festival preparations and mooning over Derek.”
    â€œI wasn’t mooning.” Kayla cast a quick glance at Stan. A knowing smile covered his face. “I was… Oh, I don’t know what I was doing, but it wasn’t mooning.”
    Stan chuckled again. “She’s exactly like you described her, Livy.”
    Mom nodded.
    Livy? No one had ever been allowed to shorten Mom’s name. She’d always demanded that everyone call her Olivia. Clearly her mother was in love, but marriage? Kayla looked down and realized she was shredding her paper napkin, but she really was happy for them, and Stan seemed like a kind man who clearly loved her mother, but still… They’d known one another for only a couple of months.
    Derek’s baby blues danced in her mind, sending her heart into overdrive. So what if she’d known him